‘No Japan’: explaining motivations behind nationalist boycotts in South Korea

Abstract When Japan in 2019 removed South Korea from its whitelist of most trusted trading partners, South Koreans responded by organizing mass nationalist boycotts against Japanese goods. What affects South Korean citizens’ willingness to participate in this nationalist movement? In this article, we offer a systematic investigation of individuals’ motivations behind their boycott participation along the two dimensions of nationalist boycotts – boycotts as a collective choice and boycotts as an emotional reaction – as well as the historical patterns of South Korean nationalist boycotts against Japan. From original survey data collected in South Korea, we find that citizens’ baseline nationalism is an important moderating factor. For those who have strong nationalistic sentiments against Japan, both collective action and emotional primes have only a marginal impact. However, for those who have relatively low baseline nationalism against Japan, an expectation of mass participation plays a critical role in boosting their desire for boycott participation.