Overseas visitors take part in a barehanded trout-catching experience at the PyeongChang Trout Festival, held along the Odaecheon Stream in Jinbu-myeon, Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, over the weekend of Jan. 18. (Photo courtesy of Pyeongchang County)
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — More than eight in 10 people abroad now hold a favorable view of South Korea, a level of international goodwill not seen since the government began tracking the country’s global image seven years ago, according to a report released Tuesday.
In a 2025 survey conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 82.3 percent of foreign respondents said they viewed South Korea positively, an increase of 3.3 percentage points from the previous year and the highest figure recorded since the survey’s launch in 2018.
The strongest approval came from parts of the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. Respondents in the United Arab Emirates expressed the most favorable opinions, at 94.8 percent, followed by Egypt, the Philippines, Turkey, India and South Africa, all of which recorded approval ratings near or above 90 percent.
Perceptions also improved notably in Britain and Thailand, where favorable views rose by more than nine percentage points over the past year. Britain stood out as the only European country to post above-average sentiment toward South Korea.
Even in countries where attitudes have historically been more reserved, opinion shifted upward. In China, favorable views climbed to 62.8 percent, while in Japan they rose to 42.2 percent — more than double the level recorded when the survey was first conducted in 2018.
Foreign tourists and local visitors are seen at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Jongno District, Seoul. (Yonhap)
Cultural exports remained the most powerful driver of South Korea’s global appeal. Nearly half of respondents cited K-pop, television dramas and films as the main influences shaping their perceptions, with the effect especially pronounced across Asia, including in the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam. Respondents also pointed to Korea’s modern lifestyle, consumer brands and economic development as contributing factors.
The survey found that most exposure to South Korea came through digital platforms. Video-sharing services were the dominant channel, cited by 64.4 percent of respondents, followed by social media, websites and traditional broadcast outlets.
In follow-up interviews, international students and foreign correspondents based in Seoul offered a more political reading of the country’s image. Many highlighted what they described as the resilience of South Korea’s democratic institutions, pointing to the country’s recovery process after the political turmoil triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration nearly a year earlier.
The survey was conducted among 13,000 people aged 16 and older in 26 countries between Oct. 1 and 31 last year. South Korean respondents were excluded to assess foreign perceptions of the country’s national image.
Foreign tourists are sampling street food in Myeong-dong, Jung District, Seoul. (Yonhap)
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
