Between South Korea and China, the love is not mutual?

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A September survey of 1,000 South Koreans found that 44.0 percent selected China as their favorite country (second to the United States, at 60.8 percent).

A separate survey of 12,000 Chinese found that 40.1 percent selected South Korea as their most disliked country (ranking surprisingly higher than traditional nemesis Japan, which came in second at 30.2 percent). Their most liked country was Pakistan (13.2 percent), perhaps reflecting deepening bonds between the two.

How to explain the perplexing results: South Koreans love China second (after the United States), while China dislikes South Korea the most (even more than Japan)?

This may be a case of comparing surveys with separate methodologies. The survey of the South Koreans was conducted in September by Millward Brown, a market research firm. The survey of the Chinese was conducted over the course of four months this year by the International Herald Leader, published by Xinhua News Agency, which in 2005 was described as “the world’s biggest propaganda agency” (pdf) by Reporters Without Borders.

The South Korean survey also appears to have let people select more than one country as their favorite (e.g. 44.0 percent for China plus 60.8 for the United States exceeds 100). Additionally, it doesn’t seem to have asked South Koreans which countries they disliked (perhaps China would have come out on top). Passport came upon these selectively reported survey results on the English site of Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper.

For the time being, I think I’ll stick with results from the Pew Global Attitudes Project—which seems to be the most experienced with these types of surveys. Its survey of 718 South Koreans in April found that 42 percent had an unfavorable view of China, and 52 percent had a favorable view (with a 4 percent margin of error). Feel the love.