The Korean Conflict and the Nuclear Problem in Public Opinion Research

The Korean Conflict and the Nuclear Problem in Public Opinion Research


Lee Moon-Young

PhD (Philol.), Assoc. Prof., Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea peacemoon@snu.ac.kr

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This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2021S1A5B8096371)

Rubric: Sociology of international relations

For citation:

Lee Moon-Young The Korean Conflict and the Nuclear Problem in Public Opinion Research. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2022. No 7. P. 120-128


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Abstract

This article examines differences in perceptions between North and South Koreans regarding the Korean unification, as well as attitudes of citizens of interested neighboring 4 countries to the North Korean nuclear issue, based on the analysis of various public opinion surveys. There is a significant difference in the unification perceptions between North and South Koreans: The more time passes and the younger the generation, the more negatively South Koreans think about unification, while an absolute majority of North Koreans, regardless time and generation, express a desire for unification. On the North Korean nuclear issue, the perceptions by Russians and Chinese strikingly differ from those of South Koreans, Japanese and Americans. Positions of six countries clearly show a confrontational structure between the DPRK-China-Russia and the ROK-Japan-USA, resembling the Cold War structure.


Keywords
political sociology; Korean conflict; Korean unification; North Korean nuclear issue; public opinion

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Content No 7, 2022