Mutual Perceptions and China-South Korea Relations: A Comparative Study of the Academic Literature

How do China and South Korea see their relationship after 30 years of normalization, and why have views shifted since 2017? Research on perceptions and their foreign policy implications usually draws from official discourse and public opinion. This review essay assesses the nature and drivers of China-South Korea mutual perceptions by comparing their academic literature on bilateral relations. Scholarly accounts may offer longer-term interpretations of specialized interests, and a fuller picture of how and why views vary. On both sides of the China-South Korea academic debate, the quantitative volume of studies and qualitative appraisal of relations declined in the 2017–2021 Xi Jinping-Moon Jae-in period. Levels of optimism/pessimism vary by issue-area. Views of third-party constraints on security relations, and domestic political influences on societal relations, drive mutual pessimism. Koreans are more pessimistic about the economic partnership and reassess historical relations more unfavourably, which trace back to views of relative dependence and hierarchy. Three implications emerge for post-2022 relations in light of leadership transition in Beijing and Seoul. Enduring security priorities require minimum strategic interdependence and stronger trust-building mechanisms. Positive functional spillovers from economic and local/nonstate cooperation remain in question. And lasting cultural costs of political disputes compel joint efforts to enhance mutual understanding. Overall, shifts in structural and ideational factors that historically drove normalization are driving the current discord, and prompting both sides to lower future expectations of each other.

视角

相互认知与中韩关系：学术文献的比较研究

关键词：中国、韩国、认知、外交政策、习近平、文在寅

中韩关系正常化三十年后，他们是如何看待双方关系的？为什么他们的观点自2017年起发生了转变？对关系认知及其外交政策影响的研究通常取材于官方话语和公众舆论。本文则通过比较中韩关于双边关系的学术文献评估了他们相互认知的性质和驱动因素。学术分析可能会提供对专业性主题的更长期的解释，以及更全面了解观念如何不同以及为何转变。中韩各方的学术讨论中，对双边关系的定量研究的体量以及定性分析在2017-2021年习近平-文在寅时期都有所下降。 不同问题领域的乐观/悲观程度各不相同。有关第三方对安全关系的约束和国内政治对社会性关系的影响的观点驱动相互的悲观看法。韩国人对于经济伙伴关系的看法更为悲观，并且对历史关系的重新评估也更为不利，追溯到了对相对依赖和等级关系的看法。鉴于北京和首尔的领导层更迭，2022后中韩关系出现了三种可能的影响。持久性的安全优先考量要求战略性相互依赖最小化以及更强有力的信任建设机制。能否从经济上以及地方/非国家层面的合作产生的积极的功能性的溢出效应仍存在疑问。政治争端带来的持久的文化代价驱使共同努力以促进相互理解。总而言之，结构性和理念因素的转变在历史上曾经驱动邦交正常化，而现在则驱动着双方的不协调关系，并且促使双方都降低对彼此未来的期望。

Translated by Li Guo