한국인 55%가 미국 비호감…‘효순·미선이 사건’ 때보다 더 높아

A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center has revealed that, for the first time in 23 years since the 'Eofun-Sim Yeon-seon incident' in 2003, more than half of the Korean population holds an unfavorable view of the United States. According to the report, 55% of the respondents expressed unfavorable feelings towards the US, up from 39% in the same survey last year.

The unfavorable sentiment towards the US has risen by 16 percentage points, a figure not seen since 2003. Additionally, the percentage of respondents who described their feelings as "very unfavorable" has increased from 9% last year to 18% this year, a 9 percentage point rise.

Only 45% of those surveyed expressed favorable feelings towards the US, a 16 percentage point decrease from last year. The survey, part of the Pew Research Center's 2026 Global Attitudes Survey, polled 1,045 Korean adults between March 3rd and April 4th. Since 2003, the center has consistently conducted opinion polls on the public sentiment of Korean nationals.

Following the 2003 incident where two high school girls were killed in a car accident involving US military personnel, unfavorable opinions towards the US had been steadily decreasing. However, this year's survey showed that the favorable view of the US is once again overwhelmingly predominant.

In the context of the Trump administration's second term, the survey focused on how Koreans view their relationship with the US. Only 47% of Koreans agreed that the US "makes a lot or a great deal of contribution" to global peace and stability, a 27 percentage point drop from 2023's 74%.

Similarly, the percentage of respondents who called the US a "reliable partner" has dropped by 26 percentage points, from 57% in 2022 to 57% this year. A significant 85% of respondents expressed a negative view of US trade policies, with 63% reacting with "strongly disagree". Only 14% of respondents had a positive view of the Trump administration's trade policies.

Despite these negative perceptions, the survey found that 84% of respondents still consider the US to be Korea's most important ally. This figure is slightly lower than last year's 89%.