For Korean viewers, the historical TV series “Joseon Exorcist” seems to have all the elements of a big production drama.
The series, which shows historical figures from the 15th century Joseon dynasty fighting evil spirits, is in line with the zombie craze that has taken over the Korean entertainment industry.
However, the series did not receive the first approval of Koreans when it premiered last month. Many viewers were upset by images of Korean actors drinking Chinese wine and eating Chinese food such as dumplings, mooncakes and skinny eggs.
Anger over the show’s Chinese elements, combined with inaccurate historical depictions, soon prompted a boycott by advertisers. The $28 million series was canceled after just two episodes. The TV channel that aired the series also apologized to angry Korean viewers.
The incident reflects the strong resistance of many Koreans to what they feel are undue Chinese influences on Korean entertainment subjects and the distortion of history to show a few endearing aspects of Korean culture.
Chinese media claims in recent months that Korean kimchi originated in China have also inspired anger among South Korean nationals.
More people have expressed concern about China’s growing economic and military power and its more assertive posture toward its immediate neighbors. Analysts say it is an attempt by Beijing to reassert its dominant position in the region.
But China’s “war wolf” diplomacy strategy is alienating the South Korean public at an alarming rate. Two recent polls show that South Koreans now view China almost as much as they did Japan, their former colonial ruler.
The SAD Turning Point
This has not always been the case in the past. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of South Koreans holding a negative view of China was only 37 percent in 2015. But by 2020, that percentage had more than doubled, rising to 75 percent.
South Korea’s relationship with China began to deteriorate after South Korea deployed the U.S. Saad (THAAD) missile defense system in 2017 to counter the North Korean threat. Beijing opposed South Korea’s deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system because the system’s radar observation range reaches deep into Chinese territory.
China then launched an economic retaliation. Chinese tourism groups suspended travel to South Korea. South Korea’s Lotte Group, which provided the site for the SAD system, closed its stores in China after failing to obtain regulatory approval.
The planned China tour of popular South Korean pop musicians in China was also cancelled, and they have not been able to perform concerts in mainland China since.
The dispute is estimated to have cost South Korea billions of dollars. Many analysts say the fiasco also marked a turning point in South Korea’s view of China.
Kim Jiyoon, a Seoul-based political scientist and commentator on public opinion analysis, said, “It all changed together after the arrival of the SAD system.”
The Battle of Kimchi
However, tensions between South Korea and China have only recently become more emotional, especially after kimchi joined the cultural battlefield.
The dispute began after the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a global industry governing body based in Switzerland, published new standards for the preparation of Chinese kimchi.
The Global Times, an official Chinese nationalist newspaper that often speaks provocatively, boasted that the new standards proved that China had set the industry benchmark for kimchi, which also includes Korean kimchi.
Many experts say that Chinese kimchi and Korean kimchi are not the same dish. But the claim that China has created the definitive version of kimchi has angered many Koreans. For Koreans, their kimchi is the national dish that must be eaten at every meal.
Creating enemies
Peter Charles of Australia’s Roy Institute for International Policy says the kimchi incident shows that China’s “war wolves” have bitten their own feet.
Charles wrote: “Beijing’s choice of a topic of no diplomatic value and totally unnecessary to find a fight can only further damage its reputation among the Korean public and make life even harder for South Korean officials who would otherwise be willing to cooperate with China.”
Kim Joon-hyung, president of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy, which trains South Korean diplomats, told the Voice of America that he was baffled by Beijing’s move.
“You can’t be a global leader when you do things like this,” he said. “Distorting history, they think kimchi is their food, and so on.”
Kim also said, “Believe me, I have a lot of Chinese friends. I would actually advise them not to do that. You have a long history of being able to have your own soft power. Why are you guys so careful?”
But for many countries, diplomacy is not always about making friends.
Dali Yang, a professor and China affairs expert at the University of Chicago, said, “Sometimes it’s important to make people afraid of you.”
Many analysts say China’s more aggressive behavior is an attempt to regain its historical status after a “century of shame” of oppression by Western and Japanese powers.
Yang Dali said, “President Xi Jinping has clearly played a huge role in that willingness to fight.” A new, powerful China, he said, wants to signal to rivals and enemies alike that it will not hesitate to take losses to achieve its goals.
Seoul caught in the middle
But is South Korea a friend or foe of China? The question is complicated because the two countries fought each other during the Korean War in the 1950s.
Beijing and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992. Although China continues to be allied with North Korea and South Korea continues to be a treaty ally of the United States, relations between China and South Korea have since been largely stable.
China is now the world’s second largest economy. South Korea is currently in an awkward position: both with nearly 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there and economically dependent on China.
If given a choice, many South Koreans clearly prefer the United States, said Kim Ji-yin. The public opinion researcher mentioned that the history of the U.S.-South Korea alliance is as long as South Korea’s history.
“We don’t really have any emotional or psychological connection with China, but we do with the United States,” she said. “Sometimes there are bumps in the road and it can be tricky, but the alliance has remained in place for 70 years. We’ve always been together, and we know who our enemies are and what our goals are. We have shared democratic values.”
But South Korean public opinion is increasingly divided from the South Korean government, which is careful to avoid offending Beijing, Kim said.
In particular, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been reluctant to engage in U.S. efforts to confront China, including the region’s four-party security dialogue.
An Uncertain Future
China still sometimes expresses opposition to the SAD missile system, but there are signs that diplomatic relations between the two countries could see an improvement ahead of a possible visit to South Korea by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Some reports even say that China may soon lift its unofficial ban on South Korean movies and TV shows. Such a move would likely be welcomed by the Korean-loving Chinese public.
But the recent dispute may indicate that it may take longer for many Korean viewers to accept that Chinese content dominates South Korean TV screens.
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