PUBLIC Belief Study
In July, the ambassador conducted its first public view poll on South Korea involving 1,000 Singaporeans.
It aimed to gather insight to come up with public diplomacy activities for both nations ’ benefit, among additional goals.
Two in three Singaporeans, or 66 %, have a positive perception of South Korea, which is primarily driven by the Korean wave or the phrase “hallyu” in the survey results. About 30 per cent expressed natural landscapes.
The best three topics that Koreans were most interested in were Asian films, dishes, and music/dance among those who are familiar with Asian culture.
The study, carried out online by Mediacorp’s Media Research Consultants, even spelt out the best Koreans who have contributed to the good understanding of the state.
Footballer Son Heung-min, who plays for English Premier League area Tottenham Hotspur, topped the list, followed by boyband BTS. Past player Park Ji-sung came next, simply ahead of lady group Blackpink.
But, respondents indicated fairly small attention of the business, athletics and other elements of South Korea.
Additionally, the majority of respondents claimed that the cultures of Singapore and South Korea were distinct in most areas, including standard music, food, and culture.
This, according to the military, suggests that there is room to foster reciprocal involvement in one another’s nations and foster markets.
Almost 8 in 10 respondents said both places maintain a strong connection. Additionally, they expressed a desire for greater participation in fields like the market, medical, and climate change.
BROADEN SCOPE OF EXCHANGES: Embassy
During Wednesday’s meeting, Ambassador Hong said that while the findings were “very positive”, there are a “couple of items to pay more attention to”.
Hallyu is a positive attribute of our diplomatic ties, and it is undoubtedly one of them. But tradition is lifestyle. Hallyu is, in my opinion, also one of the cultural changes that may strike us all of a sudden but also that you vanish as well, ” he continued.
“For more responsible and resilient diplomatic relationship, it would be better to enhance our scope of exchanges between our two people beyond the level of hallyu, which may contain areas like the economy, security, people-to-people exchanges and many other things. ”
He added that South Korea is interested in providing Malaysian secondary school students with Asian language instruction.
According to the embassy survey, 59 % of responders expressed an interest in learning Asian, with the main motivating factors being being able to communicate with Koreans and being able to understand Korean music and plays.
6 percent of those who are interested in or are already learning Korean said they would enroll their children in Korean language classes if their schools or institutions included it in their curriculum.
More information about the future social tasks will become shared in the coming days, according to Ambassador Hong.
He noted: “During the past 50 years, both Singapore and South Korea were ready to get out of poverty to develop into one of the very economic forces in our parts, both.
“ I’m confident during the process, we have been properly collaborating with each other. ”