North Korea threat still overshadows K-culture: Survey

Despite the rapid rise of South Korea s cultural and artistic presence on the global stage driven by the growth of K pop, films, and dramas a re...

Despite the rapid rise of South Korea's cultural and artistic presence on the global stage -- driven by the growth of K-pop, films, and dramas -- a recent survey reveals that the dominant image foreigners associate with Korea is still the threat from North Korea.

The survey, released on Wednesday by the Corea Image Communication Institute, found that 83.9 percent of foreign respondents identified North Korea's security threat as their foremost association with Korea. This starkly contrasts with the 84.7 percent of Korean respondents, who primarily viewed Korea as a cultural powerhouse. Only 30.1 percent of foreigners considered Korea as a cultural leader.

When asked about their preferences for Korean-related products, 65.4 percent of Koreans chose K-beauty cosmetics as their top choice, while 78.7 percent of foreigners favored Korean food.

Regarding the most popular K-culture sectors on online streaming platforms, 88.3 percent of Koreans selected dramas and movies, whereas 89.1 percent of foreign respondents chose K-pop.

As for areas of improvement to expand K-culture's global influence, 83.4 percent of Koreans emphasized the need to nurturing creative talent, while 91.9 percent of foreigners highlighted the importance of localization and overcoming language barriers.