Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring in the AFC Asian Qualifiers — Road to 26 between South Korea and Oman at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat, Sept. 10. Yonhap
Two out of three Singaporeans have a positive impression of Korea, with football star Son Heung-min topping the list of most popular Korean figures, surpassing even BTS, according to a recent survey.
The Korean Embassy in Singapore conducted the survey ahead of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations next year. The survey, which involved 1,000 Singaporeans, revealed that 66 percent of respondents view Korea positively.
This is the first time that such a survey has been conducted on perceptions of Korea.
Over half of the respondents (57 percent) described their view of Korea as positive, while nine percent stated it was "very positive."
Meanwhile, 30 percent were neutral regarding their perception of Korea, and only four percent expressed a negative view. The survey showed that younger generations, particularly those aged 15-29, were the most positive about Korea, with 71 percent reporting a favorable attitude.
The main driver behind this positive perception was the influence of the Korean wave. When asked to name famous figures who contributed to Korea's image, footballer Son Heung-min was the top pick, chosen by 86 respondents, followed by K-pop group BTS (65), former footballer Park Ji-sung (21), girl group BLACKPINK (20) and comedian Yoo Jae-suk (18).
Son also topped the list as the most suitable Honorary Ambassador of Korea in Singapore, with 51 votes, ahead of BTS (42), BLACKPINK (23), actor Lee Min-ho (19), Yoo Jae-suk (19) and IU (17).
Interest in the Korean language was also high, with six out of 10 respondents expressing an interest. More than half of these individuals indicated that they had learned or were learning Korean to better enjoy K-dramas and K-pop, showcasing the strong influence of Korean cultural content as both a motivator and tool for language learning.
On the flip side, concerns such as Korea's high suicide rate, security issues and social issues were cited as negative factors.
Awareness of Korea's economic situation was relatively low. While traditional symbols like kimchi, hanbok, and bibimbap were well-recognized, less familiar aspects like soju, taekwondo and pansori remained relatively unknown.
The survey was carried out from July 15 to 26 by Media Research Consultants, a subsidiary of Mediacorp, Singapore's national broadcaster.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.