Ambivalent Allies?: A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S.

Have South Korean attitudes toward the United States deteriorated? To answer this question, RAND researchers compiled and analyzed South Korean public opinion data from the past decade. Have South Korean attitudes toward the United States deteriorated? To answer this question, RAND researchers compiled and analyzed public opinion data on those attitudes and examined selected periods in U.S.-South Korean relations to identify the sources of anti-U.S. sentiment. They found evidence of a downturn in favorable sentiment toward the U.S. but also of a more recent recovery. They recommend ways to improve South KoreansO perceptions of the U.S. and address their long-standing grievances.