K-Pop, Movies Lead the Way in Promoting Korea Around the World

K-pop and Korean movies are leading the way in boosting the country's image around the world, according to a new survey, with six out of the top 10 on the contributors' list being stars associated with the Korean Wave.

The Korean Culture and Information Service surveyed 12,500 people aged 16 or over in 24 countries last September and released its findings on Monday.

Super boy band Bangtan Boys, also known as BTS, ranked first on the list of Koreans who positively influenced the country's image among foreigners, with 15.1 percent.

President Moon Jae-in (6.2 percent) came next, followed by girl group Black Pink (6.1 percent), film director Bong Joon-ho (6.1 percent), actor Lee Min-ho (4.1 percent), football star Son Heung-min (3.6 percent), singer Psy (2.2 percent), actress Song Hye-kyo (1.3 percent), actor Song Joong-ki (1.3 percent) and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (1.3 percent).

Eight out of 10 foreigners said they have a positive opinion of Korea, up 2.4 percentage points compared to 2020. By country, Vietnam has the most favorable view with 95 percent, followed by Turkey (92.2 percent), the Philippines (92 percent) and Thailand (90.8 percent).

The survey also showed that 35 percent of Japanese people have a positive view of their neighboring country, up 7.4 percentage points on-year and higher than the 26.6 percent who have a negative view. It is the first time since 2018 that the positive views among Japanese have outnumbered the negative.