Seoul: More than eight in 10 foreigners hold a favorable view of South Korea, the highest level since the annual survey began seven years ago, a government report showed Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the 2025 survey on South Korea's national image conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed that 82.3 percent of respondents viewed South Korea positively, marking an increase of 3.3 percentage points from the previous year. This figure is the highest since the survey's inception in 2018.

The survey highlighted that the United Arab Emirates recorded the most positive sentiment at 94.8 percent, followed by Egypt at 94 percent, the Philippines at 91.4 percent, Turkey at 90.2 percent, India at 89 percent, and South Africa at 88.8 percent. Noteworthy improvements were seen in Britain and Thailand, with perceptions rising by 9.2 and 9.4 percentage points to 87.4 percent and 86.2 percent, respectively. Britain was the only European country to display above-average favorability toward Korea.

In countries where views were traditionally lukewarm, such as China and Japan, positive opinions increased. China's score rose by 3.6 percentage points to 62.8 percent, while Japan's rose 5.4 points to 42.2 percent, more than doubling its 2018 level of 20 percent.

Cultural content, including K-pop, dramas, and films, was cited as the primary factor influencing positive perceptions, as mentioned by 45.2 percent of respondents. This impact was especially strong in Asian countries such as the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Additionally, modern lifestyle, products and brands, and the economy contributed to Korea's appeal.

The survey also found that video platforms were the most common source of exposure to Korea at 64.4 percent, followed by social networks at 56.6 percent, websites at 46.7 percent, and broadcast media at 32.8 percent. In-depth interviews with international students and foreign correspondents in South Korea underscored a positive assessment of the country's democratic system, particularly its recovery process following the former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law incident.

Conducted on 13,000 people aged 16 and older in 26 countries, including South Korea, from Oct. 1-31 last year, the survey excluded Korean respondents to measure the country's favorability among foreigners.