South Koreans' views of the United States have sharply worsened, with the share expressing an unfavorable opinion topping half for the first time since the Pew Research Center began tracking Korean attitudes toward the U.S. more than two decades ago.
Even so, the U.S. remains widely seen as South Korea's most important ally. The negative assessments of the U.S. have not translated directly into negative views of the alliance.
According to the Pew Research Center's 2026 Global Attitudes Survey, released on the 24th, 55% of South Koreans said they held an unfavorable view of the U.S., up 16 percentage points from 39% a year earlier. Those with a favorable view fell 16 percentage points to 45%.
The share saying they viewed the U.S. "very unfavorably" nearly doubled, rising to 18% this year from 9% a year earlier.
It is the first time unfavorable views among South Koreans have exceeded half. In a previous survey in 2003, unfavorable views stood at 50%, higher than the 46% favorable, as anti-American sentiment spread following the deaths of two middle school girls, Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon, who were killed by a U.S. military armored vehicle during a training exercise.
The share viewing the U.S. as a reliable partner also fell sharply. Some 57% of South Koreans described the U.S. as a reliable partner, down 26 percentage points from the 83% who gave that answer to the same question in 2022, during the administration of Joe Biden.
Assessments of the U.S. role in the world also declined. Only 47% of South Koreans said the U.S. contributes "a great deal" or "a fair amount" to global peace and stability, down 27 percentage points from 74% in the 2023 survey.
Negative views of President Donald Trump's key policies were pronounced. Some 85% of South Koreans said they opposed Trump's tariff policy, and 63% of those said they "strongly opposed" it. Just 14% said they supported the policy.
A further 73% of South Koreans expressed dissatisfaction with Trump's handling of Iran.
Even so, views of the South Korea-U.S. alliance remained solid. Some 84% of South Koreans named the U.S. as South Korea's most important ally. That was down 5 percentage points from a year earlier but still among the highest of the countries surveyed.
In last year's survey of 24 countries, South Korea had the second-highest share, after Israel, naming the U.S. as its most important ally.
The survey was conducted as part of the Pew Research Center's 2026 Global Attitudes Survey. In South Korea, 1,045 adults were polled from March 3 to April 4.
