The ASEAN-Korea Centre in Seoul on Jan. 25 said youth from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations named Korea the country they trust most and expect as being helpful in the future. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Jihae

Youth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region have selected Korea as the country they trust the most and expect as being helpful in the future.

The ASEAN-Korea Centre on Jan. 25 released the results of its 2021 Survey on Mutual Perceptions of ASEAN and Korean Youths at the Korea Press Center in Seoul's Jung-gu District.

The study found that 93.6% of ASEAN youth in their respective countries and 96.7% of those based in Korea named Korea the country they trust the most. Multiple answers were allowed.

Second among ASEAN youth in their own countries was Japan (92%) and Australia (87.6%).

ASEAN youth based in Korea said the countries they trust most after Korea were Japan (88.2%) and Australia (91.7%), with the U.S. fourth.

On which country they considered most helpful to their home countries in the future, the top response among ASEAN youth based in their respective nations was the "ASEAN region" (92.5%), while those based in Korea said "Korea" (96.9%).

Korean youth named the U.S. (89.9%) and ASEAN (82.2%) as the countries they considered to be most helpful in the future.

The survey also showed that ASEAN youth usually access information on Korea through online platforms such as social media and the internet.

The most-accessed content was on Korean food (59.5%), travel (49.7%), and culture and arts (43.3%).

Among Korean youth, the most popular content related to ASEAN was travel (64.6%), followed by food (54.6%).

On what term comes to mind when thinking of Korea, the top response of ASEAN youth was "K-pop," followed by "K-drama," "Korean food" and Hallyu-related words such as "BTS." They added that when thinking of Korean people, the top responses were related to appearance including "pretty"  and "light skinned."

The Korea-ASEAN Centre is an intergovernmental organization that promotes cooperation between Korea and the 10 ASEAN member states: Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and Cambodia.

The survey was conducted from August to September last year on 3,300 youths -- 1,800 ASEAN nationals in nine ASEAN countries except Myanmar, 500 of them based in Korea and 1,000 Korean youth.

The ASEAN region has a combined population of 660 million and its 2020 GDP reached USD 3.1 trillion (KRW 3,527 trillion).

jihlee08@korea.kr