Koreaphobia

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Koreaphobia (Chinese: 恐韓症, pinyin kǒnghánzheng; Korean: 공한증) is an expectation of being beaten by Korea. Originally, and still most commonly, this concept is used to describe and explain the situation of the Chinese national football team. China has played about 30 matches against the South Korean team since 1978 but has never beaten them, despite finishing higher in a number of tournaments.

The Chinese characters can be translated as "the disease of fearing Korea." This term was originally used by the Chinese mass media and was later adopted and used by the Korean media as well. Outside of soccer, it has also been used to denote the frequent defeats suffered by Chinese go players at the hands of Koreans such as Lee Chang-ho.^[1]

As of 2006, the Korea Republic football team has recorded 15 wins and 11 draws in its 26 matches with China. The very first game between the two sides was held in the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok on December 17, 1978. The Koreans won that game 1-0 with a goal by Cha Bum Kun. The most recent match was at the East Asian tournament in Daejeon on July 31, 2005. On that occasion, the Chinese coach had promised to put an end to Koreaphobia. ^[2] However, Kim Jin Kyu scored for Korea to bring the match to a 1-1 draw. In the Olympic Games, the South Korean team has amassed 7 wins and 1 draw against the Chinese side.

While this term may be seen as an effort to diminish the achievements of the Korean side, the Chinese media has historically taken a positive attitude acknowledging the Korean team's preeminence among East Asian sides. ^[3] In Korea, this term is often used as a general term for national victory, as when Korean baseball fans express a desire to create "Koreaphobia" among the Japanese.^[4]

This concept is often paired with the Korean wave (hallyu) in Korean discourse regarding their relationship with China and other Asian countries. ^[5]