Public Perceptions of Fukushima Food Products in South Korea and Its dispute Resolution: A Comparative Study on East Asia

TL;DR

This study examines how risk perception influences international disputes over Fukushima food imports, highlighting the role of knowledge, accident response evaluation, and political conflicts in shaping public opinion in South Korea.

Contribution

It compares perceptions across countries, identifies key factors affecting risk perception, and proposes a model for understanding decision-making related to Fukushima food safety.

Findings

Koreans have higher negative perception than other countries.

Perception is linked to radiation knowledge and accident response evaluation.

Political conflicts may influence perception gaps and disputes.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the excessive risk perception of Korea as one of the causes of the international dispute over the import of Fukushima food between Korea and Japan. To do this, it compares the perception of Fukushima food among Koreans and people from other countries through a survey and identifies the factors that affect the perception through a linear regression analysis. As a result, it finds that Koreans have a higher negative perception of Fukushima food than people from other countries and that this is related to the level of knowledge about radiation and the evaluation of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident response. It also presents the subjective opinion of the author that political conflicts between Korea and Japan may affect the perception gap and international disputes. This paper proposes a model of risk perception and decision-making process for Fukushima food and emphasizes the need to improve the risk perception of Koreans through public education and publicity campaigns.