Mutual Perceptions in South Korea-China Relations: The Need for Creative Arguing

We attribute the negative perceptions between South Korea and China to the absence of real argumentative interaction. Argumentative interaction is a social process that seeks mutual understanding through persuasive and noncoercive action. The argumentative process helps state actors to minimize their negative perceptions and to reach mutual understanding—an evolutionary process that leads to perceptional change. In the case of South Korea and China, two conditions are known to instigate arguing: uncertainty and conscious efforts by both actors. The governments and elites of both states should take significant roles in seeking policy alternatives and in building a healthy cyberspace.