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(provided by Ipsos)

A recent survey shows that 52% of South Koreans predict the COVID-19 pandemic will end in the near future, compared with 30% of Americans and 28% of Japanese people.

On Nov. 20, the international research firm Ipsos released findings from a survey conducted between Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, in which 22,016 people from 28 countries — including South Korea, China, Japan, the US and the UK — were asked about their views on the pandemic. The survey was commissioned by the Halifax International Security Forum.

According to the findings, the country with the highest rate of respondents predicting a swift end to the pandemic was Saudi Arabia at 79%, followed by India at 77%. Near the top were Malaysia and China, in third and fourth place at 69% and 61%, respectively.

South Korea tied with Italy for fifth place at 52%, placing it among the countries that are relatively optimistic in their predictions about the COVID-19 situation.

Ranking toward the bottom with rates of 30% and lower were the US (30%), Australia (29%), Japan (28%), and Canada (27%) — a striking finding, for the four advanced economies.

When looking at the 28 countries surveyed as a whole, 45% of respondents predicted the pandemic would end soon, a rise of 12 percentage points from a similar survey conducted last year.

Fifty-six percent of all respondents agreed when asked whether borders should remain closed and international arrivals should not be permitted until it can be shown that the virus has been suppressed.

That rate was down by 12 percentage points from last year’s survey. Malaysia had the highest rate of positive responses at 85%, followed by India at 75% and Turkey at 70%. In South Korea, 48% of respondents agreed, ranking it 20th among the 28 countries.

When respondents were asked which countries or organizations they felt had shown outstanding leadership during the pandemic, New Zealand ranked first at 73%. Canada, Germany, and Sweden received similarly high scores at 73%, 71%, and 70% respectively.

Fifty-eight percent named South Korea, putting it roughly on par with France (59%) and the UK (58%). China and the US rated relatively low at 47% and 46%, respectively.

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

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