While numerous studies have established the strength of the relationship between human rights and democratic rule, it is not clear that domestic guarantees of human rights translate into advocating for rights improvements in another country. Promotion of human rights abroad is not only costly, it also risks harm to competing foreign policy priorities such as national security. How important is human rights in mass opinion on foreign policy in democracies? In particular, how much of a priority do people in democracies put on human rights abroad relative to national security concerns? To answer these questions, this paper analyzes South Korean public opinion of North Korea. The extensively documented and publicized nature of human rights atrocities by the North Korean regime and the high level of threat posed by Pyongyang to Seoul makes the bilateral relationship a critical case for the importance of national security and human rights in mass opinion on foreign policy. Utilizing questions that make it possible to infer the relative weight of human rights and national security concerns in the responses of the South Korean public regarding North Korea over time, this paper tests key hypotheses from theories of foreign policy opinion and human rights norms.