Korean Wave as Tool for Korea’s New Cultural Diplomacy

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an influx of Korean popular culture throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Korean popular culture, also known as the “Korean Wave” (Hallyu in Korean) ranges from television dramas, movies, popular music (K-pop), dance (B-boys), video game, food, fashion, tourism, and language (Hangul). The main focus of this paper is to examine the essence of the Korean Wave and its impact on the world. In particular, this paper aims to explore the relationships between the spread of the Korean Wave and political and social changes in a global perspective. That is, does the Korean Wave affect the political position and diplomatic leverage of Korea in any meaningful way? Toward this objective, this paper first examines the relevant literature of international relations for policy and culture change, especially with regards to globalization, interdependence, soft power and world value change. Then, recent developments of the Korean Wave are reviewed and critically analyzed in order to ascertain political and policy implications for Korean diplomatic and practical directives. Finally, we will draw an interpretive conclusion and recommendations toward the plausibility of the Korean Wave as a policy tool for Korea’s cultural diplomacy.

Share and Cite:

Jang, G. & Paik, W. (2012). Korean Wave as Tool for Korea’s New Cultural Diplomacy. Advances in Applied Sociology, 2, 196-202. doi: 10.4236/aasoci.2012.23026.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Baker, A. (2000). Globalization and the British “residual state”. In R. Stubbs, & G. R. D. Underhill (Eds.), Political economy and the changing global order (pp. 366-367). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.
[2] Brawley, M. (2003). The politics of globalization. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press.
[3] Cai, J. (2011). The first Taste of Korean Wave in China. URL (last checked 15 October 2011). journeyeast.tripod.com
[4] Castells, M. (2004). The network society: A cross-cultural perspective. Northampton, ME: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.
[5] Cho, C. (2010). Korean wave in malaysia and changes of the Korean- Malaysia relations. Malaysian Journal of Media Studies, 12, 1-14.
[6] Chua, B. H., & Iwabuchi, K. (Eds.) (2008). East Asian pop culture: Analysing the Korean wave. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
[7] Cultural Diplomacy Manual (2011). Ministry of foreign affairs and trade. Seoul: Korea.
[8] Feiock, R., M. J. Moon, & H. J. Park (2008). Is the world flat or spiky? Rethinking governance implications of globalization for economic development. Public Administration Review, 68, 1.19.
[9] Florida, R. (2005). The world is spiky. The Atlantic Monthly, October.
[10] Freidman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
[11] Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity. Oxford: Polity.
[12] Hobsbawm, E. (1983). Introduction: Inventing Traditions. In E. Hobsbawm, & T. Roger (Eds.), The Invention of Tradition (pp. 1-14). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[13] Huang, S. (2011). Nation-Branding and transnational consumption: Japan-mania and the Korean wave in Taiwan. Media, Culture & Society, 33, 3-18. doi:10.1177/0163443710379670
[14] Inglehart, R. (1999). Global trends: A glimpse ahead: Globalization and postmodern values. The Washington Quarterly, 23, 215-228. doi:10.1162/016366000560665
[15] Inglehart, R., & Welzel, C. (2006). Modernization, cultural change, and democracy. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.
[16] Jin, DY. (2006). Cultural politics in Korea’s contemporary films under national globalization. Media, Culture & Society, 28, 5-23. doi:10.1177/0163443706059274
[17] Keohane, R., & Nye, J. (2001). Power and interdependence (3rd ed.). New York: Longman.
[18] Kim, D., & Kim S. (2011). Hallyu from its origin to present: A historical overview. In D. Kim, & M. Kim (Eds.), Hallyu: Influence of Korean Popular culture in Asia and beyond (pp. 13-34). Seoul: Seoul National University Press.
[19] Kim, J., & Ni, S. (2011). The Nexus between Hallyu and soft power: Cultural public diplomacy in the era of sociological globalism. In D. Kim, & M. Kim (Eds.), Hallyu: Influence of Korean popular culture in Asia and beyond (pp. 132-154). Seoul: Seoul National University Press.
[20] Korea Herald (2011). Korea works to sell its “brand” worldwide. URL (last checked 21 November 2011). http://www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111117000559
[21] Lee, G. (2009). A soft power approach to the “Korean wave”. The Review of Korean Studies, 12, 123-137.
[22] Lee, J. (2011). Personal interview. Seoul: Korea. 18 September.
[23] Nye, J. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. New York: Public Affairs.
[24] Shim, D. (2006). Hybridity and the rise of Korean popular culture in Asia. Media, Culture & Society, 28, 25-44. doi:10.1177/0163443706059278
[25] Sung, S. Y. (2010). Constructing a new image. Hallyu in Taiwan. European Journal of East Asian Studies, 9, 25-45. doi:10.1163/156805810X517652
[26] The Korean Wave: A New Pop Culture Phenomenon (2011). Contemporary Korea No. 1. Korean Culture and Information Service, Seoul: Korea.
[27] Thompson, A. (2006). Coercion through IOs: The security council and the logic of information transmission. International Organization, 60, 1-34.
[28] Yi, G. (1994). Foreign visual content possesses 87% of Korean market. Joongang Ilbo, 45, 6 October.
[29] You, H. (2006). The origin and future of “Hallyu”. Korea Focus. URL (last checked 27 October 2011). http://www.koreafocus.or.kr/design1/Essays/view.asp?volume_id=48&content_id=101408&category=G

Journals Menu
Follow SCIRP
Contact us
+1 323-425-8868
customer@scirp.org
WhatsApp +86 18163351462(WhatsApp)
Click here to send a message to me 1655362766
Paper Publishing WeChat

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.