Whereas it has been said that China has emerged as the great power in Asia that might overwhelm the United States, Korea is also one of the country that has great presence with its soft power.
Korea has been prominent in its culture, electronic products and Korean food as cultural diplomacy that is called “culinary diplomacy.” Those factors significantly attract people around the world. It is also argued that individual freedom, developed economy and democracy has made Korea as one of the countries that has great soft power.
I would like to specifically add Korean pop music to those factors that has strengthened Korean soft power. For example, Gangnam Style, one of the greatest hit songs that had made waves across the world in 2012, can be raised as one of examples of Korean soft power. Beats and dance of Gangnam Style had attracted a number of people around the world since this music video was played 800 million times, which was more than Justin Bieber accomplished. This Gangnam Style was surely the door for people around the world to know about Korean culture and let Korean soft power grow up.
Culture in soft power in Korea is similar to that in China since Chinese cultural aspect has also greatly accounted for its soft power. In China, this soft power has significantly affected Chinese public Diplomacy. However, China’s public diplomacy has been attenuated because of the mistrust generated by Chinese government’s repressing the public’s freedom even though China generated the concept of “Asian century.” On the other hand, Korea has ensured individual freedom of the people and democracy whereas China has not. Therefore, the big difference between Korea and China is basic freedom the citizens of the state should possess. This is the stronger point of Korea in order to acquire attraction and good reputation from the world for effective and successful public diplomacy, compared to China.
For achieving this goal, social media is one of the key components. As I discussed above, on YouTube, Gangnam Style made a big success as a Korean pop music. Through social media, Korean culture, lifestyles and heritages can be spreading influences to the world, and Korea can get reaction from the world since social media promotes 2-way communication.
Korea has the great soft power with its culture and lifestyle, which can be effective in doing public diplomacy. Korean music, as shown by Gangnam Style, is one of the great example that proves Korean soft power is significant. To conduct successful and effective public diplomacy, individual freedom and social media are going to be key factors.
The article that I mentioned:
http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog_detail/korea_is_redefining_its_role_in_public_diplomacy/ (main article)
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/28/psychological-impact-gangnam-style/ (reference to Gangnam Style)
While I agree democracy plays a role in how a country's attempts at public diplomacy are received, I believe there are other differences between South Korea and China's approaches to public diplomacy besides their government structures that affect the overall outcome. I think this post relates to one of the readings from February 6 by Keith Dinnie. In his article "More Than Tourism: The Challenges of Nation Branding in Asia", Dinnie looks at the public diplomacy efforts of three Asian countries in particular: Japan, South Korea, and China. Dinnie differentiates between the tactics each country employs in order to conduct public diplomacy.
ReplyDeleteDinnie characterizes the South Korean approach to public diplomacy to be centered around culture. The goal of this strategy seems to be to increase global understanding of South Korean culture, while also expressing openness to the rest of the world. Ms. Okamoto cited several examples of how South Korea is achieving these goals, such as Psy's "Gangnam Style". Korean pop music, also known as K-POP, has been increasing in international popularity. Groups, such as Big Bang and Girls' Generation can even be heard worldwide.
While South Korea is more focused on exporting culture, China has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Africa in order to gain favor in the region. Over the past decade, China has spent roughly $75 billion to fund nearly 1,700 projects in 50 countries on the continent. Many international players accused China of making a move for Africa's natural resources. However, the majority of China's aid went to education, health improvement, and other infrastructure projects. China sees today's foreign aid as an investment in future diplomatic relations with African states.
China has yet to enjoy the success of a superstar the likes of South Korea's Psy. Similarly, South Korea could not dream of matching the amount of money China contributes to foreign aid, especially without the back of the world's second largest economy. However, each country has managed to find a strategy for public diplomacy that caters to each nation's respective needs.
Additional sources used:
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/interactive/2013/apr/29/china-commits-billions-aid-africa-interactive