A Politics of culture: identifying the place of Hallyu in South Korean Diplomacy

Abstract

Hallyu wave - the rapid growth of Korean Popular culture such as their Music, Movies, Fashion and Cuisines among others, not only locally but also internationally (Kwon & Kim, 2013) – caught the whole world by surprise. Its sudden growth not only in the Asian region but also in the West, was perceived by political researchers as the growth of South Korea’s soft power which can greatly affect South Korea’s standing in international diplomacy. Although, South Korea’s influence in the international arena has increased, the said country still utilizes middle power diplomacy or ‘‘good international citizenship, within the utility, and necessity, of acting cooperatively with others in solving international problems, particularly those problems which by their nature cannot be solved by any country acting alone, however big and powerful.’’ (Evans, 2011 in Mo, 2016). They decided to settle as an active facilitator, mediator and coalition builder in the international arena (John, 2014). This paper tries to determine the causal mechanisms that hinders South Korea from fully exercising its soft power as a cultural diplomatic tool and continues to rely on middle power diplomacy to ensure its standing in the international arena. The researcher will utilize Joseph Nye’s framework on “soft power” in order to understand why South Korea limits the exercise of its soft power despite having a valuable resource for it - their significant cultural influence in the Asian region.