3/22/2017 KCultureDiplomacy:FromSoPaulotoTehran|TheDiplomat

AUA College of
Medicine

Park Geun-hye attends a taekwando demonstration in

Tehran.
Image Credit: Flickr/ KOREA.NET

K-Culture Diplomacy: From So Paulo to Tehran

Seoul rides the Korean Wave to promote its soft power far beyond East Asia.

By Anas Faure
May 10, 2016

Withinthelastdecade,SouthKoreahasfocuseditseffortsonbuildingnewpartnershipsandexpandingbilateralcooperation
acrosssectorsandregions.Tothisaim,publicdiplomacyhasbeenembracedasakeytoolforboostingKoreasnationalimage
asarelevantinternationalactor.Whilepoliticallythishastakentheformofanoutspokenselfbrandingasamiddlepower,ata
moregenerallevel,Koreaisevermorefocusedonwinningtheheartsandmindsofcitizensacrossregionsthroughtheactive
showcasingofitsculturalproducts,withhallyuasthecrucialpieceofthepuzzle.

Althoughhardlymeasurablethroughimmediatediplomaticachievements,thisemergingpatternofKculturediplomacy
respondstotheintertwinedgoalsofnationalbrandingandnurturingfriendlyperceptionsofKorea.Athird,moretangible,goal
ratherfollowsaneconomicrationale:boostingexportsthroughthesoftmarketingofKoreangoods.Overall,theutilizationof
culturaldiplomacythuspointsatalongtermvisionofbuildingaformofinternationalsocialcapitalthatwillideallyhelpto
sustainSouthKoreasdiplomaticandeconomicnetworksintheyearstocome.

WhiletheoriginsoftheKoreanWavecanbetracedbackto1997,itssteadyandunexpectedglobalizationbeyondNorthand
SoutheastAsiapromptedaswiftresponsefromtheKoreangovernment,whichseizedthechancetosurfonthetideofhallyuby
supportingculturalindustriesasearlyas2002.TheclosecollaborationofinstitutionssuchastheMinistriesofCulture,Sports,
andTourismandForeignAffairswithsomeofthelargestentertainmentcompanieseventuallyresultedinthedoublingof
exportsforvideogames,TVshows,andmusicbetween1999and2012.Forthatyearalone,theestimatedvalueofexportsin
culturalindustriesstoodatabout$4.2billion.

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ThepopularityofhallyuartistshasalsocreatedanincreaseddemandforKoreangoodsrangingfromfoodtocosmetics,bothas
exportsandasasignificantshareoftouristspurchasesinKorea.Thisphenomenon,observedmostlyinChinaandSoutheast
Asia,hasdrivenaconsistentgrowthinsalesforleadingcosmeticcompaniessuchasAmorePacific,whichrecentlyunveiled
planstoexpandbusinesstotheMiddleEastandLatinAmericaby2017,tworegionswhereKcultureisincreasinglypopular.In
contrast,forcountrieswithlimitedaccesstoKoreanculturalcontents,suchasMyanmar,theKoreangovernmentisarguably
seekingtorecreatethissoftmarketingstrategybysponsoringthediffusionofKdramasthroughtheKoreaFoundationfor
InternationalCultureExchange(KOFICE).

Since2002,theKoreangovernmenthasthusadoptedavarietyofstrategieswithKpopandKdramasatthecoreofitscultural
diplomacyandnationbrandingefforts.SomeoftheseincludedthecreationoftheCouncilonNationBrandingin2009,the

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adoptionofcatchysloganssuchasDynamicKorea,andtheappointmentofhallyustarsastourismambassadors.

However,amorerecentandmostinterestinginnovationinthesestrategieshasbeentheconsistentinclusionofKcultureasan
integralelementofPresidentParkGeunhyessummitdiplomacy.Forthelasttwoyears,Parksstatevisitshavealmost
invariablyinvolvedherparticipationinlargescaleculturaleventsfeaturingbothKoreanpopularandtraditionalculture.Inthis
way,thisapproachhasshownanabilitytocatertolocalinterests,fanbases,andculturalbackgrounds.

Forinstance,inApril2015SoPaulohostedtheFashionandPassionfestivalduringParksvisittoBrazil,echoingthecitys
renownedfashionweek.InAprilthisyear,theKSoulFestivalinMexicoCityshowedabalancedcombinationofpopular,
traditionalculture,andsportswithtaekwondobeingparticularlypopularinthatcountry.There,Parkexpressedherdesirefor
KoreaandMexicotobecomeonethroughsportsandthearts.Similarly,duringthefirsteverKoreanstatevisittoIranonMay
13,theKoreaIranOneHeartFestivalwasatthecenteroftheKCultureWeekinTehran.Featuringmostlytraditionalculture,
cuisine,andpoetry,theeventsalsoincludedthepromotionofKoreanhistoricaldramas,whichhavebeenincrediblypopularin
Iran.

Attheoutsetofeachoftheseevents,Parkhasstronglyemphasizedtheimportanceofculturalexchangesforpromoting
understandingbetweenKoreaanditspartnercountries.Inotherwords,Kculturediplomacycanbeseenasanefforttobridge
geographicandlinguisticbarriersbycraftingculturalproximityand,insodoing,strengtheningthefoundationsofKoreas
diplomaticpartnershipsinthelongrun.

And,whileculturalinteractionbetween(presentday)KoreaandIrancanbelooselytracedbacktoabout1,500yearsago,thisis
certainlynotthecasewithLatinAmerica.Foraregionwhereeven20yearsagoKoreawasrelativelyunknown,thegrowing
popularityoftheKoreanWaveisamostsurprisingphenomenon.InPeru,theratesofviewershipforKdramasnowstandat
aroundsixpercent,muchhigherthanthetwopercentfornationallyproducedsoapoperas.There,justasinmostotherLatin
Americancountries,Koreandramasarenowairedthroughnationalbroadcastingchannels,whichbothreflectsandpromotes
theirwidespreadpopularity.AsforKpop,amyriadoffanclubshavebeenformedintheregionandsomeofthemevenmetwith
theSouthKoreanpresidentataspecialeventduringherstatevisittoPerulastyear.

Althoughunexpectedatfirst,thisphenomenonhaspromptedanactiveresponsefromtheKoreangovernment,withmostofits
embassiesinLatinAmericanoworganizingannualKpopcontests,frequentlysponsoredbythelocalbranchesof
conglomerates.InArgentina,theKoreanCulturalCenterandSamsungElectronicspartneredtohostthefirstLatinAmericanK
PopContestin2010,drawingparticipantsfrom10countriesandforwhichMissArgentina2010actedastheKPop
Ambassador.

Butbeyondmusicanddramas,theKoreanWavehasalsosparkedageneralinterestforKoreancultureamongstyoungLatin
Americans.IndicativeofthisistheopeningoftwonewKoreanCulturalCentersinMexico(2012)andSaoPaulo(2013),in
additiontotheoneoperatinginBuenosAiressince2006.Intermsoflanguage,itisalsoillustrativethattherearenow11
KoreanlanguageschoolsoperatedbytheKingSejongInstituteinsevenCentralandSouthAmericancountries.

Allinall,althoughthesetrendsareclearlygenerationalandcouldwellbelabeledasubculture,theydoreflectageneral
increaseinculturalawarenessaboutKoreaintheregionwithinthelastdecade.Inthissense,whiletheKoreanWavehasserved
somewhatasagatewayforacquaintingLatinAmericanswithKoreanculture,itspotentialimpactforKoreaLatinAmerica
relationsgoeswellbeyondhallyuitself.

Ontheonehand,thismaycontributetoincreasedemandforKoreanproducts,whichwillcomeinhandyasKoreapushes
forwardwithseveralnewfreetradeagreementsintheregion.Ontheother,ithintsatthesuccessofanapproachthatcombines
opportunityandstrategyfortransformingcultureintoabridging,ratherthandifferentiating,factor.Winningtheheartsand
mindsofcitizensabroadmaythusbecomeanassetforKoreaslongtermrelationswithcountriesthataregeographicallyand
linguisticallydistant,beitinLatinAmericaortheMiddleEast.

Yet,asfrequentlypointedoutbycritics,itremainsunclearexactlywhatkindofnationalbrandisKoreatryingtodisplaythrough
hallyuthisis,besidesitsnationalbrands.And,whilesoftpowermaywellyieldsociopoliticalbenefitsinthelongrun,asof
now,theseareatbestuncertain.Butinthefaceoffallingexports,theshorttermeconomicimpactofKculturediplomacyis
definitelyclear.

AnasFaureholdsaMasterinKoreanStudiesfromtheAcademyofKoreanStudiesandaMasterinDevelopmentPolicy
fromtheKDISchoolofPublicPolicyandManagement,bothinKorea.HermainresearchinterestsincludeKoreaLatin
AmericarelationsandKoreasroleininternationaldevelopmentcooperation.

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