'Hallyu’: South Korea and the Soft Power Problem
South Korean culture has slipped softly into our mainstream media with great success. Music groups, TV shows, and movies have broken records, and even South Korean food, skincare, and fashion have seeped into trends in the U.K. and U.S. Think BTS, Blackpink, Parasite, Squid Games, the ‘glass skin’ makeup trend, etc. This increasingly popular wave of Korean culture, also known as Hallyu, has been on the rise since the 1990s and does not show any signs of stopping, thanks to the South Korean government’s support for creative industries. According to the Hyundai Research Institute, BTS is estimated to bring in more than $3.6 billion (around £2.97 billion) into the South Korean economy a year. The emergence of influence by these South Korean works, individuals, and groups has provoked questions of just how far their international influence goes, and their ability to enact more meaningful change for South Korea.
One aspect of this influence that is being explored is international relations. Recent moves on the global stage have included South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, and BTS speaking and performing for over a million people online at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2021. Using culture as a vehicle for change is often referred to as ‘soft power.’ Joseph Nye, the ‘father of soft power,’ defines it as using soft resources and the power of attraction to get another party to achieve your objective. In a panel on South Korea’s soft power hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Mark Lippert, previous U.S. ambassador to South Korea, while discussing the special U.S.-ROK [Republic of Korea] bilateral relationship, notes the role of soft power. He explains that government officials change constantly, but the “people-to-people foundation” between the two democracies is important and opens the door for “creative policymaking and … driving the relationship forward.” While the pop cultural elements of South Korean soft power have been most striking, it is also worth mentioning alongside hallyu, or even aiding it, has been the increasing economic development and democratization and rise of digital technology.
Other efforts by the South Korean government to utilise soft power has involved bringing celebrities and influencers into more traditional diplomatic events, and recorded messages of support for the Korean government before major negotiations and summits. In an article for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Jenna Gibson writes of one successful initiative; to mark the first summit between former South Korean president, Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, the South Korean government organized for singers to perform a concert (titled Spring is Coming) in Pyongyang in 2018. However, these limited direct attempts by the government have had unclear and limited results. So far, hallyu has done a successful job of branding South Korea as a cosmopolitan, modern technological democracy, but the government has had trouble mobilizing hallyu into a deeper power in international relations. Of course, finding a solution is easier said than done.
While the Korean government could find more effective ways to utilize their abundant soft power, just how far soft power can take the nation is complicated and obscure. Attraction alone is powerful, but receiving the results that South Korea seeks with just that is unlikely. Situated between large powers, China and Japan, and neighbouring North Korea could put South Korea, easily the smallest among larger powers, into a precarious situation. South Korea’s soft power is largely at a societal level, making it hard for governments to determine how to wield it to achieve their goals. With that, there is also the concern that governmental monitoring of hallyu or having the government curate appeals through pop culture could seem inauthentic—therefore reducing its popularity, effectiveness, and bargaining power.
Nonetheless, as the pop culture industry creates over $10 billion (around £8.2 billion) in exports, South Korea’s soft power is surely a force to be reckoned with. The main problem with South Korea’s soft power is that it is rarely attached to a specific foreign policy goal. The successful event that Gibson wrote of—the Spring is Coming concert—was an important event in the thawing of ROK-North Korea relations. According to South Korea’s cultural minister, Do Jong-hwan, Kim Jong Un showed interest in the show, asking about the songs and lyrics. If South Korea were to strategically utilize its soft power in more instances like this—complementing more traditional, hard power—its use would be much more powerful and effective. By combining soft power and other types of power, South Korea’s influence could expand and have a larger sway on global issues. While soft power has its limitations, it should not be overlooked by South Korea’s government. Creating a more direct link between its celebrity influence with foreign policy, will not let this underused resource go to waste.
Image courtesy of The White House via Wikimedia, ©2023. Some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
