Korean Wave to promote peace, love and understanding?
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Korean Wave to promote peace, love and understanding?
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Jeju Peace Institute workshop talks up the Korean Wave as a diplomatic tool

From Oct. 5 to 7, the 6th Jeju Peace Institute – Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Joint Workshop was held under the topic “East Asian Community Building: Cultural Diplomacy as a Policy Tool of Soft Power” at the Jeju Peace Institute (JPI), in Seogwipo City.

Out of three major sessions, the first focused on understanding the Korean Wave as a tool to promote regional cooperation and multiculturalism in East Asia. The session, presented by Central Michigan University Professor Paik Won Kwang, Gyeongsang National University Professor Heike Hermanns, and Achara Ashayagachat, a journalist for the Bangkok Post and moderated by Yoon Keum Jin, director of the Culture and Arts Department at Korea Foundation, captured the Korean Wave from three different perspectives.

According to Paik during his presentation, “The Korean Wave is generally understood in terms of the recent increase in the popularity of Korean entertainment products such as television dramas, movies and popular music (K-pop), as well to a lesser extent toward Korean fashion, food and language.” With the popularity of Korean dramas in East Asia, people from these countries are being exposed to and learning about Korea and Korean culture. Fans of K-pop music groups visit Korea to see their favorite singers, and people are trying Korean food because it was depicted in a drama or television show.

From the Korean perspective, Professor Paik presented “Korean Wave in the World: A new asset to Korea’s public diplomacy?” He argued that with globalization, the Korean Wave can be described as a Korean-hybrid wave, a combination of “traditional Korean cultures and Western cultures, particularly America’s.”

As a foreigner living in Korea, Hermanns said in her lecture, “Strength and weakness of Korean Cultural Diplomacy: An insider’s evaluation,” that's one of the weaknesses of the Korean Wave, is its inability to build much of name brand for the country and doesn’t play much of a role in direct diplomacy, due to its target audience of Japanese housewives and Vietnamese young woman.

For an outsider’s viewpoint, Ashayagachat’s “Asian perception of Korean Cultural Diplomacy: A outsider’s evaluation,” where she depicted how others view Korean Wave pop culture and its role in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Considering that the Korean Wave is not simply pop-culture, but also a tool of diplomacy, as often referred to during the three presentations, a common question that arose was, what exactly does cultural diplomacy mean in this context?

During the workshop, different definitions of cultural diplomacy were mentioned. Hermanns defined cultural diplomacy by separating culture and diplomacy. “How do you define culture is a big problem,” she told The Weekly, adding that cultural diplomacy can be understood as “everyone is [a] diplomat with their own interpretation of their own culture.” Promoting “more exchanges at all levels,” exchanges not limited to the government level, will be beneficial for strengthening Korea’s brand image and for promoting multiculturalism within Korea.

JPI President Han Tae Kyu emphasized that the purpose of this forum was not to look into the Korean Wave for national benefits, but to figure out a way to bring “prosperity and peace in East Asia” through looking at the movement. Also to recognize that its popularity in Asia is representative of the “common values,” in the region and that it might be able to play a role in the bringing together of countries with different backgrounds.

Even though the Korean Wave is playing a positive role in public diplomacy, the question remains, how long will the Korean Wave last?

<Angela Kim  angelakim@jejuweekly.comJeju Weekly All rights reserved>


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