Contemporary cultural diplomacy in South Korea: explicit and implicit approaches

Abstract

This paper argues that in the case of Korea, cultural diplomacy (CD) has been explicitly implemented in a top-down and unilateral approach by government to enhance national prestige abroad, underpinned by the institutional legacy of a ‘developmental state’ model of governance. Yet, an implicit approach has also emerged, associated with capacity building of the domestic cultural industries through promoting ‘international cultural exchange’. Whilst the top-down unilateral approach has persisted, a disarray of policy rhetoric and institutional fragmentation surrounding CD, as well as the blurring of cultural industries development policy with the CD agenda has led to gradual convergence of both explicit and implicit approaches.

Keywords:

• cultural diplomacy
• cultural policy
• implicit cultural policy
• Korean Wave

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. See ‘Hansik Segyehwa’ campaign (www.hansik.org).

2. Kim (1994) suggests Korea’s constitutional adoption of ‘culture state’ is adopted from the German notion of Kulturstaat doctrine, but appropriated as an instrumental rhetoric of cultural policy in Korea.

3. The Korean Economic Research Center noted 3 billion US dollars as the profit generated from the value-added businesses deriving from Yon-sama (the male actor in Winter Sonata), and tourism revenue alone reaching 84 million KRW resulting from popularity of locations that appeared in the drama, such as Nami-seom Island and Yongpyeong Ski resort, 3 trillion KRW in DVD sales in Japan, and running royalties for KBS reaching more than 100 million dollars (Cho 2005, KOCIS 2011).

4. While it received part of its funding for its programs from the Ministry of Culture as it sought public interests in the cultural realm, it was not under direct control of the Ministry.

5. Asia Song Festival have featured pop artists from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Phillipines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore to date (www.asiasongfestival.com).

6. A list of non-governmental organizations registered under MCST can be found at http://www.mcst.go.kr/web/s_data/corporation/corpList.jsp.

7. Cultural Partnership Initiative (www.culturefriends.or.kr).