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When we turn on the TV or search the Internet, what can we see? Most people probably have already seen lots of articles about Korean Wave. Even in the Western press, we can see some articles about it. The Korean Wave has spread throughout the world, in countries such as China, Japan, France and so on. Due to the popularity of Korean Wave, lots of institutions have started to employ cultural diplomacy with Korean Wave. Even, it not only simply makes Korea popular but even vitalizes export of agricultural products. If we only see this circumstance, we can easily misapprehend that the Korean wave spreads in a desirable way with a desirable cultural diplomacy. However, we need more critical view to see through it. I believe that Korean cultural diplomacy and Korean Wave have problems and they should solve the problems.
At first, it is important to understand what diplomacy is and what do diplomats do. Usually most people do not really know the job scope of a diplomat or the meaning behind diplomacy. They only recall something abstract or stuffy to their mind. For example, when asked if they know what diplomats do, most people would say diplomats negotiate treaties, attend state dinners or be in charge of foreign affairs. How abstract and stuffy. To the general public, diplomacy seems quite distant. That's because they usually bring 'traditional diplomacy' to their mind. However, their viewpoint is an old one. As time goes by, diplomacy has changed. From traditional diplomacy, a new type of diplomacy has been realized. It uses soft power, which is the power to influence others through the exchange of ideas, information and art and other Cultural aspects. It makes opponents be attracted spontaneously by appeal, not compulsion. We need to distinguish these two types of diplomacy; traditional diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. First, traditional diplomacy is diplomacy which uses hard power. It has government as the object of diplomacy. We can define its format of communication as Closed Negotiation. On the other hand, cultural diplomacy relies on Open Communication. It is interactive and uses various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. For reference, we have to distinguish cultural diplomacy from public diplomacy. Understanding public diplomacy is important to know what cultural diplomacy is. It is still controversial to define them exactly until now, but typically it is considered that Cultural Diplomacy is part of Public Diplomacy, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Public diplomacy refers to diplomatic techniques that strengthen the leverage of Korea by enhancing image and brand power of Korean and improve Korea’s diplomatic relations within the country and with other countries by developing a bond of sympathy on our history, traditions, culture, and policy. The key point of public diplomacy is to win the hearts and minds of people. According to Public Diplomacy portal site operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are three big contributors that sheds new light on public diplomacy; the 911 terrorist attacks, where limitations of hard power was revealed; the public becoming the main agents of diplomacy, whereby the power of them was on the rise; the increased usage of social media platforms. In this essay, I shall focus on a part of public diplomacy - cultural diplomacy.
After understanding these types of diplomacy, we need to analyze the diffusion aspect of Korean wave. Korean wave is also a kind of cultural diplomacy that Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducts. According to Doopedia, Korean wave started from 1996, when Korean drama was exported to China. Two years later, Korean pop culture because popular with Asia as a center, as Korean pop song was widely known. Afterward, fever of Korean pop culture spread to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippine and so on. In comprehensive meaning, Korean wave also refers to a phenomenon of preference for Korean products such as Kimchi, Gochujang, Ramen and home appliances. Because of Korean wave, a neologism, 哈韓族(a group of fans who loves Korea), was made in China. Korean wave has both merits and demerits. It can increase foreign visitors and help industrial development. On the contrary, it also can make uniformity of contents. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism cautions that we should not think Korea is culturally advanced than any other countries.
When it comes to promoting Korean wave, majority of the people tend to assume that we, Koreans conduct cultural diplomacy in a desirable way. However, it is a grave misjudgement. I'd like to point out the issues with Korean cultural diplomacy using the example of Korean wave.
Firstly, we excessively compel foreigners to experience Korean culture. Thanks to widespread Korean culture, more and more foreigners are visiting Korea. For instance, according to Shanghai Korean News, 2014 recorded a 38% increase in the number of Chinese visitors, 43% increase in Hong Kong visitors, 24% increase in Taiwanese visitors, and 26% increase of Russian visitors, compared to 2013. In addition, many foreign stars visit Korea. However, whenever they visit Korea, they are always asked to try Kimchi or dance PSY's Horse-riding dance (Gangnam Style), and they showed their displeasure with it. Such frequent requests to do the same thing over and over again could rather leave them a bad impression of Korean culture and lead them to think that Korean culture is only about PSY’s Gangnam Style of Kimchi. We have to give them an opportunity to naturally immerse and experience our culture. When it comes to this problem, we have to consider if we have enough programs to satisfy foreigners. It seems that we only “force” them to experience our culture, and we don't have enough programs that foreigners want. It is known that the Korean drama ' A Jewel in the Palace (대장금)' has advanced into many parts of the world and become internationally famous, especially in China, even Africa. There was an Iraqi, whom after watching this drama and the drama named ‘Heojun (허준)’, he became interested in Korean medicine and decided to visit Korea. The problem was that he wanted to lodge at Gyeongbokgung Palace. Like him, many foreigners want to feel Korean culture. However, there are not enough facilities to let them stay in Korean traditional building. Of course, there are guest houses like Jeonju Han-ok Village, but the problem is that there are no such facilities in the capital area, and their services standards can't surpass those of a hotel. Thus, we need to focus on Korean culture that foreigners are interested in and to provide them with decent programs that can maintain their interest.
Secondly, Korean cultural diplomacy tends to depend on Korean wave, and Korean wave relies entirely on the entertainment world, especially on K-Pop. However, this makes a big problem. As we can see from the news, nowadays many TV stars are on the news because of their corruption. It is a deathblow to the image of Korea. If we continuously only rely on the entertainment world, we can't overcome the destructive results, and it makes it harder to maintain foreigners' interest in Korea. Therefore, it is very important to develop various field of Korean culture such as traditional food, cultural assets, fashion, and so on. The second big problem of Korean wave is that it focuses too much on 'visual fun'. Of course, it is important to consider fun to attract viewers and arouse their interest. However, Korean wave sometimes overdoes it. For instance, outfits worn by K-Pop female groups during live performances can be inappropriate wherein the skirts are too short or too much skin is showing. Excessively suggestive and seductive dance choreography or attire can make people frown. Furthermore, the 'Study on sexuality depicted in music programs for adolescents on three network television channels' points out this problem. According to this study, people do not actually try to solve the problem. To make desirable Korean culture, we have to think about whether it is right or not and try to solve the problem.
Of course, it is true that Korean cultural diplomacy does have big positive effects on brand power of Korea. Some people can even say that Korean wave is already successful since it has made its presence known all over the world. However, that's because the press media reports only its high stature. Exaggerated reports from the press overvalue the effect of Korean wave. For example, when he or she reads a news article titled "Super Junior is topping the charts of Taiwan for 60 weeks", they may argue that the popularity of Super Junior is great. However, it is not true. In fact, it is just the Taiwan's KKBOX's Korean Music Top 100 Chart, a chart 'for K-pop', that Super Junior topped.
These are the titles of exaggerated news article. Like the example that I have mentioned, exaggerated reports confuse and mislead us to think that every foreigner loves Korean culture. I acknowledged that it is natural for people to be confused because they can only get information about Korean through Korean press. However, I think that people themselves should try not just read things off the surface but to read them critically so as to not to be misled. Any developed countries in the world don’t regard their culture as a massive wave. However, Koreans tend to think that Korean culture is the center of the world. According to the Korean press, Korean wave is really famous all over the world, but it is not true. We therefore have to correctly analyze the materials related to Korean wave and critically think about how to improve Korean cultural diplomacy and use it to lead Korean wave in a right way to maintain interest.
As cultural diplomacy, a new type of diplomacy comes into the spotlight, it is important to consider deeply how we should conduct it. If we only focus on the good points of cultural diplomacy in Korea, it can't develop further. While we have to focus on them, it is also important to acknowledge the problems of it and to rectify them. One suggestion that I want to recommend is to pay some attention to alternative culture that foreigners can enjoy. I don't think we can get benefit from Korean wave forever. Utilizing various assets and resources and inventing more interesting cultural programs for foreigners are important. We need to constantly improve our diplomatic techniques to maintain foreigners’ interest toward it. That's the key point for desirable cultural diplomacy.
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