Soft and Smart Power: The Development of South Korean Diplomacy

President Joe Biden records a digital video with KPOP band, BTS. Photo by Adam Schultz.

Over the past few decades, South Korean culture has taken the world by storm. Starting from the memorable and trendy “Gangnam Style,” to bands like BTS and Blackpink more recently, Korean popular music (KPOP) has taken over the music industry, with Korean artists commanding a previously westernized arena. Korean products have experienced similarly fervent reception in different industries, such as beauty, food, gaming, and film—in particular, works such as Train to Busan, Squid Game, and Parasite, all of which received global acclaim. This explosion of Korean media has become known as the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, and while it is certainly indicative of South Korea’s enormous cultural impact, it is also a large part of South Korea’s political strategy: a combination of soft and hard power known as smart power. 

Coined by political scientist Joseph Nye, soft power is described as a country’s capacity to influence others without relying on hard power measures such as military force and economic sanctions. Through investments in cultural initiatives, soft power has become a useful means of maintaining status for South Korea.

Other East Asian countries have certainly tried to wield soft power in similar ways, such as China, which budgeted for soft power initiatives involving art, literature, music, and film. However, such efforts have fallen short, partially due to the country’s habits of micromanaging cultural projects and their tendency to censorship. In accordance with Nye’s definition, the magnitude of soft power depends on “a nation’s culture, political values and foreign policies.” Unlike building nuclear bombs and military weapons, bolstering soft power influence is not as straightforward. It should be emphasized, then, how soft power draws its power from a nation and its peoples as a whole, rather than just a government.

Currently, South Korean soft power alone is not influential enough to have serious sway in international arenas. Instead, it serves to supplement the areas in which hard power falls short, especially when it comes to South Korea’s geopolitical diplomacy and policy issues, which are better addressed with smart power. Nye argues for the idea of smart power, a strategy that South Korea has accomplished successfully over the past few decades. Indicative of Korea’s strategy includes their placement of key figures of the Hallyu cultural movement within international discourse. Examples of this include the speech delivered by members of BTS on the Sustainable Development Goals at the UN General Assembly in 2021, or Blackpink discussing climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference summit.

South Korea’s usage of smart power is partly responsible for its rapid economic development and industrialization following the end of the Korean War, when the country experienced socio-political re-engineering. Entertainment venues served as an important investment, allowing South Korea to distinguish itself on the international stage. Namely, South Korean entertainment media helped the country to provide an image of a “new model” of a 21st-century Asian country. Chung Min Lee, expert on Korean security, defense, intelligence, and crisis management, defines this model as “an advanced economy mixed with an ancient civilization that is at once irrevocably democratic, technologically innovative, and culturally vibrant,” which was distinctive at that time from their fellow East-Asian countries.

Now, South Korea brandishes its smart power tactfully with its international relations, often approaching diplomatic conflicts with a middle power diplomacy strategy. The peninsula has earned itself a reputation of “good international citizenship,” and “acting cooperatively with others in solving international problems.” Within international spheres, South Korea has become closely aligned with peace-promoting roles. 

Furthermore, these cultural investments have played a big part in resolving some of the tensions between South Korea and Japan. The specific relationship has long been plagued by historical grievances, beginning with Japan’s long reign of occupation and colonialism in the peninsula. Over the past decade, leaders of both countries have taken few diplomatic measures to resolve such contentions. Nonetheless, Hallyu has extended avenues for collaboration and partnership between the two countries. For example, according to the Hyundai Research Institute, industries involved with cultural export increased business between South Korea and Japan, causing a growth of revenue of four billion USD. Other promotions of Korean media, such as Japan’s broadcasting of the 2002 Korean TV drama “Winter Sonata,” indicate peaceful cultural interests between the two countries.

Even so, smart power continues to fail in some aspects. In particular, the Korean government’s attempts to apply soft power tactics to public diplomacy have faced backlash. As Korean citizens and leaders grew increasingly aware of the impact of Hallyu, policymakers made attempts to harness the cultural influence more directly. Taking a top-down approach, the Korean government attempted to interfere with Korean entertainment markets, developing into a quasi-nationalist agenda based on media control. Internationally, South Korea faced backlash for this perceived agenda, and Anti-Hallyu sentiments began to form, particularly in Japan. This highlights how centralized state control of Hallyu, or cultural movements more generally, as a mechanism for smart power can face backlash. In South Korea, it has been more effective to garner support through tangential governmental agencies, such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This ministry is responsible for the development and implementation of policies related to the promotion of culture, arts, sports, tourism and religion; currently, the ministry has  allotted a budget of  27.4 billion won, or nearly 21 million USD, for different groups as a part of the Hallyu movement for the upcoming year. 

Currently, the peninsula balances intensifying pressure from both China and the United States amid the tense U.S.-China rivalry, partially due to South Korea’s reliance on both countries. While the U.S. has traditionally been a close ally in helping South Korea achieve political gains, South Korea has become increasingly dependent on the Chinese economy for economic stability. For this reason, the South Korean government has worked towards managing both bilateral relationships—an act of harmonious diplomacy.

This strategy has not been welcomed by either allies, with China criticizing South Korea’s connections to the U.S., treating the R.O.K-U.S alliance as a historical relic leftover from the Korean War. Consequently, China has asserted that South Korea, moving forward, should work towards minimizing allyship with the United States. Meanwhile, North Korea, a key ally of China, continues to pose a security threat as its development of nuclear weapons diminishes chances of denuclearization and reunification on the peninsula. Given these ongoing disputes, it is important to recognize the limitations of South Korea’s smart power.

Today, South Korea supports the cultural movement by providing funding for Hallyu production through the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Moving forward, South Korea will continue to engage in various international realms, including international cooperation, environmental resolutions, and economic discourse. Through these interactions, Korea contributes its public goods and culture, which in turn will also be beneficial for the country’s standing in the international community. Despite its stature as a middle-sized state, South Korea’s immense socio-cultural influence will continue to immensely impact global perceptions of the peninsula, in spite of the limitations of their smart power. 

Ashley Park (CC ’27) is a staff writer at CPR and a student majoring in political science and sustainable development.