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In just the first half of
2015 alone, popular K-pop groups like Big Bang, Super Junior and A-Pink held
their concert tour here in Singapore. This accurately depicts how the Korean
Wave has transcended national borders and has attained massive popularity outside
its own home country. Jang et al explored the relationships between the spread
of the Korean Wave and political and social changes in a global perspective,
and even offered their own recommendations in Korean Wave as Tool for Korea's New Cultural Diplomacy that was
published in Scientific Research in
2012. On the other hand, Lee analysed the Korean Wave and its implications for
cultural influence on neighbouring countries and explored how national identity
impacts framing processes related to media coverage and public response in The Korean Wave: The Seoul of Asia in
The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications in 2011. Jang et
al and Lee share the same perspective on the Korean Wave being an important
tool in enhancing Korea’s national image and improving relations with other
countries such as China and Japan. However, they have conflicting views on the recommendations
on using the Korean Wave as a form of cultural diplomacy.
Firstly, Jang et al and Lee agree that the Korean Wave is
a useful tool in enhancing Korea’s national image. Both pointed out that the
Korean Wave has helped to improve perceptions of Korea around the world which
led to an enhancement of Korea’s national image. However, the authors have a different
view on the appeal of the Korean Wave. Jang et al (2012) claimed that the
cultural hybridity of the Korean Wave is the main marketable factor as credited
by Korean scholars (p. 201) whereas Lee (2011) argued
that the Korean Wave is attractive due to its Korean culture alone as a result
of a process called nation branding which means “a field of theory and practice
which aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries” according
to Coltman (as cited in Lee, 2011, p. 89). Lee (2011) then continued to add
that the popularity of the Korean Wave was due to the “close cultural proximity
and affinity” shared between Korea and other Asian countries and thus “function
as an effective bridge or buffer between West and Asia” (as cited in Lee, 2011,
p. 86). This means that other Asian countries find the Korean culture appealing
because it is relatable and similar to their own cultures. That said, I agree
with Jang et al’s view more because from my own observations, the Korean Wave
is indeed influenced by Western culture and this cultural hybridity may be the
strongest reason for its massive international success. Hence, I agree with
Jang et al’s view on the Korean Wave being a useful tool in enhancing Korea’s
national image as it is more accurate and representative.
Secondly, Jang et al and Lee agree that the Korean Wave
has helped to improve relations with other countries particularly China and
Japan. Lee (2011) pointed out that China is Korea’s third largest trading
partner and China was ranked number one in Korea’s annual foreign trade as
according to the official ROK statistics published in 2004 as provided by Yang
(as cited in Lee, 2011, p. 88). This shows how the Korean Wave facilitates the
improvement of diplomatic relations between Korea and China. On the other hand,
while Japan has taken an interest in Korean culture, there was no mention of
diplomatic efforts between the two countries. For Jang et al (2012), they
highlighted that the close relationship between Korea and China is due to
shared interests and pasts as they both oppose the North Korean nuclear crisis
and were both invaded by Japan in the past as noted by Cai (cited in Jang et
al, 2012, p. 201). Since Korea has more things in common with China than Japan,
Korea is thus closer to China than Japan. While both Jang et al and Lee
provided consistent views about Korea being closer to China but a bit distant
from Japan, I agree with Lee’s view more because she brought up the point about
China being a niche market for Korean culture and this effectively showed that the
diplomatic efforts between Korea and China have really progressed. As such, I
find Lee’s view more convincing in showing that the Korean Wave has helped to
improve relations between Korea and China and Japan.
However, Jang et al and Lee disagree on the
recommendations on using the Korean Wave as a form of cultural diplomacy. Jang
et al (2012) gave numerous suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of
the Korean Wave as a policy tool for Korea’s cultural diplomacy. They suggested
for the Korean culture to spread naturally as advised by Lee (as cited in Jang
et al, 2012, p. 201). Also, the aim of the cultural diplomacy initiative should
be to strengthen and maintain relations with other countries by fixing any
existing misstatements and filling up the gaps of certain incomplete
information (p. 202). Moreover, corporate sponsorships, private
entrepreneurships and NGO engagements can be utilized as a “more prudent and
pluralistic approach” to facilitate the Korean Wave in a balanced way (p. 202).
Not only that, the target audience can be as vast and inter-disciplinary as
possible for example through student exchange programs (p. 202). This all means
that the state should lessen direct involvement with the dissemination of Korean
culture to the entire world and that the Korean Wave can be effectively used to
educate about Korea and that it should aim towards the broadest audience. On
the other hand, Lee (2011) stressed the need to resolve any unpleasant
reactions showed by other countries in order for the Korean Wave to continue to
flourish (p. 91). According to Kim, in
order to quell this discontentment, the companies in the Korean cultural
industry have begun to look seriously at international co-productions and be enthusiastic to pursue co-productions which
can enter into local markets easily and be more open towards foreign cultural
products (as cited in Lee, 2011, p. 91). That said, Lee (2011) merely warned
not to be complacent about the massive success of the Korean Wave and suggested
to get rid of any ill feelings towards to the Korean Wave displayed by any
countries but did not elaborate on that suggestion. Since Jang et al clearly
demonstrated a lengthy list of recommendations whereas Lee only provided a
short solution that was also not her own, I agree with Jang et al’s view for
that reason.
That said, I agree with Jang et al’s view more because I
find that their claims were overall more thoroughly discussed and supported with
plenty of information and historical evidence as compared to Lee’s. Jang et al
has deeply explored the origins of the Korean Wave and added its recent
developments to their research paper. Also, they subsequently drew an
interpretive conclusion and provided a variety of sound solutions which Lee did
not, making her view superficial as compared to Jang et al’s.
References
Jang, G., & Paik, W. (2012,
September). Korean Wave as Tool for Korea's New Cultural Diplomacy. Advances
in Applied Sociology, 2(No. 3), pp. 196-202. Retrieved July 15, 2015,
from http://file.scirp.org/Html/22229.html
Lee, S. (2011, Spring). The Korean
Wave: The Seoul of Asia. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in
Communications, 2(No. 1), pp. 85-93. Retrieved July 15, 2015, from
http://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/academics/communications/research/vol2no1/09suejin.pdf
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