Hallyu can boost indirect public diplomacy

TWICE from JYP Entertainment is now Korea's hottest girl group. The band has announced it will tour six cities in Japan next January. / Korea Times file

By Kim Ji-soo

Back in 1998, when Korea opened its doors to Japanese pop culture, the news made the front pages. The decision was controversial, but so was the lead-up to its announcement.

Since then, cultural exchanges between Seoul and Tokyo have ebbed and flowed, but the popularity of "hallyu," or the Korean wave, still burns in the latter, allowing the two peoples to understand each other even as political and historical tensions surface.

Before the installation of the THAAD missile defense system in Korea, the robust Korea-China cultural exchanges with regard to hallyu warmed the bilateral relationship.But the relationship has since become fragile. Figures released by the Bank of Korea in September show that Korea's trade account in terms of audio and video services posted a surplus of only $179.9 million in the first half of this year, a decline of 23.2 percent from the second half of 2016.

Leading content companies have been thus scheduling activities in other nations. SM Entertainment, the nation's top talent agency and home to TVXQ and EXO, has said Max Changmin and U-know Yun-ho of TVXQ will hold 14 concerts in the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya starting on Nov. 11.

Members of TVXQ, Max Changmin and U-know Yunho, have completed their military service and have reignited fans' delight through their activities in Korea and overseas. / Korea Times file

YG is also promoting its boy groups Winner and IKON in the Japanese market.

JYP Entertainment said TWICE, currently considered the hottest girl band, will hold a six-city tour in Japan in January 2018. The nine-girl band this year is gaining traction in Japan after topping the Oricon chart this year.

But the agencies were cautious, saying the performance inJapan was merely proceeding as scheduled.

However, from an international affairs perspective, hallyu can also be used as an indirect public diplomacy tool, although there are mixed views regarding how effective it can be.

"I believe there is an underlying affection for the Korean wave in China," said Park Enna, ambassador for public diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"And this affection helps, despite the current relationship between the two countries. This affection and interest in Korean culture is what keeps the people of the two countries from hurting each other's hearts," she said.

She noted that the Chinese continue to watch Korean dramas and remain interested in Korean stars, even as some concerts featuring Korean musicans have been postponed.

"Also, the trend (in diplomacy) is to ease tight bilateral ties through communication," she said. The Korean content creators are working hard to do what they do best, making popular content and they should be prepared for when Seoul-Beijing ties become robust again, she said..

"When actor Bae Yong-joon was at the peak of his popularity after ‘Winter Sonata,' there were attempts to use his popularity to disperse the tension over the Dokdo islets," said Lee Geun, professor of international relations at Seoul National University and the university's vice president for international affairs.

At the time, the tension was wrought by Japan's Shimane Prefecture, which claims administrative sovereignty over the islets it calls Takeshima and designated a day to commemorate the islets. South Korea has controlled the islets since the country's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

"But Bae's fans in Japan protested that officials leave their favorite actor alone," Lee said.

"Intentional efforts at the public level can sometimes cause a backlash.

"Culture exchanges can effectively help when relationships are good, and they can help prevent bilateral ties from deteriorating, like when people remain fans of hallyu. Despite the barrier, fans continue to consume Korean cultural content through various projects."

Lee, however, said that it is challenging for the so-called "soft power" to surmount the "hard power," such as the Chinese government's regulations.

Suh Soo-yon, promotions and communications divisions director for the Korean Food Foundation, knows that the civil sector can play a role in diplomacy and there should be an intersection between official and civil sector diplomacies.

"It is a global phenomenon where different cultures are widely shared," she said.

"I think it would be a stretch to bring political rhetoric into civil exchanges. What the government or the public sphere can do is assist the exchanges in the civil sector, if possible."

For example, the foundation this year highlighted 10 exceptional Korean dishes that may be served during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February. "Again there, while we have selected the menu, we can only hope that Korean restaurants will adopt them," she said.

An insider at a content creator company who requested anonymity said: "The row over the THAAD system is a political one, so it will be hard to bring that into the civil-level exchanges."