South Korea's Public Diplomacy: A Cultural Approach : The Acquirement of Soft Power

Public Diplomacy has been around for decades, in some parts of the world more than others. Despite that, research related to public diplomacy has mainly focused on approaches serving governments’ policy concerns. A large part of the research has also surrounded efficiency aspects: the level of impact culminating from public diplomacy activities. This tunnel vision has undoubtedly contributed to the limitation of theoretical and methodological development. From that standpoint, this study attempts to contribute and fill the existing theoretical and methodological gap. The study builds on the research by Yun (2005), directed by J. E. Gruing, and examines the reliability of her framework and sheds light on some potential shortcomings and eventual amendments. Suggesting the convergence of public diplomacy and public relation, the model is composed of two theoretical frameworks. Public diplomacy as the dependent variable is anchored in Grunig’s excellence theory and national culture as determinants (independent variable) is anchored in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. As did Yun, the study finds that cultural dimensions as determinants for South Korea’s public diplomacy do not possess sufficient explanatory power to understand South Korea’s public diplomacy management. A historical lens and additional contextual factors would hypothetically better explain Korea’s public diplomacy, paving the way for future studies.