Cultural Policy in the Korean Wave: An Analysis of Cultural Diplomacy Embedded in Presidential Speeches

Abstract

This article examines the changes and developments of the Korean government’s attitude to the Korean Wave, connecting with the notion of cultural diplomacy. It investigates presidential speeches and statements as well as other governmental documents between 1998 and 2014 because they represent and establish guidelines applying to cultural policies. By analyzing presidential statements with the notion of cultural diplomacy, it explores the government’s reinterpretation of this transnational, hybrid cultural content into national products, thereby appropriating them as tools of improving national images. Throughout the research, this article connects presidents’ viewpoints with their subsequent cultural policies, thereby finding fundamental perspectives framing cultural policies vis-à-vis the Korean Wave.