Korean Culture & Anime as Material for International Diplomacy

(Budaya Korea & Anime Sebagai Bahan Diplomasi Internasional)

Tabitha Ardhya Cahya Alvionovita
Department of International Relations, Class of G, Soft Power, South Korean and Japan

Abstract

Anime and Korean music discourse as cultural diplomacy in the era of globalization is now
increasingly massively. Korean music and anime wants to use as a soft power form used for
diplomacy by Japan and South Korean in the era of globalization. This study uses the theory of
soft power which has sources in, the type of cultural politics contained in anime and Korean pop
wave, and cultural diplomacy. The results showed that Japan made anime as a place to
accommodate cultural forms originating from outside Japan as a way to show the nature of
openness as a characteristic of anime to an international audience.In Korean music, we can also
see that the music contained in Korean waves is very varied and is a mixture of music from all
over the world, such as hip-hop music from the United States. With the internationalization of
depoliticization, it shows that extraterritorial development is the main goal so that anime can be
integrated into other countries and be accepted by an international audience.

Keywords : Soft Power, Anime, Korean Waves, Culture Diplomacy

1
Introduction

The meaning of diplomacy is diplomacy has existed since the beginning of the human
race. The act of conducting negotiations between two person or two nations at a large scope is
essential to the upkeep of international affairs. Among the many functions of diplomacy, some
include preventing war and violence, and fortifying relations between two nations. Diplomacy is
most importantly used to complete a specific agenda. Therefore without diplomacy, much of the
world’s affairs would be abolished, international organizations would not exist, and above all the
world be at a constant state of war.
For the upkeep of the International System, diplomacy is used in every corner of the
world. Without it many nations would not be able to conduct successful negotiations. While
many are not able to find a clear beginning or creation of diplomacy, modern diplomacy has
become much more advanced and many aspect have changed over the years. The peace of
Westphalia in 1648 created the first modern diplomatic congress in addition to creating a new
world order in central Europe based on state sovereignty.
1
Cultural diplomacy is a category of Soft Diplomacy in the implementation of a country's
foreign policy. Cultural diplomacy is a manifestation of the implementation of public diplomacy.
Foreign policy, culture and values or norms are the source of the main power of Soft Power.
According to Joseph S. Nye, Soft power is the ability to be attractive. So you can cooperate with
others. There is several ways to influence shape soft diplomacy through culture.
Diplomacy culture is one of the tools for countries at this time to get international
position. Cultural diplomacy is a thing very interesting and important in the world of
International Relations. 2Cultural diplomacy is not carried out in government to government
mechanism but emphasizes the relationship government to society and most important is public
relations to public. Cultural diplomacy considered as a tool to show civilization level of a nation.
Somebody who have paid attention to something or the culture of a country certain, it will appear
curiosity in-depth about the country that has that interest. Triyono believes that cultural
diplomacy, arts and culture makes a positive contribution in creating world peace. So that culture
is seen more influential than with use military force.

Analysis
1
Siswo Pramono. 2011. Resources of Indonesian Soft Power Diplomacy. Jakarta
2
Gusti Ayu. 2016. Pentingnya Diplomasi Budaya dan Peranan Social Media dalam Diplomasi Budaya suatu Negara.

2
 South Korean pop culture is growing at an unprecedented rate. The stars of the industry
set the trends, and dictates the way people sing, dress, and eat not only in Asia but in Europe or
simply all around the world, directly influencing what gets sold, what genre of music, what food
and what will be the next big thing. Its existence tends to be accepted by the public from various
circles, resulting in a phenomenon of "Korean Wave" or also called Hallyu. This phenomenon
can be found in Indonesia and its impact is felt in everyday life, especially for the millennial
generation. The massive development of information technology due to globalization is the main
factor causing the public enthusiasm for the Korean Wave in Indonesia. The Korean Wave itself
begins and is very synonymous with the world of entertainment such as music, drama, and
variety shows that are beautifully packaged to present Korean cultures. Over time, Korean
culture is widely implemented in the daily lives of Korean culture lovers, from fashion, make up,
Korean skincare, food, speaking style, to language.

One of the Korean Wave products that millennials are very interested in is pop music.
This Korean pop music or often referred to as K-pop is one of the entertainment sub-sectors that
lifts the South Korean economy. The South Korean government itself has long given special
attention to their music industry. In the late 1990s, when most of Asia was experiencing a
financial crisis, South Korea instead formed a Ministry of Culture with a special K-pop
department. This shows the seriousness of the South Korean government in empowering the
popularity of their artists. 3Another example, the South Korean government was able to make a
bus stop, a former shooting video clip for an idol group, in a remote beach area as a popular
tourist attraction.

4
Anime is a form of soft power owned by Japan because it has become part of its culture.
According to Joseph Nye, soft power is the second face of power, where this ability does not rely
on military and economic power as a form of effort to get what you want without forcing. Seeing
the phenomena that occur in this era confirms the opinion of Joseph Nye, that soft power is able
to be more effective in persuading people than using threatening coercion. As a source of
Japanese soft power, anime is always involved in diplomacy culture to establish relations with
other countries. It can be seen from the massive development of anime in many countries, such
as in Indonesia and other countries. In the era of globalization, the source of soft power in the
3
Putri, A.W. 2019. BTS, ‘Ikon Ekonomi’ Anyar Korea Selatan.
4
Vyas, U. (2011). Soft Power in Japan-China Relations. Oxon, England: Routledge.

3
form of culture that is owned by each country is no longer available it is difficult to penetrate
into other countries, because there are no longer barriers that block people of a country to know
the development of the world about something new. Through this process, the integration of
cultures such as anime is no longer a problem which are difficult to access by people in various
countries. Anime is a typical animated film from Japan which is characterized through pictures
by being colored in the characters in it. 5Joseph Nye defines soft power diplomacy as the ability a
country to achieve its desires through attraction, including culture, values, foreign policy and the
like that are not related to the element of 'coercion'.

The presence of anime as a source of soft power owned by Japan reflects Japan's
seriousness in establishing relations with various countries. Achievement of Japan's
unprecedented rapid transformation in the traditional economy, rural, and foedal into a modern
industrial country that gave birth to the bitter seeds that are familiar from great war with success.
In the anime film Samurai Champloo seems to present Japanese culture in the in the story such
as, Japanese martial arts, traditional Japanese weapons and even the habits of Japanese society in
general traditionally. But there is something interesting in the story in this film, that the anime
Samurai Champloo also shows popular cultures from outside that is not the original culture of
Japan, such as beat box music that is produce sound from mouth movements, then rapping or
singing at a fast rhythm, and still many more forms of culture from outside as culture adopted in
the film this animation and is not realized by many people. From this, it shows that the film
anime doesn't just represent Japanese culture, but in it too also represent the culture of other
countries.

But with the adoption of such popular cultures that exist in the anime film Samurai
Champloo, indicating the type of cultural politics that applied. The existence of popular cultures
and the application of features from the West to this film makes the anime Samurai Champloo
appear to play an active role in cultural diplomacy by Japan in establishing relations with other
countries. In this film there are several episodes that adopt Western features and apply them to in
the storyline by combining Japanese culture as an Eastern feature and popular culture as a
Western feature. In some episodes showing an interesting narrative, such as by showing Japanese

5
Yasushi, W., & McConnel, D. L. (2008). Soft Power Super Powers: Cultural and National Assets of Japan and The
United States. In W. Yasushi, Anti-Americanism in Japan. New York City, NY: An East Gate Book.

4
people adopting Western culture, but there are show a sarcasm narrative that seems to satirize a
country through anime.

Japan since the late 1990s is a new combination of nationalism, hatred of what the
Japanese consider the isolationists of the United States who ignored Japan, and feared the
domination of the United States over Japan. But in the era globalization, the phenomenon that
occurs is the animated film industry such as the anime Samurai Champloo adopting American
and European culture in the story, it shows There's a change from Japan that didn't behave like
that before because of bitter memories post world war two.

According to Amy Shirong Lu in a Journal Article entitled The Many Faces of

Internationalization in Japanese Anime, there are three types of political culture that inform
about anime, among which are (1) Anime has a role to neutralize itself, reflecting a broader
national desire to enter the extraterritorial stage of development. It is dynamic in nature, which
can be considered as depoliticized internationalization or unpoliticized internationalization. (2)
Anime can be viewed for promote transcultural globalization, where other anime features work
for maintain Japanese prestige.

Indicating that the political type. 6The culture applied in this episode is self-orientalized. Self-
orientalized internationalization is an extension of orientalism techniques as developed by
Edward Said, it shows how anime can be involved in 'orienting' other Asian culture. Self
orientalism or self-Orientalism differs from traditional Orientalism in that it the sense it gives, a
stage where Japan can stand out from the Oriental side in other Asian countries and act as
foreigners and leaders in Asia. In the process, the Asian authenticity inherent in Japanese culture
is obscured or seems unclear, what what appears is a distant, yet familiar thing around Japan.

Conclusion
6
Goff, P. M. (2013). Cultural Diplomacy. Edited by A. F. Cooper, J. Heine, & R. Thakur, The Oxford Handbook of
Modern Diplomacy. Croydon, England: CPI Group.

5
 Through anime and kpop in representing the soft power of Japan and South Korea as a
form of cultural diplomacy in the era of globalization, it shows that Japan and South Korea make
anime and kpop as a place to accommodate cultural forms that come from outside Japan and
Korea as a way to show the nature of its openness as a characteristic of anime to an international
audience. From this, it is possible for Japan and Korea to use anime and kpop as a source of soft
power in order to influence an international audience. Due to the open nature of anime and K-
pop, it makes it easy for Japan and South Korea to carry out cultural diplomacy to countries with
a large population. in terms of having an interest in anime and kpop.

However, in this era of globalization through popular culture of anime and Korean music,
the application of cultural politics by Japan and South Korea by implementing depoliticization
internationalization, accidental internationalization, and self-orientalism is an attempt to reflect
broader wishes of Japan and South Korea in entering the extraterritorial development stage,
promoting transcultural globalization, and trying to show how anime and kpop can be involved
in 'orienting' other Asian cultures as Amy Shirong Lu puts it.

References

Siswo Pramono. 2011. Resources of Indonesian Soft Power Diplomacy. Jakarta

Gusti Ayu. 2016. Pentingnya Diplomasi Budaya dan Peranan Social Media dalam Diplomasi
Budaya suatu Negara.
Putri, A.W. 2019. BTS, ‘Ikon Ekonomi’ Anyar Korea Selatan.
Vyas, U. (2011). Soft Power in Japan-China Relations. Oxon, England: Routledge.
Yasushi, W., & McConnel, D. L. (2008). Soft Power Super Powers: Cultural and National Assets
of Japan and The United States. In W. Yasushi, Anti-Americanism in Japan. New York
City, NY: An East Gate Book.
Goff, P. M. (2013). Cultural Diplomacy. Edited by A. F. Cooper, J. Heine, & R. Thakur, The
Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy. Croydon, England: CPI Group.