The Bureaucratic Turn in Public Diplomacy: Mapping the Strategic Evolution of South Korean Soft Power from 2011 to 2023

Abstract

This thesis studies the bureaucratization of South Korea’s public diplomacy and soft power from 2011 to 2023 through qualitative discourse analysis of authoritative policy documents, namely, MOFA White Papers, Korea Foundation annual reports and Master Plans. Referring to discursive institutionalism (Schmidt, 2008) and rhetorical public diplomacy (Mor, 2007), the research investigates how institutional narratives formalize Hallyu as a diplomatic asset amid the Public Diplomacy Act in 2016 and presidential shifts. Major findings reveal strategic evolution from ad hoc cultural promotion to “Global Pivotal State” governance, with language changing from facilitative (“support Hallyu”) to managerial (“coordinate”, “evaluate”), regional diversification starting from the US, Japan stretching to ASEAN, Africa, Europe, and COVID-19 digital pivot. Korea Foundation data, gathered as quantitative trends, present program growth (i.e., Korean Studies courses) despite pandemic downturn. Compared to China’s Confucius Institutes and Japan’s Cool Japan, South Korea’s model distinctively counterparts cultural appeal with bureaucratic measurement. Repercussions underline middle power anxieties between authenticity and state control, delivering insights for soft power institutionalization in East Asia.