Abstract:
This study examines the influential and effective spreading out of Hallyu wave in
East Asian region, as one of the main tools of soft power that has been utilized by
South Korea to spread cultural awareness and gain economic benefits for their
economy. This research also attempts to identify whether Korean wave effectively
work as a soft power tool for South Korea. The Hallyu wave essentially started to
spread throughout the East Asian region with Korean television dramas and Korean
pop music (K-pop). Along with expansion of those fields in East Asia, local industries
in the region adopt to several other cultural forms, such as animation, digital games,
Korean cuisine, and etc. These main elements of this wave have expand throughout
the world in the past few decades at a rapid speed. The main objectives of this study
are to examine how Hallyu wave has influenced South Korean’s cultural aspects to
spread in East Asia and to determine whether Hallyu is an effective soft power tool
for the growth of economy of South Korea by its spread into East Asia. This research
analyzes how each part of East Asia has seen Hallyu and how much influence it has
in this region. The final analysis of this study examines whether South Korea is
successful in spreading their culture in East Asia and if this soft power approach will
succeed in the long run. Mixed method is the methodology that has been used when
conducting this research to provide a better understanding of the research problem.
Qualitative data needed for the cultural aspect and quantitative data needed for the
economic aspect of the study are gathered from secondary sources such as books,
journal article, newspaper articles, research papers, articles in websites, and public
speeches given by political leaders. The data gather are analyzed through content
analysis methods and hypothesis testing method. This study concludes with an
explanation that there is certainly a presence of Hallyu wave in East Asian region as
well as worldwide, but only time will tell whether it will be effective in future means
of soft power.
