Hallyu: South Korea’s under-utilised soft power diplomacy in Nigeria

Résumé

The literature on the soft power and diplomatic value of the Korean wave, also known as Hallyu, is not in short supply. However, Nigeria, a major destination of Korean cultural exports in Africa, is scarcely theorised in existing studies on the soft power and diplomatic value of the Hallyu wave. This study is the first scholarly attempt to unpack the soft power remit and diplomatic value ingrained in the transnational adulation and pervasive viewership of K-drama and K-pop in Nigeria. Using extant qualitative data, the authors argue that although soft power does not automatically translate into deepening trade ties because states’ interests often take precedence over idealist norms and values, Hallyu’s soft power in Nigeria could pave the way for trust-building and the removal of psychological barriers to deepening and diversifying economic relations. The widespread acceptance, pervasive viewership of K-drama and K-pop, the adoption of Korean culture by Nigerians, and the Nigerian Government’s positive recognition and reception of South Korea are important soft-power pivots that Seoul could exploit to level the playing field and advance diversified and beneficial economic relations in critical sectors of Nigeria’s budding economy beyond the petroleum sector. The authors argue that apart from the credence South Korea places on national interest in its imports from Africa, Nigeria needs to address domestic deficits that discourage South Korea from deepening and diversifying investment in Nigeria. Similarly, Seoul needs to strategically leverage the non-resistant avenue that the pervasive acceptance of its cultural exports offers to diversify and deepen bilateral engagements in critical sectors of mutual interest with Nigeria beyond the petroleum sector.

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