Sang-Yong Nam Memorial Lecture

New Thinking on Korea's Public Diplomacy: Toward Public Diplomacy V. 3.0

New Thinking on Korea's Public Diplomacy: Toward Public Diplomacy V. 3.0

Recently, public diplomacy has become the buzzword of Korea’s diplomatic community. Why is Korea suddenly making such concerted efforts to advance its public diplomacy? Does Korea possess the soft power assets to assure the success of its public diplomacy goals? What might be the desired direction for Korea’s public diplomacy efforts? This lecture offers answers for the questions about a new, though not unheard of, diplomatic strategy in Korea.

Korea’s public diplomacy is now in a transition phase, evolving beyond unilateral public relations activities. Although cultural assets, such as the so-called Korean Wave (Hallyu), serves as a valuable platform to promote awareness of Korea, the effectiveness of the Korean Wave becomes questionable as the goal of Korea’s public diplomacy goes beyond simply introducing itself to foreign publics. In order to exert international influence and garner support for its foreign policy initiatives, it is imperative for Korea to strengthen its commitment to addressing global problems through upgraded public diplomacy activities.

Since May 2013, Dr. Hyun-seok Yu has served as the president of the Korea Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, he was a professor of international relations at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of Kyung Hee University in Korea. Dr. Yu has also served as professor at the Department of International Relations, Chung-Ang University, and visiting scholar in the College of Law, Keio University (Japan) and the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). He has served in several governmental advisory organizations, including the Evaluation Committee of the Prime Minister’s Office, Evaluation Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Unification. He graduated from Yonsei University (BA in Political Science) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (MA in Political Science). In 1995, he received his PhD degree from Northwestern University.

The center annually hosts a  Sang-Yong Nam Memorial Lecture that celebrates the contributions made by Elder Nam to the center and at which time, the Sang-Yong Nam Award is presented. For more information about the memorial lecture, including past speakers and event information, please check out our archive.