South Koreas Soft Power in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of the Expert Survey in Europe

Abstract

Since the recent outbreak of the Covid-19, South Korea hasdemonstrated successful pandemic management that can beexemplary to other countries. This paper analyzes how SouthKoreas responses to the Covid-19 pandemic has changed theperceptions of the country in Europe. Through a survey conducted with Korea experts in 16 European countries, this paper documents the positive recognition of South Koreas pandemic management by the European public. Part of the positive appraisal can be attributed to South Koreas extensive testing, high technology, and the culture of wearing a face mask, while the opinions were more mixedregarding its comprehensive tracking and tracing strategy due to privacy concerns. Furthermore, the findings of the survey show that Europeans overall perception of South Korea has improved together with its Covid-19 management. This evidence suggests that thecountrys success in pandemic management can be an instrumentof public diplomacy to enhance its soft power, for which thegovernment of South Korea currently invests considerable efforts.