The Korean Language: Strengthening ties and Sustaining Korea's Soft Power

Today, Korea ranks 4th in Asia’s largest economy. From K-Pop to K-Drama, K-Beauty, and Kimchii has led to Korea becoming Asia’s 4th largest economy. It has cemented its credentials as a cultural superpower, by developing its digital technology and freedom in making creative content. 

A compilation of K-dramas. Source: Eagle News 

Korean language is a subset of Mandarin, but is simple yet modern, and easier than Chinese or any other East Asian language. The Duolingo Language Report 2023, which is a yearly report on learning languages in the world, states that Korean is the second fastest-growing language globally, and is also the seventh most studied language in the world. The report asserts that the growing popularity of the language is a result of Korean culture’s influence, particularly K-pop. In India, the enrolments in Korean classes have gone up by 75% year-by-year. So much has been the influence of the Korean language on the world that in 2021, the Oxford English Dictionary added 20 new Korean words to its list, stating that, “We all are riding the crest of the Korean wave”. Korea, whose GDP’s largest share is its export sector (be it music, cuisine or media), can leverage the growing power of its language to further strengthen its cultural hegemony in the world, making it the next export that goes global. 

Conversely, it has been observed that the current primary reason for the language’s popularity is Hallyu, a term used for Korean fever. For example, in a 2023 survey conducted in Jawaharlal Nehru University India, it was observed that most of the students chose the Korean language primarily because of their interests in K-pop and K-drama. Even so, the Hallyu fever might die out in the future, leaving Korean cultural domination a bit fragile. By way of example, in Pham and Cao’s article on ‘The Influence of Korean Wave on Korean Language Learning in Vietnam’, they observed that Vietnamese students who planned to study the Korean language due to Hallyu fever immediately left their studies when they lost interest. 

Hence, to make it the next big thing, the focus should be on identifying other key motivation factors that shall act as more decisive. For instance, India has recently benefited by the Korean MNC’s investments in the country, which has led to a rise in demand for skilled workforce proficient in the Korean language. Thus, a rise in future career prospects and income benefits can be the motivation to choose the Korean language in the universities. The “Study Korea 300K Project” formulated by the Ministry of Education, Korea in August 2023 aims to curb the regional disparity by boosting the Korean language’s presence in the world. It would allow an increased international cooperation on Korean-led initiatives, and help Korean-speaking officials and diplomats to better place their policies on the table. 

The soft power of culture can assist middle-power countries like Korea to bridge the gaps in hard power. Nonetheless, the country needs to constantly revise and upgrade its power techniques to remain at the forefront.