한국의 대 중국 공공외교와 세종학당의 역할 연구

Abstract

In the 21st Century, the importance of public diplomacy has emerged around the world. Public diplomacy is the implementation of a nation's diplomatic policy toward people of foreign nations, expanded from the traditional nation-to-nation diplomacy. Captivating people of foreign nations by utilizing appealing assets, public diplomacy shapes positive opinions toward a nation in the international society. In addition, a friendly image forms on the basis of consensus and trust, influencing the nation‘s impression, along with the promotion of national interests. South Korea has been carrying out public diplomacy by disseminating its language overseas, as a part of its soft power tool. It established King Sejong Institute as a representative educational institute of Korean language and tries to integrate and operate it. Many developed countries and China have already established their own institutes to disseminate their languages and culture, and utilized them as unified representative educational institutes to enhance national brands. This paper will identify the role, performance and limits of King Sejong Institute as a tool of public diplomacy in South Korea and suggest alternatives and future tasks. Many studies have compared the operation, current status and textbooks of King Sejong Institute and Confucius Institute, but there is a lack of research on their roles as tools of public diplomacy. The results of this study are as follows: South Korea's public diplomacy toward China mainly focuses on policy public diplomacy, knowledge public diplomacy, and cultural public diplomacy. King Sejong Institute is considered to be successfully performing as a tool of South Korea's public diplomacy. First, as a cultural function, King Sejong Institute brought the following outcome: increase in the demand for learning Korean language, improvement in the dissemination and comprehension of the Korean culture, enhancement of the network construction of Korean language education, establishment of stability through bilateral cultural exchange, and strengthened humanistic ties between South Korea and China. Second, the economical impact of King Sejong Institute can be summarized as follows: enhancement of the value of cultural industry, promotion of exchanges such as international politics and trade markets, and contribution to job creation. In order to enhance its role in South Korea's public diplomacy toward China, King Sejong Institute is facing the following tasks: first, proliferation of brand and influence as the institute disseminating Korean language overseas, second, clarifying the role of the policy maker, and third, maintaining the continuity of Korean cultural events.