Korean cultural diplomacy in Laos: Soft power, propaganda, and exploitation

Hallyu ('Korean Wave') exports in Southeast Asia are often constructed as a benevolent cultural phenomenon that is part of a mutually beneficial arrangement, one designed to bring increased development and opportunity to the consumer. Such conclusions ignore the nature of Hallyu as propaganda for Korean political and economic interests. They also gloss over the complicated cultural differences that scholars understand have problematised Hallyu's success in Southeast Asia. This chapter addresses the complicated position of Hallyu in Southeast Asia, a region of significant strategic importance given its raw materials, geographical position, growing economies, cheap labour and current cultivation of overseas investment. While Hallyu may be constructed as part of a mutual exchange and beneficial arrangement, close analysis highlights a much more problematic situation across the region, one that becomes significantly more apparent in less wealthier nations such as Laos.