Cool Japan's Glass Ceiling: Collective Memory and the Limits of Cultural Diplomacy in Japan-South Korea Relations

Details

Supervisors

Rosoux, Valérie

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences politiques, orientation relations internationales, à finalité spécialisée: diplomatie et résolution des conflits

Abstract

enThis master’s thesis examines the way collective memory intersects with the success of Japan’s contemporary cultural diplomacy in South Korea, focusing on the concept of Cool Japan. In order to do so, it draws from the academic fields of soft power (Nye) and memory studies (Halbwachs, Assmann, Olick) to develop a theoretical framework distinguishing communicative from cultural memory and collected from collective memory, while also introducing the notion of politics of regret. It then formulates a hypothesis positing that collective memory constitutes an obstacle to cultural diplomacy. After tracing the evolution of Japanese cultural diplomacy from the imperial era to the institutionalisation of Cool Japan, and examining the mnemonically charged nature of the Japan - South Korea relationship, from the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations to the 2015 Comfort Women Agreement, this thesis confronts the initial hypothesis against secondary qualitative and quantitative data, including the EAI-Genron NPO/IHJ joint surveys. The findings ultimately nuance the initial hypothesis. Indeed, Cool Japan registers within the realm of communicative and collected memory, positively influencing relations and acting as a plausible contributing factor of favourability toward Japan through everyday cultural consumption. However, it fails to really impact the deeper, institutionalised register of cultural and collective memory, where the historical dispute remains unresolved. Japan’s cultural diplomacy therefore faces a “glass ceiling”: while it may stabilize relations at the people-to-people level, it appears to be structurally unable to substitute for a genuine politics of regret.