Influence of South Korea's Soft Power on The Extension of Korean Language in Thailand

Abstract

The research named “Influence of South Korea’s Soft Power on the Extension of Korean Language in Thailand”, has aimed to understand and explain the background of South Korea’s soft power in a globalization context. The research will emphasize on the extension of Korean soft power to Thailand by using the Korean language as a key instrument. About the methodology, this research firstly collected the document information from reviewing previous researches, books, articles and other online sources. As being the qualitative research, the in-depth interview has proceeded discreetly with 25 key informants from many related-fields such as undergraduate students, employees, businessman and educational personnel. About the result, the literature review has fully provided the background and progression of soft power and globalization in South Korea. Furthermore, it has explained the way South Korea’s soft power has landed in Thailand. The in-depth interview has examined the correction from document information, indicated the competitive advantages of soft power’s resources and clearly presented the maintenance of Korean Wave trend in Thailand. Regarding the research findings, the rapid upsurge in Korean language learners in Thailand has resulted from the influence of South Korea’s soft power in various patterns including, an entertainment media; music, dramas, movies, TV programs and celebrities, the newfangled technology, food, goods, games and so on. These resources aroused the perceptive demand in Thai people, then lead to the demand for learning the Korean language and producing skilled workers to sustain a supply chain. Finally, those workers will return to support resources manufacturing and the extension of the market that are now maintaining the power of Korean Wave in Thailand.