Southeast Asia has in recent years been bowled over by the Korean Wave, the fad for Korea's popular culture. Known in the local dialect as hallyu, this Korean Wave has been unleashed as the state's tool in the proliferation of Korea's cultural influence in the region and beyond. It has also been employed as part of the Korean foreign policy mechanism that was designed to strengthen the country's political and economic relations with neighbouring states. Hallyu comprises various cultural elements, ranging from films, soap operas, music, fashion, and the country's cuisine. It plays an important role in building Korea's presence in Southeast Asia, a presence that had long succumbed to the influence of bigger powers, both within and outside the region, namely of Japan, China, and the United States. For Korea itself, the assertion of hallyu signifies its cultural independence from Asia's older civilizations, its reconstruction of “Koreanness” in a more modern, sophisticated fashion, and its inclination to take on regional politics through the use of soft power. On the surface, the Korean Wave seems to have been well received by the Southeast Asians who have been searching for alternative cultures to match their changing lifestyles and social environment. Looking more deeply however, a sense of discontent among Southeast Asians towards Korea is gradually on the rise, even at the height of the hallyu craze. Korea's cultural messengers, including tourists, businessmen, and missionaries, have to a large extent misrepresented the state-sponsored hallyu while interacting with Southeast Asians. The Korean Government has also in part been unsuccessful in setting measures necessary to guarantee the enduring impact of the hallyu on this part of the world in the long term. This chapter, therefore, posits that the much-hyped Korean Wave has declining influence in Southeast Asia. It argues this from the perspective of Southeast Asia, especially the way in which the region has perceived and responded to the Korean Wave.

Korea's Role in Southeast Asia

Relations between Korea and Southeast Asian nations can be traced back to the dawn of history. Korea's historical records, for example, show that the first contact between Korea and Siam, present-day Thailand, took place in 1391 when Nai Gong, an envoy of the Siamese king, arrived at the capital of Koryo˘ Dynasty (918–1392) in a mission to sound out the Korean market and to confirm the possibility of bilateral trade.