Korea, Haiti and Soft Power

by Robert Koehler on February 24, 2012

Interesting little piece in The Diplomat about Korea’s recently ended peacekeeping deployment in Haiti and Seoul’s growing soft-power. I’ll reprint the conclusion; please read the entirety on your own:

Seoul has certainly been successful in its soft power efforts globally over the past decade, and has consequentially accrued political capital and financial contracts not only in the Americas but also in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. Korea’s continued presence in Haiti is significant for a number of reasons. First, it demonstrates Seoul’s ability to lead Asia in pushing international development, an area that was once dominated by Japan. Second, Caracol demonstrates Korea’s ability to remain dynamic in its approach to foreign investment while still maintaining its reputation of taking calculated business risks overseas. Finally, the Danbi Unit’s hands-on experience in rebuilding a country with a dilapidated infrastructure is important training for the Korean forces in the event of regime collapse of North Korea.

Tagged as: Haiti, peacekeeping

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

1 redwhitedude February 24, 2012 at 11:23 pm: Sure they get a lot of goodwill and build stuff for other countries, however that doesn’t mean that they will make good use of it. Just look at Japan major donating nation but somehow they still get distrusted by asian neighbors.
2 Jing February 25, 2012 at 4:09 am: There is power and there is not. Soft power is an illusion fostered by self deceiving idiots.
3 virtual wonderer February 25, 2012 at 4:21 am: i must admit, i am a self deceiving idiot.

as a self deceiving idiot, i am willing to wager my left testicle that the soft power of south korea will lead to south korean absorption of the north rather than out of the end of the k-2 rifle.
4 Jing February 25, 2012 at 4:31 am: Your left nut isn’t worth much.

South Korea’s population is 2.5x that of the North and it’s economy is 50x. It was only military strength (primarily American at that) that has kept the South Koreans from the hair tearing cacaphony over the recently departed and unlamented KJI
5 ecw February 25, 2012 at 8:54 am: This isn’t a sign of power. It’s a sign that you’re the globalists’ bitch.
6 virtual wonderer February 25, 2012 at 10:30 am: yup globalist toady i am.
i still think north korean communists are more afraid of girl’s generation than kdx-iii aegis cruisers.
7 Jing February 25, 2012 at 10:56 pm: Then you are, as you had previously already acknowledged, an idiot.
8 slim February 26, 2012 at 2:48 am: Jing will sing a different tune when China starts having a bit of soft power.
9 redwhitedude February 26, 2012 at 5:10 am: China is engages in useless propaganda exercises thinking that’s how you get soft power.
10 john in la February 27, 2012 at 5:28 pm: #4
Sorry but your comments don’t compute. Yes it’s the military power that is keeping NK in its place. No one denying that.

And as for the actual amount of military power in place defending S Korea, vast majority of the troops on the ground in S Korea side are Koreans… US has only a token amount of troops in S Korea.