South Korea’s Public Diplomacy towards Japan during the 1973–1975 Crisis

This article examines South Korea’s strategic communication directed at a Japanese audience during the 1973–1975 crisis in bilateral relations through an analysis of a journal established by the Korean government as a tool of public diplomacy and directed at a Japanese audience. Despite Seoul’s acute dependence on Japanese economic aid and technology, and its stated goal of promoting partnership and cooperation, the narratives presented in the journal were dominated by historical grievances and references to Korea’s cultural superiority. The study situates this paradox within the literature on strategic narratives, highlighting the structural constraints imposed by domestic master narratives. It demonstrates how deeply embedded master narratives constrain the agency of actors responsible for crafting strategic narratives, even in a tightly controlled political context. More broadly, the findings caution against equating state-produced narratives with policy goals, underscoring the need to account for structural discursive constraints when analysing strategic communication in international relations

Agency (philosophy) · Asian studies · Diplomacy · General partnership · Government (linguistics) · Narrative · Politics · Public Diplomacy · Strategic Communication · Asian Culture and Media Studies · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Public Relations and Crisis Communication