The Role of “Soft Power” in East Asian Countries and Implications for Vietnam’s Foreign Policy

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the term “soft power” and the issue of widening its margins abroad have received special attention among international diplomacy strategies, in which Japan and the Republic of Korea can be said to be most acute. Before becoming a “model” or “symbol” of the current world cultural industry, since the beginning of the 21st century, these two countries have made great efforts to create and implement a cultural diplomacy strategy, considering it an effective tool of soft power. Stemming from this practice, the article focuses on interpreting the role of “soft power” in East Asian countries, through which some suitable suggestions suitable will be pointed out for Vietnam in order to expand the scope of national influence in the context of international integration.