Research on the global diffusion of South Korean popular culture, or Hallyu, is generally characterized by a strong focus on the consumption and practice of Hallyu in different parts of the world and its discursive and cultural meaning. Very few studies, however, have examined the possible geopolitical consequences of the massive transfer of Hallyu-related commodities and practices. Focusing on the circulation of Hallyu in the Middle East, this paper analyzes the mechanisms for cultural spread and its intended and unintended consequences, with particular emphasis on the role of fans and fandom in this process. This paper suggests that the transnational circulation of Hallyu has an impact not only on the institutional aspect of transnational relationships, e.g., the creation of transnational cultural markets and the consequential collaboration between all pertinent parties involved in this process (companies, agents, promoters, distributors, retailers, fans, and others) but also on the dissemination of lifestyle commonalities and concepts, which are based on the experience of consuming the same cultural products by different people in different countries.

How do Taiwanese officials view democracy and culture and how do they plan to utilise these two soft power resources as part of advancing the island's international position? Based primarily on interviews conducted with state officials in Taiwan, this paper analyses Taiwan's soft power repositioning in the regional and global soft power competition and examines its advantages and disadvantages. It discusses the institutional and geopolitical constraints Taiwan faces when trying to implement its soft power policy and addresses the internal disagreements over utilising its cultural and democratic achievements. It concludes that despite the utility of soft power in pursuing its foreign policy agenda, Taiwan faces a few major institutional and conceptual obstacles, keeping Taiwanese diplomacy in a transitional period from old thinking about culture and diplomacy while hesitantly evaluating its soft power resources.

Developed in American and European contexts, public diplomacy theory has found its most receptive audiences in East Asia, expressed in heavy governmental investment in educational and cultural programs meant to foster acceptance and influence within the global community. Examining the state of public diplomacy in Japan, Korea, and China, countries with a strong developmental legacy, globalizing economies, and growing media presence, I analyze the integration of public diplomacy in each country’s diplomatic efforts, the image they want to project to the world, and the institutional change this move has instigated. While public diplomacy has been taking a central position in this region, the East Asian model of public diplomacy features a mixture of state-led initiatives, an increasing investment of resources, and substantial government intervention.

Chapter 1, focusing on Katamari Damacy (2004), demonstrates the process of packaging Japanese kitsch culture into a global product, while chapters 2 and 3 go deeper to unveil Japan's exaggerated self-orientalisation and self-image in the two video game examples of Okami (2006) and Karate Champ (1984). While this book does not fill all the gaps in the literature, especially regarding the structure and organisation of the video game industry, it provides a strong cultural analysis of different Japanese video games from different historical and social contexts. Book Review 267 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ssjj/article/24/1/265/6025113 by 81695661, OUP on 19 March 2021 In summary, Japanese Culture through Videogames is an instructive book that presents a welldetailed cultural analysis of video games.

Massive commodification and marketing of media culture is not, of course, unique to Japan. Many countries have commodified and industrialized culture to some degree, whether for purposes of entertainment or propaganda.

The term “creativity”—and related expressions like originality, imagination, innovation or inspiration—has become a key word in today’s media and cultural industries. Indeed, the term (frequently in concert with allied notions) is variously used as a guiding organizational principle, a marker of a peculiar form of production, a mobilizing and motivating slogan for employees in workplaces, or a motto differentiating them from other industries. Whatever the veracity of such claims, creativity has become a veritable watchword in media and cultural businesses.

Contemporary media production in East Asia has been booming in recent decades, reaching consumers of various nationalities to an extent unseen before. Concurrently, various collaborations in the production and promotion of movies, TV programs, animation, videogames, music, and the like have intensified and become more effective in delivering cultural content across national borders. The state in East Asia, once considered a custodian of local culture and a censor of foreign influences, has gradually changed its position and now views media production and its export as an integral part of market activity beneficial for both economy and diplomacy. Drawing upon governmental reports and interviews with government officials and media industry personnel in Korea and Japan, this paper examines the way the state reacts to the massive production and export of media culture, its attempt to integrate it within its developmental economic model, and the bureaucratic restructuring this process entails. The central argument presented is that state policy toward the media sector, and the abundance of institutions dealing with this sector in Korea and Japan, are the result of the growth of market-led media production and globalization. In other words, media industry development is not the result of policy, policy is the result of media industry development. In a wider context, this paper aims to better conceptualize the relations between state policy and media production in East Asia and the dynamics of industrial globalization under state guidance.

While the overall majority of Hallyu research has looked at the way fans consume Korean popular culture and how it influences their identity, this paper focuses on the way these fans serve as effective agents for marketing Hallyu and how their fandom empowers them to explore new business and social opportunities. Focusing on what we call “fan entrepreneurship,” this paper examines the evolvement of fan communities in Israel and their role as cultural agents transcending different cultural and social contexts. More specifically, it analyzes their role as promoters, distributers, and entrepreneurs of Hallyu. To examine fan entrepreneurship in action, we focus on three cases of Israeli Hallyu fans who have ventured into new fields in business, education, and social activism to conceptualize the relations between fandom, agency, and the transnational marketing of Hallyu. Our findings suggest that the Hallyu experience in Israel may be relevant for understanding the grass-roots processes and mechanisms responsible for the spread and the institutionalization of cultural content across national, ethnic, and linguistic boundaries.

It is of note that many of the available studies of Hallyu take an ethnographic and interpretive approach and show a strong tendency to prioritize analysis of the textual content and images used in Hallyu. But there is a need to take more notice of the networks of production and dissemination, which are responsible for making Hallyu products available to fans. Indeed, understanding Hallyu networks potentially challenges long dominant Euro-American-centric accounts of production and consumption. Hence, this book is part of the attempt to build a comprehensive and interdisciplinary identity for Hallyu studies. It provides an updated account of Hallyu s traffic and acceptance in countries outside Korea s immediate neighbors, and references some of Hallyu s recent developments, notably its alignments with new media fields and with the growth of Korea s interest in cultural diplomacy.

In recent decades, cultural diplomacy and soft power have emerged as a conscious decision by the Japanese government to strategically advance its international position without threatening other countries with the use of force, which is prohibited by the Japanese constitution, and without utilizing its economic might in a way that will make Japan look threatening. This is especially useful in the context of Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors, particularly China and South Korea, where “soft” diplomacy serves as a way to influence mass opinion in these countries without stressing the already troubled relations, and avoids skirmishes over historical or territorial disputes. As part of this move, the government has become increasingly aware of Japan's contemporary cultural appeal and has been attempting to utilize it as part of its charm offensive abroad. This chapter analyzes the changing attitude of the Japanese government toward the role of “culture” in the political life of the state and especially in the context of Japan's postwar foreign policy: How has Japan used cultural diplomacy to further its geopolitical goals? How did it shape Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors? What is the mechanism of utilizing culture to achieve goals in international politics?.

"Drawing on in-depth interviews with Japanese and American animation industry professionals, field research, and market surveys, this book investigates the ways anime has been exported to the U.S. since the 1960s, exploring the transnational networks of anime production and marketing while also investigating the cultural and artistic processes it inspired"–

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various articles within the issue including reviews of the book "Good-bye Hallyu" by Kitahara Minori, cultural geography of East Asia and relation of Japan-Korea in global East Asia.

In August 17, 2013, the Asahi Shimbun discovered that copies of Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen), an internationally renowned manga about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, had been pulled out from school library shelves at the city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture. The city’s education board decided that children should not be allowed to freely check out Hadashi no Gen at the libraries of public elementary and junior high schools due to graphic descriptions of violence committed by Japanese troops, but teachers could still use them as educational materials. “We are not going to remove the manga because it is an invaluable piece,” Furukawa Yasunori, the deputy head of the education board, was quoted as saying. “But we understand that it contains portions that warrant consideration as appropriate reading material for children.” According to the article, the board’s decision stemmed from the complaint of one citizen who said the manga described actions that were never committed by Japanese troops during the war. Nakazawa Misayo, the widow of Hadashi no Gen creator Nakazawa Keiji, expressed dismay over the decision. “It is incredible and I am saddened,” said Misayo, 70. “I am afraid that board members do not grasp the tragedy and pain that the war and the atomic bombing brought on us.”

The article focuses on a study which reveals the role of popular culture by shaping the East Asian region by creating transnational markets for cultural commodities and disseminating communalities of lifestyles and concepts. It informs that East Asia experiences cultural renaissance, economic growth and urban consumerism. It also informs about the issues related to the impact of trade, finance, industry and technology on creating an integrated region in East Asia.