Jan Melissen, author of “New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in International Relations,” speaks during a ceremony to mark the publication of a Korean translation of the book, at the Shilla Hotel, Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Korea Foundation |
Staff Reporter
A Korean translation of ``New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in International Relations’’ by Jan Melissen, an expert on theoretical and practical diplomacy, was published in Seoul on Monday.
The publication defines public diplomacy anew. It uses a few countries to exemplify good practice regarding public diplomacy.
During a book launching ceremony at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, the author said that public diplomacy is about influencing ordinary people in the outside world. He urged diplomats in the field to break out of the box of traditional diplomacy in order to reach out to the general public of whatever country they are posted in.
Melissen is the director of the Clingendael Diplomatic Studies Program in the Netherlands. He is also a professor of diplomacy at Antwerp University and a co-editor of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy, both in Belgium.
Melissen also mentioned Korea as a middle power in a unique political situation because of its separated North. The separation itself, according to him, serves as ``a door’’ for outsiders to talk about Korea. The ensuing task, for South Korea, is to lead them into broader and deeper discussion of Korea.
To achieve such dialogue, he advised South Korea to more actively engage and take a stance ― take the lead if necessary ― in dialogues concerning regional challenges and international problems.
His name is still new to many, but it isn’t for those who have followed the subject of public diplomacy. Indeed, he was in Korea earlier in the year to take part in a roundtable on soft power in Northeast Asia, organized by the Korea Foundation.
This government-affiliated organization spearheads projects to raise public awareness of public diplomacy. It sponsored the book translation project, and a second translation will be released early next year.
skim@koreaitmes.co.kr