When it comes to the word “power,” this word might make the reader think of the use of economic or military power. to force someone else’s body or mind to do what someone in power wants which is regarded as the original form of power that people are familiar with but later Soft power, or if literally translated as “soft power”, has an increasing role in creating economic value for many countries instead of traditional power. let’s talk about this
Soft power is a concept developed by Joseph Nye of Harvard University who sees soft power as non-coercive influence. or use violence But it brings the strengths that each country has such as culture, sports, and education to persuade and attract attention. Allow others to change according to their ideas without using coercion to like or have to follow, which is different from using economic power. Or military (Hard power) as Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations once said about soft power cross border Build a bridge bringing the world together through communication. and understanding as one
Examples of obvious soft power is the case of South Korea that the readers should be able to touch from Korean culture that plays a greater role in Thai society, both in terms of food Beauty standards, or especially the entertainment industry, which has grown unstoppably and has been a continuous trend. However, using the entertainment business to reach the global market is not a coincidence. It has come from the South Korean government’s planning, promotion and budget injection since the late 1990s to push it into a key economic engine. which is considered a magnificent success As can be seen from the ranking of the British magazine Monocle, South Korea is ranked 2nd in the world in terms of soft power after Germany. with the entertainment industry and innovation being the key while other Asian countries such as Japan and Taiwan also ranked They were ranked 4th and 5th respectively.
another example is Japan that has used the Cool Japan policy since 2012 to bring unique cultural strengths such as fashion, games, cartoons, food, known as creative industry to use in building a marketing base abroad, taking into account creativity in business, community, way of life and unique culture to convey to the product seamlessly Make that product valuable to the feelings of consumers. to invite tourists to visit Japan and increased domestic consumption It has been fully pushed by the government. It has also brought tourism and sports. Let’s add to the existing cultural soft power. Especially with the hosting of the Olympic Games 2020, which has just ended, although not smoothly due to the COVID-19 crisis
For Thailand, we are similar to the 2 countries above. that are ready for cultural capital such as food, music and arts and crafts and bringing these cultural capitals to the top It is under the 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan that brings the development of the creative economy as one of the ways to drive the economy sustainably. To be successful is not just an infusion of money. But it has to rely on creative policies and continuous implementation. Including having to seriously listen to opinions from people in the industry which if we can bring cultural capital to further develop with creativity Comprehensive integration Softpower Thai will be a very important part of generating income. create added value And it will be good for the Thai economy in the future.
Author : Thananthon Mahaphonprachak
