The Hard Reality of Soft Power: Misinterpretation and Conflicting Values in East Asia” (Revised)

  Soft power has often been viewed as a concept that presents great economic and diplomatic opportunities for nations in East Asia—a region plagued by historical animosities decades after the end of the Pacific War. Unfortunately, despite the allure of soft power there exist fundamental misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the concept originally defined by Joseph Nye. One major oversight is the disregard for the importance of understanding values within soft power creation. Without a concrete understanding of the perception of values amongst the vastly varied cultures of the world, attempts to gain soft power may backfire in an unexpected manner. After an overview of three case examples of Japan, China, and South Korea, this paper argues that other fields of the social sciences must be included within future research for the sake of effective application and understanding of soft power within East Asia.