CHINESE SOFT POWER THROUGH MEDIA PRODUCTS: ITS PROJECTION AND RECEPTION IN SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN CLAIRE SEUNGEUN LEE (M.A. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Republic of Korea) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been used in the thesis. This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously. ________________________________________________ Lee Seung Eun (Claire) January 2014 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Chua Beng Huat, who thoroughly supervised my dissertation, and whose thinking and insight helped me greatly to develop my research and my writing skills. I would also like to thank Dr. Kurtulus Gemici and Dr. Qiushi Feng who provided a great amount of useful comments and close readings of the drafts, and have encouraged me emotionally and academically throughout this journey. I am really grateful to their time. I am thankful to be affiliated to and supported by the Asia Research Institute (ARI) over the course of my PhD. Professor Jean Wei-jun Yeung in the Changing Family Cluster at the Asia Research Institute and the Department of Sociology has provided me opportunities to think about my research from a different angle. At the Department of Sociology, I extend my gratitude to A/P Ho Kong Chong, who saw my potential as a sociologist. I would also like to thank A/P Vineeta Sinha, A/P Syed Farid Alatas, A/P Daniel Goh, A/P Anne Raffin of the Asian Journal of Social Science team while I was an editorial assistant. To Dr. Manjusha Nair for offering me to work with her teaching the political sociology module I offer my gratitude; and to Dr. Ivan Kwek and Dr. Charles Caroll I thank them for their encouragement and support. Korean sociologists at the NUS often give me further viable discussion and encouragements: here I would like to thank Dr. Joonmo Son, Dr. Jiwook Jung, Dr. Juyeon Kim, Dr. Sung Kyung Kim, and Dr. Jeong-hwa Ho for their support. I am grateful for A/P Gregory Clancey and Dr. Catelijne Coopmans who supported and gave me an exciting opportunity to be a part of Tembusu College. I would like to thank my fellow graduate students in different disciplines at NUS: Lee Chih Horng: who sat down with me to discuss society, iii and politics, China, and Taiwan, and geared me to think further about my research. Our monthly discussions with Kathryn Sweet, who became a historian again, were excellent and refreshing. I am grateful for her thoughts and encouragements over the years as I am to Minhye, Stefanie, Fiona, Hu Shu, Allan, Brigit, GY, and others in the department for their presence and support. Those who read some portions of my thesis carefully, Eugene, Ri An, Bubbles, deserve my gratitude here. Ambika for our new research interest and collaboration projects! Other Korean fellow graduate students, Sohee Bae, Eunsil, Goeun, Mayumi, Yumi, Seonyoung, at FASS. Two invaluable teachers and intellectual supporters in Singapore deserve my gratitude. Dr. Wai Keung Chung of Singapore Management University often gives me his time to discuss, meet and encourage me to use sociological concepts. I am also grateful for Dr. Soon Keong Ong of Nanyang Technological University who recognized the importance of studying China from an external point of view and encouraged me in this regard. I would like to thank teachers and friends in South Korea, China, and Taiwan, who have supported me throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies. My former supervisor Professor Jun Young Kang, Professor Seung Yul Oh, Professor Jinseok Kang, Professor Lifang Cheng, Professor Dageun Lim, Dr. Boeun Jeong, and Dr. Seongmin Kim at Hanjuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. I should also thank Professor Yoontae Kim of Dongduk Women’s University who particularly developed my interest in the sociology of contemporary China. Professor In Kim of Hanyang University, Professor Jongmin Won of Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies; Professor Sujung Nam at Kongju National University, who gave me the great opportunity to engage with his research project; Professor Shuwei Duan of Shenzhen University; Professor Chi Ma of Shanghai Academy of Social Science; Professor Shih Hsiao-Feng, Taiwan Normal University, Dr. Hongbo Wang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I extend my special gratitude to Dr. Alec Gordon, my former professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, who knows my research the iv best and who read and edited endless drafts of my dissertation. I thank him for seeing my potential as a researcher and for encouraging me to undertake doctoral studies at the NUS. For academic support from scholars who I encountered at various academic conferences during my candidature: Dr. Jia Gao, University of Melbourne; Dr. Gerry Groot, University of Adelaide; Professor Yun Long and Dr. Deqiang Ji of the Communication University of China, Professor Colin Sparks of Hong Kong Baptist University, Dr. Joanna Waters of the University of Oxford, and Dr. Xin Xin of the University of Westminster. Professor Koichi Iwabuchi at Monash University, Dr. Philippe Peycam of the International Institute for Asian Studies, Dr. Young-chul Cho at Leiden University, Prof Richard Weiner at Columbia University. And I also thank young Scholars who I met in Germany and Taiwan, Muyi, I-Chih, Stefan, Yihong, and Falk. I thank my informants in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Yokohama for their time and sharing their thoughts. Discussions and exchanges with Ranran, who has known me from my MA to PhD, were greatly helpful. It was indescribable and thankful to hear that my MA thesis has developed her newly interest in education and children in China. Xuehua Yan, my ex-coworker from Hong Kong to Taiwan and friend, encouraged me to do this research. My Korean friends Hyangsim, Minji, Junghyun, Seongmin, Yoonsook, Yoonjung, and Jinju visited me while I was doing my PhD. Sohee, who coincidently started to work in Singapore, often shared our musical interest where we met at the university. She amused me with our duo sessions playing on the flute and violin. These happy moments reminded me of university life and will be remembered as part of my PhD life at NUS. Also, popkorn (Pop + Korean + Orchestra), the first and only Korean orchestra in Singapore, kept me happy, and especially so during the final critical stage of me writing my thesis. I thank my Korean friends in Singapore, Sung-a, and Sunhee, for giving me laughter and joy over the course of my doctoral studies. My proud former students, Namsoon, Heejin, who were in Singapore, along v with Younghyou and Kiheon, Hyejeon, Hannah, Youna, and Ji Young also helped me keep going and getting closer to my dream. Last but not least, my internal reader of endless drafts of the dissertation was Benjamin Gyori. Without him, I would not have been able to finish this dissertation, neither of the postgraduate life. He taught me to be a stronger and confident person. His multilingual abilities, critical, and logical thinking has taught me a lot. His family in Budapest—Professor Marta Fulop, Professor Janos Gyori, Nagyapo, Nagyi, David, Noemi, and Gergely also supported me a great deal. Studing for a PhD culminating in writing a thesis has been a big life challenge but simultaneously has brought me joy and happiness. Coming from a family with a former university president as grandfather and a former medical school professor as a father fostered in me the ineluctable commitment to pursue academic study to the highest levels. I am indebted to their paternal influence and support. Mention should be made of my dear maternal grandmother, who passed away in September 2010, only after a semester when I started my doctoral studies. My academic success was always at the forefront of her thoughts about me. Finally I should thank my parents, Dr. Sang Bong Lee and Hyesung Park, and brother Junyeob for their continuous support. This dissertation is dedicated to my family. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration .................................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... xii Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................... xiv Romanization of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ....................................................................... xv Glossary of Foreign Terms ................................................................................................................