South Korea's Mobility Diplomacy towards Indonesia: Analysis of the Visa free Policy as a Diplomatic Communication Strategy
Downloads
Bilateral relations between South Korea and Indonesia have developed significantly in the fields of economy, culture, and tourism. One of the policies attracting attention is the visa-free policy for Indonesian citizens visiting South Korea, particularly through Jeju Island. This policy not only aims to increase tourist arrivals but also functions as an instrument of public diplomacy to strengthen people-to-people relations between the two countries. This study aims to analyze how the visa-free policy is positioned as a public diplomacy communication strategy of South Korea toward Indonesia. The research employs a qualitative approach using a single case study design. Data were collected through document analysis of official South Korean government documents, Korea Tourism Organization reports, embassy press releases, and Indonesian media coverage during the 2014–2024 period. Data analysis techniques include thematic analysis, framing analysis, and discourse analysis to identify the diplomatic communication meanings embedded in the policy. The findings indicate that the visa-free policy functions as a message of openness, a soft power instrument, and a mechanism for strengthening interactions between the societies of both countries. The policy also expands cross-border communication through the involvement of non-state actors such as tourism industries and cultural communities. In conclusion, the visa-free policy is not merely an immigration regulation but an effective public diplomacy strategy in building a positive image of South Korea in Indonesia.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hashbi Ashshidiq, Yuka Maya Nirwana
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA). that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
