THE SOUTH KOREA’S SOFT POWER TOWARDS INDONESIA IN HANDLING COVID-19 PANDEMIC THROUGH HEALTH DIPLOMACY (2020-2021)

Abstract

South Korea started trying to carry out health diplomacy with Indonesia aimed at strengthening relations between countries, besides that South Korea also made this an instrument of their soft power as an effort to build Indonesia's trust in South Korea as a country capable of handling the pandemic well. Therefore, this study aims to explore South Korea's efforts towards Indonesia in practicing health diplomacy and to analyze South Korean soft power during the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-2021. The author used qualitative research methods by conducting interviews with representatives of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Ministry of Health and collecting data through official data, books and journals, as well as available reports regarding the practice of South Korean health diplomacy. The author used four basic theories, namely International Cooperation, Health Diplomacy, Soft Power, and Bilateral Relations. As a result, it was found that South Korea carried out health diplomacy through cooperation agreements and provided health assistance to Indonesia. In addition, South Korea has also succeeded in using soft power through its ability to handle pandemics, namely their K-Quarantine health system which was eventually followed by Indonesia in efforts to handle the COVID-19 Pandemic.