Therefore, along with Korea, Taiwan has all the building blocks necessary to launch its own Tairyu to boost its soft power. All that is required is bold and imaginative entrepreneurs with a long-term vision to produce interesting and innovative cultural products, such as TV dramas and popular music, specifically for the global market, and a government that is committed to nurturing the cultural industry and promoting its popular culture to enhance its international profile and influence. If the private and public sectors, with broad public support, work together to promote Taiwan’s popular culture, the spillover effects of Tairyu will have enormous implications for Taiwan. Growing soft power, more than any available resource, will enable Taiwan to more effectively determine its own future by creating a favorable international environment in line with its interests.

Steven Kim, PhD is visiting professor at Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies at National Chengchi University, Taiwan (R.O.C.). He has been an Associate Professor at DKI Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies and a research fellow at the Sejong Institute. He has also been a visiting professor at Asia-Europe Institute at University of Malaya. His research focuses on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asian political and security issues. He received his BA and PhD from U.C. Berkeley and MA from Seoul National University in political science.

Image: Korean pop group T-ara performs at the 2015 Summer K-Pop Festival. Flickr/Republic of Korea