Comparative Analysis on the Post-War Public Perceptions in South Korea and Indonesia Towards Japan’s Soft Power Through Manga and Anime One Piece

MADE ADELASARI W P, Dra. Siti Daulah Khoiriati, M.A.

2023 | Skripsi | S1 ILMU HUBUNGAN INTERNASIONAL

Telah diketahui secara luas bahwa Jepang telah menggunakan diplomasi soft power, yaitu melalui anime dan manga, sebagai sarana untuk merekonstruksi citra internasionalnya sebagai negara yang cinta damai. Selain itu, diplomasi soft power melalui budaya populer juga dimanfaatkan oleh Jepang untuk menjalin merekontruksikan hubungan kerjasama dengan negara-bangsa lain, terutama setelah terjadinya Perang Dunia II. Secara khusus, anime dan manga One Piece telah berkontribusi besar dalam upaya memperluas popularitas industri budaya Jepang di kalangan penonton internasional. Skripsi ini akan menguji efektivitas upaya Jepang untuk mengubah citra nasionalnya dan membangun kembali hubungannya dengan bekas koloni di era pasca perang melalui pemanfaatan diplomasi soft power. Karena kedua negara pernah mengalami pendudukan Jepang, skripsi ini akan menyoroti pengalaman Korea Selatan dan Indonesia serta persepsi publik pascaperang terhadap Jepang dan budaya populernya untuk mengukur efektivitas diplomasi soft power Jepang. Skripsi ini berargumen bahwa perbedaan persepsi antara masyarakat Korea Selatan dan Indonesia terhadap Jepang pada dasarnya berakar dari konstruksi memori kolektif mengenai sejarah imperialisme Jepang.

It has been widely known that Japan has been utilizing soft power diplomacy, namely through anime and manga, as means of reconstructing its international image as a peace-loving country. Aside from that, the utilization of popular culture soft power diplomacy has allowed Japan to also reestablish cooperative relationships with other nation-states, especially after the World War II occurrence. In particular, the anime and manga One Piece has substantially contributed to the effort by expanding the popularity of the Japanese cultural industry among international audiences. This thesis shall examine the effectiveness of Japan’s effort to rebrand its national image and rebuild its relationship with former colonies in the post-war era through the utilization of soft power diplomacy. As both countries have experienced Japanese occupation, this thesis shall shed light on the experiences of South Korea and Indonesia and the respective post-war public perception towards Japan and its popular culture in order to measure the efficacy of Japan’s soft power diplomacy. The thesis argued that the disparate perceptions between South Koreans and Indonesians towards Japan is essentially rooted in the construction of collective memories regarding the history of Japanese imperialism.

Kata Kunci : Soft Power, Collective memory, Imperialism, Constructivism, Japanese Animation, Post-War