Engaging North Korea with Highculture Soft Power: Knowledge Sharing with Pyongyang

As articulated by Joseph Nye, soft power is the ability to achieve goals through attraction rather than by threat or conflict. Although frequently associated with the state and foreign policy, non-state actors can also develop and possess soft power independent of the state. In particular, educational institutions have long held significant amounts of soft power that transcend national boundaries. Through knowledge sharing, educational institutions can leverage soft power to influence a society through educating its social and political elites, and future leaders.

Knowledge sharing that focuses on human resource development is one of the most successful areas of cooperation between North Korea and the international community. Knowledge-sharing activities not only give North Korean participants access to knowledge but this access contains an important potential for socialization effects: the spreading of ideas, customs and values. Despite this, however, the current body of literature on knowledge sharing is quite limited.

Based on the ongoing knowledge-sharing experiences with North Korea at the University of British Columbia, this paper explores the nature and the development of knowledge sharing with Pyongyang, demonstrating that North Korea can be a “willing interpreter and receiver” of soft power. Using the concept of university soft power, the paper proposes that educational institutions are inherently effective in using their influence and expertise to initiate successful, long-term knowledge sharing with North Korea. It will also examine strategies for successful knowledge sharing with Pyongyang and the impacts of such knowledge sharing with relation to engagement efforts with North Korea.