Strategic Communication of Handicrafts for Promoting Soft Power: A Comparative Analysis of Thailand, Japan, and South Korea

Abstract

       This research article aims to 1) analyze the components of strategic communication of handicrafts employed by governments and enterprises in Thailand, Japan, and South Korea to promote soft power; 2) compare the roles of intellectual property and cultural recognition mechanisms as authenticity-certifying messages in handicraft communication; and 3) synthesize a strategic communication framework for Thai handicrafts as a soft power resource. The study adopted a qualitative design combining documentary analysis with comparative case studies. Data comprised policy and legal documents, statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization and national agencies, and eight handicraft cases plus one supplementary case, purposively selected against three criteria: verifiable certification, documented international communication, and official records. Data were collected and analyzed between October 2025 and August 2026. The research instrument was a six-category document analysis protocol developed by the researchers from the conceptual framework of the study. The researchers conducted qualitative content analysis through the lenses of strategic communication and nation branding, with source triangulation applied.
        The findings indicate that 1) Japan and South Korea embed handicraft communication within national content ecosystems with designated lead institutions, sustained budgets, and entertainment media as the primary channel, whereas Thailand communicates in an agency-fragmented manner without a shared national narrative; 2) intellectual property, particularly geographical indications, and cultural recognition mechanisms such as intangible heritage designations show potential to function as credibility signals that help audiences assess authenticity, yet the documents analyzed suggest that Thailand still deploys geographical indications mainly as a legal instrument rather than a storytelling device; the case of Lamphun brocade silk featured in the music video of the artist Lisa illustrates that when certification is coupled with an influential messenger and an entertainment channel, visibility and source recognition can expand across borders quickly; and 3) the researchers synthesized, as a conceptual proposal, a Three-Layer Handicraft Communication Model comprising a certification layer, a narrative layer, and an amplification layer, which should operate in concert under a national coordinating mechanism to support handicrafts as a soft power resource of the country.