Sports Diplomacy and Soft Power
Sport, culture, and entertainment are becoming increasingly important platforms for strengthening the Australia-Korea bilateral relationship through people-to-people connections, youth engagement, tourism, education, and soft power diplomacy. Australia and Korea share strong sporting cultures and growing collaboration across professional sport, major events, media, education, and cultural exchange. From baseball, football, golf, and tennis to esports and sports science, these connections continue to create new opportunities for engagement between businesses, institutions, governments, and communities in both countries.
Baseball has emerged as one of the most visible examples of Australia-Korea sports diplomacy. The former Geelong-Korea team in the Australian Baseball League brought Korean professional baseball players and coaches to Australia, helping strengthen sporting, community, and cultural connections between the two countries. Korean baseball also continues to have a strong international following, with the South Korean national baseball team ranked among the world’s leading baseball nations and achieving major international success.
Sport also plays an increasingly important role in Korea’s broader soft power strategy. Korean brands such as Kia Corporation have significantly increased their global visibility through international sport, including Kia’s long-standing partnership with the Australian Open and Tennis Australia. At the same time, the global rise of Korean popular culture - including K-pop, film, gaming, and digital content - continues to strengthen Korea’s international image and cultural influence. These cultural and sporting connections also contribute to tourism, international education, aviation connectivity, and broader commercial engagement between Australia and Korea.
This sector explores opportunities across sports diplomacy, sports business, cultural diplomacy, sports technology, athlete and youth exchange, education partnerships, tourism, media, entertainment, and community engagement. It also supports broader discussions around soft power and the role sport and culture can play in strengthening Australia-Korea engagement across business, government, and society.
Recent activities
Ongoing engagement with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) Sydney Centre to support collaboration across Korean cultural content, entertainment, creative industries, and soft power initiatives in Australia
Provided formal support for the resumption of direct Melbourne-Incheon flights through stakeholder engagement and advocacy, recognising the importance of enhanced connectivity in strengthening tourism, business, education, and cultural exchange between Australia and Korea (2025)
Facilitated discussions on the role of baseball and professional sport in strengthening bilateral people-to-people links and cultural engagement (2025)
Promoted dialogue on sports diplomacy, soft power, tourism, and cultural engagement through AKBC events, AKBC channels and industry discussions
Released the report “Soft Power: Using Sports Diplomacy to Score Business Outcomes in the Australia-Korea Relationship,” exploring the role of sport, culture, and people-to-people engagement in strengthening bilateral business and commercial ties between Australia and Korea (2020)
Liz Griffin of the Australia-Korea Business Council believes there are huge opportunities to build stronger relationships through sport. (ABC News: Lachlan Bennett)
Why join
Sports diplomacy and cultural engagement create opportunities that extend far beyond the sporting arena - strengthening cultural understanding, tourism, education, international engagement, youth exchange, and business collaboration. As Australia and Korea continue to deepen ties across culture, innovation, and people-to-people engagement, sport and soft power will continue to play an increasingly important role in shaping long-term bilateral relationships.
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