Playing with Diplomatic Culture: A Comparative Study of Esports Policies in South Korea and Brazil

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34624/jdmi.v8i18.39168
Keywords: esports, foreign policy, cultural diplomacy, Brazil, South Korea

Abstract

This article proposes an analysis of public policies aimed at electronic sports (esports) as a tool for cultural diplomacy in South Korea and Brazil. Its objective is to determine whether esports are used by these states as a foreign policy resource to achieve absolute gains in the international sphere, based on a qualitative analysis of data obtained from South Korean and Brazilian legislation on the subject. The corpus consists of 50 documents addressing this theme, retrieved from the official websites of the South Korean and Brazilian governments. Among the main findings, the South Korean government's consolidated approach to esports stands out. In contrast, Brazil lacks a public policy consensus regarding the subject. However, some international public prestige gains are achieved, even though the state's foundations regarding esports remain incipient. This study presents originality by exploring potential connections between the field of International Relations and the universe of electronic sports, a growing expression of contemporary youth culture.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Ian Bacellar, Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB)

Master’s student in Communication and Media Cultures at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), with research funded by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). Holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the State University of Pará (UEPA).

Tarcízio Macedo, Fluminense Federal University (UFF)

Associate professor and researcher at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), conducting postdoctoral research funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Information from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), with a research exchange period at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain) and the Universitat de Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC, Spain). Earned a Master's degree in Communication, Culture, and the Amazon from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), with a research exchange period at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and the State University of Bahia (UNEB). Specialized in Scientific Communication in the Amazon at the Center for Advanced Amazonian Studies (Naea, UFPA). Holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Communication with a concentration in Journalism from the same institution. Currently serves as a researcher at the Laboratory of Research in Urban Cultures and Communication Technologies (LabCult, UFF), the Digital Artifacts Laboratory (LAD, UFRGS), the research group on Digital Media, Experience, and Ludicity (medialudens, UFF), and the research group on Innovation and Convergence in Communication (InovaCom, UFPA).

Published
2025-07-23
Issue
Vol 8 No 18 (2025): Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age: Innovative Approaches to Preservation and Promotion
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2025 Ian Bacellar, Tarcízio Macedo

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in the JDMI agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0. This licensing allows others to share the work with no changes and acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal, but not for commercial use.

  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after publication, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Copyrights to illustrations published in the journal remain with their current copyright holders.

It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission to quote from copyright sources.

Any fees required to obtain illustrations or to secure copyright permissions are the responsibility of authors.

Additional Information

All correspondence concerning contributions, books and other review material should be sent to: deca-jdmi@ua.pt