172 Insignia Journal of International Relations Vol. 9, No. 2, November 2022, 172-180 P-ISSN: 2089-1962; E-ISSN: 2597-9868 Korean Wave Issue as A Soft Power Strategy in Taiwanese Presidential Election 2016 Raaf Bezkarannu International Relations Master Programme, Faculty of Social and Political Studies, Universitas Indonesia E-mail: raaf.bezkarannu@ui.ac.id Ani Widyani Soetjipto Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Studies, Universitas Indonesia E-mail: anisoetjipto@gmail.com Abstract Both state and non-state actors need the power to influence others to achieve their desired goals. Soft power is often used by state or non-state actors to attracts the attention of others without using coercive actions to achieve the desired goals. This strategy has been widely used in various cases, including in the issue of China and Taiwan, especially in the "Taiwan Flag" incident involving Tzuyu, a K-Pop artist who declared herself a Taiwanese and carried the Taiwan flag on a South Korean television program. This incident was later brought up by Tsai Ing- wen, a politician from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to cooperate with the Taiwanese people against China in the 2016 Taiwan Presidential Election. This article will discuss how Tsai Ing-wen and the people of Taiwan used Korean wave as a soft power strategy in the 2016 Taiwan Presidential Election to “fight” against China. Those gave positive results due to the similarity of political values believed by Taiwan and carried by the Korean wave, as well as the goals shared by Tsai Ing-wen and people of Taiwan, thereby defeated the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) party in the election. Keywords: Soft Power, Taiwan, China, Korean Wave, Taiwan Presidential Election 2016, Taiwan Flag Incident Abstrak Baik aktor negara maupun non-negara memerlukan kekuatan untuk mempengaruhi pihak lain agar tujuan yang diinginkan dapat tercapai. Salah satunya adalah soft power yang mengedepankan upaya menarik perhatian pihak lain tanpa menggunakan tindakan koersif untuk mencapai tujuan yang diinginkan. Implementasi strategi tersebut telah banyak dimanfaatkan dalam berbagai kasus, salah satunya dalam isu China dan Taiwan dalam the “Waving Taiwan Flag” incident yang melibatkan Tzuyu yang merupakan artis K-Pop yang mendeklarasikan diri sebagai warga negara Taiwan serta membawa bendera Taiwan dalam salah satu program televisi di Korea Selatan. Insiden tersebut kemudian diangkat oleh Tsai Ing-wen, seorang politisi dari Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) untuk bekerja sama dengan masyarakat Taiwan untuk melawan China dalam Taiwan Presidential Election 2016. Artikel ini membahas bagaimana Tsai Ing-wen dan masyarakat Taiwan memanfaatkan isu Korean wave sebagai strategi soft power dalam Taiwan Presidential Election 2016 untuk “melawan” kampanye pro China yang disuarakan oleh KMT. Implementasi isu Korean wave sebagai strategi soft power dalam Taiwan Presidential Election 2016 memberikan hasil positif dan ikut mempengaruhi kemenangan Tsai Ing-wen dalam pemilu di Taiwan di tahun 2016. Kata Kunci: Soft Power, Taiwan, China, Korean Wave, Pemilu Presiden Taiwan 2016, Insiden Bendera Taiwan