I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Journal of Governance Volume 7 Issue 4, December 2022 (832-841) (P-ISSN 2528-276X) (E-ISSN 2598-6465) http://dx.doi.org/10.31506/jog.v7i4.15693 832 Seoul’s Paradiplomacy To The Global Public: The Involvement of Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) in the Tourism Industry Gilang Nur Alam 1* , RMT Nurhasan Affandi 1 , Windy Dermawan 1 , Fuad Azmi 1 , Emil Mahyudin 1 1 Department of International Relations, Universitas Padjadjaran *Correspondence Email: gnuralam@gmail.com Received: 6 June 2022; Revised: 31 October 2022; Accepted: 5 December 2022 Abstract: This study aims to analyze the use of the Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) as an instrument of the paradiplomacy of Seoul, South Korea, in promoting the city’s tourism to the global public on economic and cultural aspects. Seoul's paradiplomacy in promoting tourism is motivated by efforts to attract global public attention and to encourage foreign tourists to make Seoul a tourist destination. For that purpose, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has collaborated with various K-pop artists, such as BTS, in its paradiplomacy practice. This study uses transgovernmentalism, foreign relations, paradiplomacy, and art as theories and qualitative research as a method by taking data directly and indirectly. Direct data are obtained from interviews with several informants, while indirect data are obtained from studies of relevant documentation and literature. This study finds that BTS becomes an instrument of Seoul's paradiplomacy in tourism promotion. The researchers also discovered that the Seoul Metropolitan Government has restructured the Seoul Tourism Organization from a public-private partnership and government-invested institution to one that can increase the city's competitiveness in tourism and Meetings, Incentive Tours, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE), as well as contribute to Seoul's economic development by revitalizing tourism-related industries. Keywords: Paradiplomacy; BTS; tourism; Seoul. Introduction As the development occurs at the global level, the actors involved in establishing foreign relations are not only states (Nye & Keohane, 1971) but also non-state actors, such as non- governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations. Even celebrities and sub-national actors, like provinces and cities, have also been involved in the practice of international relations. The involvement of non-state actors, celebrities in this case, in the realm of international relations has also been increasing. The involvement of celebrities has been proven to go beyond state affairs; the celebrities have been further involved in sub-state affairs, such as paradiplomacy. The image of a country is built to provide benefits politically, economically, culturally, etc. (Saliu, 2017). Likewise, paradiplomacy tries to build a good image of a city in front of the global public by utilizing various instruments. In this