With Psy and currency swaps, South Korea grabs global influence
October 21, 2013|Reuters  By Se Young Lee and Christine Kim
SEOUL, Oct 22 (Reuters) - From rapper Psy to overseas financial
aid, an economically and culturally confident South Korea
appears to be taking on bigger neighbours Japan and China for
the hearts and minds of the rest of Asia and beyond.  Its most
recent effort to leverage brand "Korea" - three currency swap
deals worth more than $20 billion that were announced this
month.  South Korea had the seventh largest currency reserves in
the world at the end of August, worth $331.1 billion, according
to the Bank of Korea. It can easily afford to match cultural
diplomacy with economic muscle as it competes with Japan and
China for influence.  K-Pop icons such as Psy, whose "Gangnam
Style" hit went viral in 2012, and even Korean food are used by
Seoul to build South Korea's brand, while Samsung Electronics Co
Ltd and Hyundai Motor Co are firms with global reach.  "Becoming
a country that can offe