Development cooperation and post-colonial critique: an investigation into the South Korean model

Abstract

With the rise of the South–South Development Cooperation (SSDC), the international development community has entered into a new paradigm of development cooperation. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) has had to consider what recently added members might have to offer, particularly South Korea given its dramatic transformation from official development assistance (ODA) recipient to donor. Post-colonial theory sees ODA as a system that reinforces the traditional hierarchy of North–South relations and reaffirms the hegemony of dominant countries; the SSDC has faced similar neo-colonial allegations. By employing post-colonial theory this paper investigates some neo-­colonial criticisms of the ODA activities of major OECD-DAC and SSDC providers, before turning its focus on those of South Korea to determine whether it does indeed offer an alternative strategy to development. The African region was chosen as the focus in light of the increased amount of aid South Korea has allocated to the region. This paper concludes by offering a different role South Korea might play engaging within the OECD-DAC/SSDC context.

Keywords:

• OECD
• South–South cooperation
• South Korea
• post-colonial theory
• official development assistance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Similar to the broader term ‘South–South Cooperation’ (SSC), SSDC refers to cooperation between countries in, or aligned with, the ‘Global South’. This paper will utilise the term SSDC, given its focus on development studies.

2 The term ‘Southern’ generally refers to developing or recently developed countries in the Southern Hemisphere, as opposed to ‘Northern’ countries which are generally developed and often members of the OECD. It is important to note, however, that these terms are not simply geographic as China is both a member of SSDC and located in the Northern Hemisphere.

3 de Renzio and Seifert, “South–South Cooperation,” 1861.

4 Ibid., 1863.

5 Eyben, “Struggles in Paris,” 85.

6 Eyben and Savage, “Emerging and Submerging Powers,” 459–60.

7 de Renzio and Seifert, “South–South Cooperation,” 1863.

8 Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, Effectivecooperation.Org, 1.

9 Marx and Soares, “South Korea’s Transition,” 9–15.

10 E. M. Kim, Kim, and Kim, “From Development to Development Cooperation,” 314.

11 E. M. Kim and Oh, “Determinants of Foreign Aid,” 252.

12 Korea Development Institute, Knowledge Sharing Program, 7. Cited in Doucette and Müller, “Exporting the Saemaul Spirit,” 29.

13 Park, “Motivations of South Korea’s ODA,” 27–8.

14 World Bank, “GDP Ranking.”

15 S.-M. Kim, “International Perceptions of South Korea,” 7.

16 de Renzio and Seifert, “South–South Cooperation,” 1868.

17 S.-M. Kim, “International Perceptions of South Korea,” 8.

18 Ibid., 8.

19 de Renzio and Seifert, “South–South Cooperation,” 1863.

20 Simon, “Separated by Common Ground?”; Strongman, “Postcolonialism and International Development Studies.”

21 Shenhav, cited in Frenkel, “Multinational Corporation,” 925.

22 Lang’at, “Deconstructing Neo-Colonialism and Liberalism,” 57.

23 Simon, “Separated by Common Ground?,” 15.

24 Smith, cited in Lang’at, “Deconstructing Neo-Colonialism and Liberalism,”57.

25 Slater and Bell, “Aid and the Geopolitics of the Post-Colonial,” 351–2.

26 Simon, “Separated by Common Ground?,” 11.

27 Pereira, Cassiani, and von Linsingen, “International Educational Cooperation,” 204.

28 Shankland and Gonçalves, “Imagining Agricultural Development,” 35.

29 Clements and Fernandes, “Land Grabbing, Agribusiness and the Peasantry,” 44.

30 Shankland and Gonçalves, “Imagining Agricultural Development,” 40–2.

31 Park, “Motivations of South Korea’s ODA,” 33.

32 Hwang, “Korea’s Soft Power,” 254.

33 Yoon and Moon, “Korean Bilateral Official Development Assistance,” 284.

34 Hwang, “Korea’s Soft Power,” 254.

35 Nye, cited in Hwang, “Korea’s Soft Power,” 255.

36 Bae, cited in Hwang, “Korea’s Soft Power,” 256.

37 Hwang, “Korea’s Soft Power,” 256.

38 Yoon and Moon, “Korean Bilateral Official Development Assistance,” 296.

39 Y. Kim and Tcha, “Introduction to the Knowledge Sharing Program,” 3–7.

40 Park, “Motivations of South Korea’s ODA,” 26.

41 Mawdsley, Kim, and Marcondes, “Political Leadership,” 6–7.

42 KOICA, “Press Releases.”

43 Korea Saemaul Undong Center, Publication, 1.

44 See Reed, “Is Saemaul Undong a Model?”; Doucette and Müller, “Exporting the Saemaul Spirit.”

45 Reed, “Is Saemaul Undong a Model?,” 12.

46 Doucette and Müller, “Exporting the Saemaul Spirit,” 31.

47 Frenkel, “Multinational Corporation,” 926.

48 Bhabha, “Of Mimicry and Man,” 127.

49 Frenkel, “Multinational Corporation,” 926.

50 Korea Saemaul Undong Center, Publication, 1.

51 Kyung Ryang Kim. Priority Assignments for Economic Development of Myanmar. Cited in Doucette and Müller, “Exporting the Saemaul Spirit,” 37.

52 Said, Orientalism, 296–300.

53 Andreasson, “Orientalism and African Development Studies,” 981.

54 Ibid., 973.

55 Doucette and Müller, Exporting the Saemaul Spirit,” 37.

56 Rosen, “How Do You Say ‘Kimchi,’” 1–2.

57 E. M. Kim, Kim, and Kim, “From Development to Development Cooperation,” 331.

58 Reed, “Is Saemaul Undong a Model?,” 12.

59 Marx and Soares, “South Korea’s Transition,” 55.

60 S.-M. Kim, “International Perceptions of South Korea,” 8.

61 Marx and Soares, “South Korea’s Transition,” 56–57, 61.

62 OECD-DAC, “Busan Partnership.”

63 OECD, “Development Finance Data.”

64 Ibid.

65 Yoon and Moon, “Korean Bilateral Official Development Assistance,” 280.

66 ODA Korea, “ODA Korea.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jinhee Kim

Jinhee Kim’s current academic interests focus on migration, citizenship and development studies. She serves as a policy advisor as well as a consultant for UNESCO and UNICEF. Dr Kim’s international academic experiences and studies in Canada, Germany, Australia and South Africa have given her a global perspective on education.

Joshua Garland

Joshua Garland is a graduate student in the Department of International Education Development Cooperation at Pusan National University. Born in Canada, he has been teaching in Korea since 2009. His current research interests focus on primary education development in Africa.