Over the past twenty years, the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been known as a newly emerging donor country, which succeeded in creating a fully-fledged ODA system that had, for the most part, met the expected standards set by OECD-DAC members. This was achieved through the holding of several critical dialogue sessions with key international organizations, including the OECD-DAC; in fact, the ROK implemented around 87% of the recommendations provided in the DAC’s first peer review. Various multilateral and bilateral organizations have asserted that the ROK could continue to capitalize on its role as a supporter and often a ‘trend-setter’ in effectively addressing global challenges, particularly in the areas of technology, industry, education, and environment-related international cooperation. 

Building on the past twenty years of international development governance and its ODA delivery system, in recent years, the ROK is looking to develop more comprehensive international development strategies to promote international cooperation and engagement, embracing the newly emerging ‘national interests’ discourse. ROK is now experiencing many of the challenges faced by several European countries in the Global North. The key discussions will focus on how the ROK can leverage its strong domestic trend of private sector development, AI innovation, growing migration, and engagement with Sub-Saharan African countries to drive resilience and continued growth for its international development cooperation. 

This Seed Panel, organized by the Korea Association of International Development and Cooperation (KAIDEC), will explore these questions and more by means of holding discussions with scholars from KAIDEC, alongside European academics. We will examine the ROK’s recent ‘globally common’ challenges and the particularities of the ROK’s strategies in international development for navigating a shifting global-national-local landscape — bridging industry, technology, and migration through interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives.

Speakers

• Prof. Kwak, Jae Sung - President, Korea Association of International Development and Cooperation
• Prof. Kim, Suweon - Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
• Prof. Hong, Moon Suk - International Committee of KAIDEC, Associate Professor of Busan University of Foreign Studies