International Aid and South Korea: Experience from Recipient to Donor

Abstract

This book explores South Korea’s experience as an aid recipient, as an aid donor, and as an inter‑Korea aid provider.

Analysing case studies of international aid both received and dispensed by South Korea, from the end of the Korean War until the present day, this collection provides a novel lens through which to explore South Korea’s development pathway. While it examines the cases of Italian and German aid to South Korea during its early economic development period, this volume also delineates South Korea’s international aid in the health and gender sectors. It also discusses the South Korean experience of providing aid to the Mekong region and North Korea. The latter specifically analyses whether this policy represents international altruism or reveals a novel method of international validation for South Korea over its neighbour.

Featuring an exploration of South Korea’s development on the international stage through the lens of aid, this book will appeal to both students and scholars in the fields of Korean studies, East Asian studies, and Asia Pacific studies, as well as in the disciplines of Development Studies and International Relations and Political Economy, particularly that of aid policies and practices.