From Development to Development Cooperation: Foreign Aid, Country Ownership, and the Developmental State in South Korea

Abstract

South Korea’s phenomenal economic development in the second half of the 20th century from one of the poorest “basket case” states to having an economy that can boast to being 13th in the world, has led to new global roles for the country. In January 2010, South Korea joined the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as its 24th member, signaling its growing role as a major donor of foreign aid. In November 2010, South Korea successfully hosted the first G20 Summit Meeting in Asia and introduced the development agenda. In November 2011, the fourth and final High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4), hosted by the OECD and the World Bank, took place in Busan, South Korea.