• Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.421-440
• /
• 2010

This paper examines middle powers' ODA policy in the post cold war era and discusses its implication for Korean aid strategy. Middle powers' ODA has been more successful than that of super powers in promoting donors' positive images and in stimulating recipient countries' development. Middle powers tend to pursue multilateral solutions to international problems often by taking a mediator role, and their ODA policies set them apart from the great players in international politics. Middle powers' ODA is primarily aimed at reducing poverty and protecting human rights in least developed countries where humanitarian aid needs the most rather than promoting donors' interests. Also, middle powers have provided bilateral untied aid in the sectors of food aid and emergency relief and steadily devoted about 0.7% of their gross national income to ODA. Meanwhile, Korea as an emerging middle power and a new donor has been implementing its own aid strategy under the name of the Korean development model since the post cold war period. The Korean ODA was not successful in building donors' positive images by simply following the short term strategies of US and Japan. Yet, its ODA policy has been quite effective in sustaining local development by creating specific niches in which the country can specialize in. In specific, Korea has focused on developing the sectors of information and communication technology and industry energy in recipients' countries by maximizing its comparative advantage.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.61-72
• /
• 2022

Purpose : This study aimed to identify the educational effects of the International Development Cooperation and Healthcare course from 2018 to 2020. Methods : Changes in awareness of international development cooperation (understanding international development cooperation as well as government Official Development Assistance [ODA], thoughts on aid, and thoughts on government's aid scale) were analyzed using web-based surveys. The pre-course survey was conducted 1-2 weeks before the semester started, and the post-course survey was conducted 1-2 weeks after the semester ended. All data were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 program, and statistical significance was set at p< .05. Results : A total of 314 people participated in the survey before taking the course, and 286 people participated in the survey after taking the course. Analysis of the changes in students' awareness of international development cooperation showed that all items (understanding international development cooperation and government ODA, as well as having thoughts on aid and government's aid scale) were improved. Regarding changes in awareness according to general characteristics, thoughts on aid were statistically significant according to all characteristics except for 2018. Regarding government's aid scale, awareness scores increased after taking the course in students who majored in healthcare, fine arts and athletics, broadcasting and media studies, and digital contents. Conclusion : This study showed that changes in awareness of international development cooperation were largest in second-year students. Compared to changes regarding international development cooperation, government ODA, and thoughts on aid, changes regarding thoughts on government's aid scale were minor. In the future, it is necessary to develop class content suitable for the first-year level and to supplement and operate content that can change the way of thinking on government's aid scale.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.198-215
• /
• 2020

Official development assistance refers to assistance provided by governments and other public institutions in donor countries, aimed at promoting economic development and social welfare in developing countries. The purpose of this research is to examine the construction process of the "Myanmar Cultural Heritage Management System" that is underway as part of the ODA project to strengthen cultural and artistic capabilities and analyze the achievements and challenges of the Digital Cultural Heritage ODA. The digital cultural heritage management system is intended to achieve the permanent preservation and sustainable utilization of tangible and intangible cultural heritage materials. Cultural heritage can be stored in digital archives, newly approached using computer analysis technology, and information can be used in multiple dimensions. First, the Digital Cultural Heritage ODA was able to permanently preserve cultural heritage content that urgently needed digitalization by overcoming and documenting the "risk" associated with cultural heritage under threat of being extinguished, damaged, degraded, or distorted in Myanmar. Second, information on Myanmar's cultural heritage can be systematically managed and used in many ways through linkages between materials. Third, cultural maps can be implemented that are based on accurate geographical location information as to where cultural heritage is located or inherited. Various items of cultural heritage were collectively and intensively visualized to maximize utility and convenience for academic, policy, and practical purposes. Fourth, we were able to overcome the one-sided limitations of cultural ODA in relations between donor and recipient countries. Fifth, the capacity building program run by officials in charge of the beneficiary country, which could be the most important form of sustainable development in the cultural ODA, was operated together. Sixth, there is an implication that it is an ODA that can be relatively smooth and non-face-to-face in nature, without requiring the movement of manpower between countries during the current global pandemic. However, the following tasks remain to be solved through active discussion and deliberation in the future. First, the content of the data uploaded to the system should be verified. Second, to preserve digital cultural heritage, it must be protected from various threats. For example, it is necessary to train local experts to prepare for errors caused by computer viruses, stored data, or operating systems. Third, due to the nature of the rapidly changing environment of computer technology, measures should also be discussed to address the problems that tend to follow when new versions and programs are developed after the end of the ODA project, or when developers have not continued to manage their programs. Fourth, since the classification system criteria and decisions regarding whether the data will be disclosed or not are set according to Myanmar's political judgment, it is necessary to let the beneficiary country understand the ultimate purpose of the cultural ODA project.

• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.403-425
• /
• 2011

Canada became the first OECD/DAC member state that legislated the ODA Accountability Act in 2008, which prescribe Canada ODA policies to meet the guidelines and norms of international human rights while other OECD/DAC member states was just emphasizing the importance of abiding by the international human rights norms. Paying attention to the Canadian case, this article critically examines under what structural environments and process this Act was passed. This article argues that the legislation of the ODA Accountability Act is closely related with Canada's international position as middle power and diplomatic strategies. Bring up the human security issues as a niche market, Canada demonstrates the characteristics of middle power state by emphasizing human rights agenda as new foreign policy strategies. Reflecting on the negative outcomes from neoliberal aid policy of structural adjustment and promoting the new aid norms in post cold war era would also help foster the enabling environment for the value-oriented aid policies and enactment of the Accountability Act. Civil society organizations were also playing catalyst role in constructing Canada's state identity of human rights defender.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.54 no.6
• /
• pp.381-393
• /
• 2021

As part of the National Disaster Management Research Institute's Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects for transferring new technologies in the field of disaster-safety management, a flood forecasting and warning system was established in 2019 targeting the Borikhan in the Namxan River Basin in Bolikhamxai Province, Laos. In the target area, which is an ungauged small and medium river basin, observation stations for real-time monitoring of rainfall and runoff and alarm stations were installed, and a software that performs real-time data management and flood forecasting and warning functions was also developed. In order to establish a flood warning standard and develop a nomograph for flood prediction, hydraulic and hydrological analysis was performed based on the 30-year annual maximum daily rainfall data and river morphology survey results in the target area. This paper introduces the process and methodology used in this study, and presents the results of the system's applicability review based on the data observed and collected in 2020 after system installation.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.385-396
• /
• 2018

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the economic efficiency of a nutrition management program for children under 5 years of age in Kenge, Kwango District, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) from 2014 to 2016. Methods: The economic efficiency of a nutrition management program for children under 5 years of age who have recovered from malnutrition status was evaluated using a cost-benefit analysis. The costs were analyzed according to the executed budget incurred during the project period. The benefits were estimated as the monetary value of the saved lives of children under 5 years of age. The economic efficiency of the program was determined by the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR). The BCR was calculated by dividing the total discounted benefit by the total discounted costs. The project is economically efficient when the BCR is greater than 1. Results: The costs of the nutrition management program were calculated as 1,677,609,648 Korean Won (KRW). A total of 2,466 children survived with improved malnutrition status through this program. The benefit for the reduction of mortality for children under 5 years of age was estimated to be 6,814,354,467 KRW, the estimated value of life for 2,466 children. The BCR was 4.06. Conclusions: The nutrition management program for children under 5 years of age in DR Congo was found to be a cost-effective project. Successful and efficient Official Development Assistance (ODA) for a health project requires integrated and comprehensive strategies and specialized international development consulting to improve efficiency. Future nutrition management programs should take into account the national health program to maintain the sustainability of the project.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.43-56
• /
• 2019

Irrigated and flooded rice paddy contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) that affect climate. This in turn affects the supply and reliability of the water needed for rice production. This dynamic makes current rice production methods foreseeably less sustainable over time while having other undesirable effects. Intermittent irrigation by a means of the system of rice intensification (SRI) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) methods was reviewed to reduce global warming potential (GWP) from 29% to 90% depending on site-specific characteristics from flooded rice paddy and analyzed to be a promising option for enhancing the productivity of water as well, an increasingly constraining resource. Additional benefits associated with the SRI/AWD can be less arsenic in the grain and less degradation of water quality in the run-off from rice paddies. Adoption and expansion of intermittent irrigation of SRI/AWD may require costly public and private investments in irrigation infrastructure that can precisely make irrigation control, and the involvement and upgrading of water management agencies and farmer organizations to enhance management capabilities. Private and public collaboration as a means of earning carbon credit under the clean-development mechanism (CDM) with SRI/AWD for industries to meet as a part of their GHG emission quota as well as a social contribution and publicity program could contribute to adopt intermittent irrigation and rural investment and development. Also, inclusion of SRI and AWD in programs designed under CDM and/or in official development assistance (ODA) projects could contribute to climate-change mitigation and help to achieve UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2016

Purpose: This is the ex-post evaluation on "the Central General Hospital in Quang Nam Province in Vietnam" funded by Korean ODA. Through this evaluation, this study tries to explore useful ways to improve the effectiveness of Korean ODA projects related to hospital establishment. Methods: Field survey and analysis of questionaire to the staffs and patients of Quang Nam Province General Hospital were conducted twice in 2012 and 2014 after the completion of the Hospital. Two sets of surveys and questionaire outcomes have been comparatively analysed by statistics in order to seek the trend of satisfaction level of hospital users and find out the improvement way in hospital design and construction. Results: The satisfaction level on the hospital was relatively high and that of 2014 is higher than that of 2012. The satisfaction level of the users was recorded in Likert 5 scales. Continuous facility complement and maintenance is considered as the main contributor in increasing the satisfaction level of users. As far as the satisfaction level of outpatient is concerned, that of 2012 was recorded as 3.65 and that of 2014 was 4.05. In case of inpatient, the satisfaction level on the hospital in 2012 was 3.76, and 4.06 in 2014. Implications: In overseas hospital projects, proper hospital project management system including medical service plan, strategic plan, brief, design & construction and maintenance have to be put together effectively and efficiently for the success of the hospital project. At the same time local climate, culture, building material and local code have to be considered in order to build sustainable hospital.

• Land and Housing Review
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.15-30
• /
• 2021

Korean urban development cooperation is gradually expanding into Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, but strategies to encourage domestic market players to participate are insufficient. This paper investigated the Colombian urban planning system, urban development projects, and Korean projects in Colombia, which leads to implications for international cooperation in LAC. This research, first, compares the national and regional urban planning systems of Colombian major cities, Bogotá and Medellín. Second, case studies are carried out with a land readjustment project, a Macro project for large-scale public rental housing supply, and urban development cooperation between Korea and Colombia. By doing so, the role and the directions for Korean urban development cooperation with LAC such as Colombia are discussed and proposed. The findings suggest, first, aid projects through Official Development Assistance (ODA) should establish urban networks in recipient countries. Second, it is necessary to understand the financing structure for urban development cooperation projects that are different from infrastructure projects. Third, the successful case of urban development cooperation should be demonstrated by making the development period and size optimal and manageable.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.41-74
• /
• 2007

This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of Korea's official development assistance (ODA) in terms of improvement in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of aid recipients, and promotion of Korea's exports and outward foreign direct investments (FDI) to ODA recipients. The assessment has also been done for different groups of aid recipient countries divided by their regional location, income level, and economic freedom. For this purpose, this paper empirically tests the effectiveness of bilateral grants and loans for 163 aid recipient countries during the period of 1990 to 2003. Results show that ODA from Korea had not been able to explain the variations in aid recipient countries' growth in per capita GDP. Provision of aid promoted outward FDI to aid recipient countries during the entire period considered. With respect to exports, provision of aid had facilitated Korea's exports to aid recipient countries, except for the period of 2000~2003. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for future aid policy have been made.