Knowledge Diplomacy as an Instrument of South Korea’s Foreign Policy: Theoretical Aspects and Practical Implementation in the Case of KOICA Scholarship Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-278
Author(s):  
Eriks Varpahovskis

The relevance of this study derives from the limited understanding of the mechanisms of public diplomacy that are activated when scholarship programs for international students are conducted by East Asian countries, particularly South Korea. Moreover, the relevance of the topic is also determined by the scarcity of research on the role of knowledge in public diplomacy mechanisms. The author of this article analyzes South Koreas international student exchange scholarship program, the KOICA Scholarship Program. This case study analyzes the contents of official documents adopted by the Government of the Republic of Korea, documents and materials published by subordinate organizations that administer scholarship programs for international students, as well as scholarly papers on the topic of knowledge diplomacy and related topics. The novelty element is that the concept of knowledge diplomacy, which is gaining popularity worldwide almost has not been used in the Russophone academia, and the studies on South Korean exchange programs as public diplomacy instruments are also poorly represented. The analysis of official documents has shown that the concept of knowledge in the official Korean interpretation differs from the existing academic interpretations accepted in the West (e.g., Great Britain, the United States). Also, the analysis of the scholarship program showed that it only partly complies with the knowledge diplomacy goals assigned by the Government. In particular, through this scholarship Korea successfully transmits knowledge about Korean history and culture, as well as professional knowledge, while the field of knowledge exchange in the program remains unattained. The author concludes with several practical recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of the scholarship program as a tool for knowledge diplomacy.

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-281
Author(s):  
Sylvia Dümmer Scheel

El artículo analiza la diplomacia pública del gobierno de Lázaro Cárdenas centrándose en su opción por publicitar la pobreza nacional en el extranjero, especialmente en Estados Unidos. Se plantea que se trató de una estrategia inédita, que accedió a poner en riesgo el “prestigio nacional” con el fin de justificar ante la opinión pública estadounidense la necesidad de implementar las reformas contenidas en el Plan Sexenal. Aprovechando la inusual empatía hacia los pobres en tiempos del New Deal, se construyó una imagen específica de pobreza que fuera higiénica y redimible. Ésta, sin embargo, no generó consenso entre los mexicanos. This article analyzes the public diplomacy of the government of Lázaro Cárdenas, focusing on the administration’s decision to publicize the nation’s poverty internationally, especially in the United States. This study suggests that this was an unprecedented strategy, putting “national prestige” at risk in order to explain the importance of implementing the reforms contained in the Six Year Plan, in the face of public opinion in the United States. Taking advantage of the increased empathy felt towards the poor during the New Deal, a specific image of hygienic and redeemable poverty was constructed. However, this strategy did not generate agreement among Mexicans.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 252-271
Author(s):  
Madoka Fukuda

AbstractThis article examines the substance and modification of the “One-China” principle, which the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) pursued in the mid 1960s. Under this principle, a country wishing to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC was required first to break off such relations with the Republic of China (ROC). In 1964 the PRC established diplomatic relations with France. This was its first ambassadorial exchange with a Western government. The PRC, in the negotiations over the establishment of diplomatic relations, attempted to achieve some consensus with France on the matter of “One-China”. The PRC, nevertheless, had to abandon these attempts, even though it demanded fewer conditions of France than of the United States (USA), Japan and other Western countries in the 1970s. The PRC had demanded adherence to the “One-China” principle since 1949. France, however, refused to accept this condition. Nevertheless, the PRC established diplomatic relations with France before the latter broke off relations with the ROC. Subsequently, the PRC abandoned the same condition in negotiations with the African governments of the Republic of Congo, Central Africa, Dahomey and Mauritania. After the negotiations with France, the PRC began to insist that the joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations should clearly state that “the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government of China”. However, France refused to insert these words into the communiqué. Afterwards, the PRC nevertheless insisted on putting such a statement into the joint communiqués or exchanges of notes on the establishment of diplomatic relations with the African countries mentioned above. This was done in order to set precedents for making countries accede to the “One-China” principle. The “One-China” principle was, thus, gradually formed in the process of the negotiation and bargaining between the PRC and other governments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sharif Uddin

Andrade and James Hartshorn (2019) surrounds the transition that international students encounter when they attend universities in developed countries in pursuit of higher education. Andrade and James Hartshorn (2019) describe how some countries like Australia and the United Kingdom host more international students than the United States (U.S.) and provides some guidelines for the U.S. higher education institutions to follow to host more international students. This book contains seven chapters.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002190962110358
Author(s):  
Kadir Jun Ayhan ◽  
Moamen Gouda ◽  
Hyelim Lee

Through international student mobility programs, such as Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), countries aim to influence international students’ beliefs about and attitudes toward the host country. In this article, we explore GKS’s role in bringing international students to the country and analyze changes in GKS students’ and alumni’s affective and cognitive evaluation of Korea after coming to the country. We compare results based on students’ and alumni’s length of stay, gender, and economic development level of their home country. Our findings suggest that after coming to Korea, GKS recipients evaluate Korea more positively in both affective and cognitive dimensions.


2019 ◽  
pp. 102831531986136
Author(s):  
Tiago Bittencourt ◽  
Christopher Johnstone ◽  
Millicent Adjei ◽  
Laura Seithers

Student mobility has become a key feature in the drive toward internationalization of higher education in the United States. International students contribute to the academic culture of universities, yet, often face isolation, discrimination, and experience difficulties transitioning to new environments. As a result, conational networks have formed to provide support to international students in foreign institutions. This article examines the different ways membership in a conational support group mediated international students’ experiences in a university campus. Contrary to theories that suggest insularity such as fortressing and cultural enclaves, our findings suggest that conational groups are sites of creative potential where group members are consistently forging complex assemblages between norms that are familiar and experiences that are new. Although significant personal transformations ensue as a result of these assemblages, they are occurring in a setting and a pace that is determined by group members and perceived to be safe. We argue that conational groups should not be conceived as static spaces that reproduce cultural norms, but rather as sites of contestation and cultural negotiation. Based on these findings, we question whether “integration” should be a guiding institutional logic for international student engagement, suggesting instead an approach based on the concept of “inclusion.”


Author(s):  
Guillermo Castro H.

The successful negotiation of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaty inaugurated a new historical era in the Republic of Panama. Politically, the implementation of the Treaty from 1979 to 1999 transformed what, since 1903, had been a protectorate of the United States into a fully sovereign republic. Economically, the integration of the canal into Panama´s internal economy, and that of the country in the global market, created new opportunities for the development of the country. The treaty also put an end to the dispute between Panama and the United States over the control of the rent and revenues produced by the canal, transferring it to the government of the Republic of Panama, and so creating an unprecedented source of resources for investment. More than forty years on, however, Panama faced a combination of sustained (but uncertain) economic growth, persistent social inequity, constant environmental degradation, obsolescence of its institutional system, and increasing internal political tensions, all expressions of the contradiction between the natural organization of the territory of Panama, and the spatial organization of its economy, society and government imposed and maintained since the European conquest of the 16th century. This contradiction is also aggravated by the dispute over control of the canal rent between different sectors of Panamanian society. In short, the country is in a transition stage in its development, which may lead it to overcome the contradiction in developing into a prosperous and equitable republic, or into increasing conflicts that may worsen the contradictions inherent to a centralist and authoritarian tradition of governance.


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