‘근면한 남반구’를 위한 국제개발지식의 조건: 한국의 탈식민적 국제개발 지식 재구성을 위하여 = For the ‘Diligent yet Impoverished Global South’: Post-Colonial Reconstruction of Korean International Development Study

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of postcolonial critical international development studies by critiquing the power dynamics and Eurocentrism inherent in international development research. Through an examination of the South Korean case, this study critically reviews the biases and reproduction of Eurocentrism in international development knowledge and engages in a critical discourse on postcolonial critical international development studies within the Korean context. Historically, with the expansion of European international society, a dichotomy between civilization and barbarism was established, distinguishing the West from "the rest." This hierarchical relationship has persisted even after the end of colonialism, manifesting in the division between developed and underdeveloped countries, or donor and recipient nations, mediated through the concept of "development." Although South-South cooperation has been proposed as an alternative, it faces numerous limitations. Initially, South Korea expanded its development cooperation initiatives by emphasizing its shared experiences of poverty and colonialism with other countries in the Global South and its potential for successful development. However, the emphasis on homogeneity and the successful development model has, paradoxically, facilitated the natural dissemination of the international system established by the West. This has conferred a sense of nationalistic superiority through exceptional achievements and led to the politicization and impoverishment of knowledge in South Korea's state-led knowledge-sharing projects.
Despite the political and economic rise of the Global South, the increasing number of failures in South-South cooperation and the growing resistance against these failures underscore the need for critical reflection in South Korea's international development research. This necessitates the adoption of postcolonialism and the critical reconstruction of the dominant international order as essential values for meaningful discourse.