Given the growing attention to the Asia–Africa relationship, South Korea's Engagement with Africa attempts to provide a succinct overview of South Korea's academic, economic, diplomatic, civil and cultural engagement with Africa according to studies by Korean–Africanist scholars. The editor, Chang, is struck by the development of the relationship between South Korea and Africa and anticipates that this will become more diversified and sustained, even though there are certain challenges that Korean African Studies have highlighted such as shortages in terms of institutional facilities, research funding, research personnel and the presence of academic silos.
With a brief introduction, the book is organised into seven chapters with respect to three themes: the historical trajectory of African Studies and social science research on Africa in Korea in Chapters 2 and 3; an exploration of Korea's development cooperation in general and its cooperation with Ethiopia in particular in Chapters 4 and 5; a new form of cultural diplomacy, combined with cultural projects in Chapter 6 and the trend for developmental NGOs in Korean civil society in Chapter 7. The chapters are neatly divided to cover in turn the first wave of expansion, commencing in the early 1980s, and patterns and trends from 2000 onwards, constituting a second wave.
Chapter 2 chronicles the trajectory of institutions concerning themselves with African Studies in Korea from the point of view of a contemporary context in which the volume of African disciplines widely studied is increasing. In particular, Chang points to ‘academic sectionalism’ (24) as an obstacle, highlighting the division of disciplinary focus (e.g. political scientists versus Africanists) and explaining that Korean Africanists are seen by some as being outside the academic mainstream. He suggests that research on Africa needs to move beyond academic arguments over the ownership and authenticity of research and instead to meet public demand for the dissemination of new findings in accessible forms.
Chapter 3 observes that social science research on Africa has diversified to address economic and business opportunities within foreign policy, as well as development aid and economic cooperation. Today, development cooperation has emerged as a hot topic for studies, with a particular focus on South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda (52–53).
Chapter 4 examines the Korean government's heavy investment in Africa – its second largest aid beneficiary after the Asian region – in sectors including education, health, public administration and agriculture (88–94). The author, Lee, is critical of Korea's use of ODA, suggesting that a more holistic approach would better reflect the country's own past experience in these sectors (96). Chapter 5 offers a more detailed case study of Korea's engagement with Ethiopia. It explores the linkages between Ethiopia's participation in the Korean War and the government's ongoing commitment to the country through not only increased support for Ethiopian veterans of the war as a way of repaying its debt of gratitude, but also development cooperation projects.
When it comes to cultural exchange, there has recently been an increase in diplomacy that is oriented towards ‘developmental soft power’ (146) with the promotion of a range of Korean cultural practices and artefacts such as Hallyu, Taekwondo and museum projects, as outlined in Chapter 6. Lastly, Chapter 7 summarises an increase in developmental NGOs – sometimes associated with Christian and Buddhist faith groups – playing the role of watchdog for ODA policy and raising public awareness about Africa.
Of these chapters, 2 and 6 offer most in terms of original research, whereas others provide useful but less original summaries of existing research. The repetition of historical background pieces in a number of chapters – especially in reference to the Cold War period – also suggests a lack of editorial oversight. More problematic is that there is little critical analysis of current trends or deconstruction of the policy areas covered in the book, casting doubt on its ability to generate genuinely new understanding.
By the book's own admission, the emergence of ‘African Studies is [historically] related to […] European colonialism and the United States’ global paradigm plan’ (26). In this context, the questions that it leaves unanswered relate to how African studies in Korea can transcend perceptions of insignificance and help to guide the future direction of scholarly, policy and civil society involvement in Africa. Despite these flaws, the volume contains a host of useful primary and secondary material and is recommended for those generally interested in the developmental landscape of Korea in Africa, particularly with regard to African Studies.
