서강대학교

초록/요약

International community has struggled to address the poverty for several decades. As one of the most remarkable efforts for eradication of poverty, MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) were agreed, and especially Official Development Assistance (ODA) from developed countries’ governments has played critical role in development cooperation. Since the ODA is basically financed by taxpayers of donor countries, it is very critical to gain public supports for global poverty reduction efforts. This thesis examines how public supports play a critical role in development assistance and what should be improved in Korean government’s Public Relations to improve public awareness on foreign aid. In this thesis, current activities to raise public awareness are reviewed, and it is argued that systematic and integrated approach based on long-term perspective should be taken. Especially, development education for citizens has been utilized as a very effective way to enhance public supports. Korea was devastated by Korean War in 1950s and used to be one of the recipients that largely benefited from foreign aid once, but now it has been emerging as a new donor country as it has been increasing the volume of ODA. However, Korea needs to follow several recommendations to improve its ODA and develop Korean-style development formula. As Korea joined OECD/DAC in November 2009, Korea’s international assistance policy is at a turning point. At this critical moment, Korean ODA has tasks to reform itself in a way to maximize its own potential while harmonizing aid policies and aligning them with the international community.