When film met aid, in a city of a Southern donor

Abstract

This study examines the transformation of Koreas development cooperation in light of expanding inclusivity. Koreas economic development is characterised by state-centrism, and so has been the Korean development cooperation. Thus, the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan in 2011 championing a plurality of development agents offered an opportunity for Korea to exercise the global leadership in supporting sub-state actors. Simultaneously, Busan has been shaping Busan-style ODA based on its sectoral comparative advantage – a knowledge sharing in the film industry. Based on understanding the path of a politically odourless Korean development cooperation, this study argues that the statemunicipal collaboration in Korea, a conformist emerging donor with a short history of democracy and a long tradition of developmental state, presents an alternative version of cities engagement breaking the traditional North-South dynamics both in development cooperation and the cultural and creative industry