From Donee to Donor

Senior citizens had a bitter experience of having received rations of small powdered milk cakes when they were at elementary school. Young Koreans should think about who helped their parents and grandparents escape malnutrition. Korea, which rose from the ashes of the Korean War through the help of other countries, needs to do more of the same for others.

Despite Korea¡¯s place as the 11th largest economy in the world, its contribution to those in need has been very trivial. Its Official Development Assistance(ODA: °øÀû °³¹ß ¿øÁ¶) totaled $670 million in 2007, accounting for 0.074 percent of the gross national income (GNI). This ratio is the lowest level among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD: °æÁ¦Çù·Â°³¹ß±â±¸) member countries, where the average ratio was 0.28 percent.

The Korean government increased the amount of its official development assistance in 2010 almost 20 percent to nearly 420 billion won from around 354 billion won last year. Half of the overseas aid will go to countries categorized as severely underdeveloped or low-income.

Korea will also significantly increase its assistance to countries that sent troops to support to Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, such as the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Turkey. The assistance to these countries is to climb to 15 billion won from 9.7 billion won a year earlier.

However, many experts emphasize that aid money should be wisely spent. They say, Koreans should think first about why underdeveloped countries are still poor. They point out that African countries, for example, which have been recipients of huge assistance, are still poor, while lots of Korean population with low income still needs further governmental assistance.

The aid is not based on totally pure intentions. In the past, the assistance was used to stop the expansion of communism, and later it aimed at encouraging underdeveloped countries to join global economic schemes like the WTO. Recently, the fight against terrorism has become another motivation for overseas assistance. Nevertheless, the money should be given to those suffering from hunger, for instance, in countries in Africa and South America.

One of the problems seen in overseas aid is that the money is often given to conglomerates and politicians of the poor countries. The money spent on overseas aid comes from the taxes paid by citizens. So people should know where Korea¡¯s overseas aid should head. Besides, the governmental policies regarding overseas assistance should be improved in several fashions.

This kind of assistance matters more than the quantity of the aid. The aid should be practically contributing to the economic and social development of recipient countries. The growth potential of underdeveloped countries should be maximized and the recipients should help themselves, too. Assistance without improvement is meaningless.

Besides, emphasis should be put on the levels to heighten national image as well as national interest in foreign aid. Some experts show concern that Korea could establish a negative image of being an immoral corporate country. National interest should not be the direct object of overseas aid. Rather, this will be achieved through long-term relations, partnerships, and trust built up with the recipient country.

In the 21st century, Korea has become one of the major economic donors from being a donee. Therefore, the aid should be spent wisely.