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Copyright by Kyung Sun Lee 2018 The Dissertation Committee for Kyung Sun Lee Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation: Doing Good or Looking Good? Communicating Development, Branding Nation in South Korea Committee: Karin G. Wilkins, Supervisor Joseph Straubhaar Sharon Strover Robert Oppenheim James Pamment Doing Good or Looking Good? Communicating Development, Branding Nation in South Korea by Kyung Sun Lee Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December, 2018 Dedication To my dad, who inspired me to pursue the life of a scholar. Our time together was far too short, but you live on in my heart. Acknowledgements In the course of my dissertation journey, I have benefitted from many people and institutions to whom I would like to express my sincere gratitude. My utmost gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr. Karin Wilkins. I came to the Department of Radio-Television-Film nearly ten years ago to explore the intersections of critical studies, communications, and development. Since then, she has helped me to mature as a scholar, encouraging me to ask incisive questions, to confront them methodically, and articulate evidence systematically. Her enthusiastic support for my dissertation project gave me the courage to challenge myself and persevere through difficult circumstances. Oftentimes, my project was sustained by her unrelenting passion and confidence in my work. It is not only her intellectual influence, but her kindness and genuine concern for her students to which I am most indebted. I cannot thank her enough for being such an inspiring mentor. I would like to acknowledge my committee members, Drs. Joseph Straubhaar, Sharon Strover, Robert Oppenheim, and James Pamment. They have willingly offered insightful comments and suggestions throughout the course of the project. In one way or another, they have shaped my perspectives and ideas about the dissertation. In addition to the wonderful team of committee members, I would also like to thank Drs. Shanti Kumar and Wenhong Chen, who have enriched my critical thinking and research abilities through coursework and research. During my time away from Austin, the Global Media Research writing group has provided scholarly and social sustenance over the years, for which I am sincerely grateful. The group members were and continue to be one of the most constructive v reviewers of my work. Also, I am very grateful to my Korean RTF friends, Ji-Hyun Ahn, Jennifer Minsoo Kang, Jinsook Kim, Shinhea Claire Lee, Bumgi Min, and Hogeun Seo for their social and intellectual support. Thank you so much for being there for me, and for laughing and crying together. I also owe a special thank you to senior RTFer, Young- gil Chae, for kindly offering me space to work during the last semester of my doctoral program and pushing me to successfully complete the long journey of dissertating. This dissertation benefitted greatly from the Doctoral Dissertation Grant from the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California, SSRC Korean Studies Dissertation Workshop, POSCO research fellowship from the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and a summer research fellowship from the Department of Radio-Television-Film at UT. Furthermore, I would like to thank my interview participants who willingly shared their experiences and thoughts, without which this dissertation would not have been possible. Last but surely not least, my appreciation goes to my family. My mom, father-in- law, my two children and husband, Jain, Woohyun, and Keun Hyong Sok. This dissertation is the outcome of their relentless support and sacrifice. A special thank you to my sister, Sang Lim Sandy Lee, for your time and effort put in reading through the lengthy draft of this dissertation. My two children, I am blessed to have them in my life. When I hear the words, “Mommy, you don’t need to be the best at what you do, just be happy with what you do” uttered from my eight year old, I am reminded that there is more to life than research, but at the same time, it gives me the strength to continue pursuing what I do. And finally, my deep gratitude and love to my husband, Keun Hyong Sok, whose unconditional love and support carries me through each day. vi Abstract Doing Good or Looking Good? Communicating Development, Branding Nation in South Korea Kyung Sun Lee, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisor: Karin G. Wilkins This dissertation examines foreign aid-related activities of South Korea to demonstrate how the discourse and practice surrounding development is understood, interpreted, and enacted by an emerging donor. The past two decades have given rise to a diversity of development actors committed to doing good for their inter/transnational counterparts, evidenced in the multi-directional flow of development programs and funds to support such causes. Emerging from the multi-polar structure of the development landscape are a diverse range of articulations, motivations, and understandings guiding development aid. This has raised fundamental questions about how to approach and understand the geopolitical field of development at present moment in time, and the possibility of emerging actors to dismantle the dominant discourse of development. The scholarly field of development communication, however, has been slow to take such shifts into consideration. Following a critical approach to development communication, this study understands development as a discursive field where negotiation and struggle among vii different actors take place at multiple levels. Based on the theoretical understanding, this study examines South Korea’s development thinking and practice, specifically, in relation to its international development volunteer program. Drawing on a discourse analysis of multiple sources data, including news coverage that examines how development is discussed over time by Korean popular press, visual images of Korea’s volunteer program, and interviews with former volunteers, this study makes three points. First, geopolitical and domestic conditions over time have closely tied the understanding of development with nation building, where the two projects mutually constitute one another. Second, in examining how such enduring association of development with the national project is manifested in its representational practices of volunteer encounters, I show that the host becomes simplified, depoliticized, and romanticized, against which Korea is foregrounded as culturally rich, competent, and compassionate. Finally, drawing on an interrogation of multiple structural conditions that are implicated in development volunteering, I show the ways in which Korean volunteers navigate and complicate the dominant imaginaries of development, bringing new perspectives to nation, race, and gender in volunteer-host relationship. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................10 2.1 The Nation in Global Context ......................................................................................11 2.1.1 The Nation and its Components ......................................................................11 2.1.2. Globalization and Nationhood ........................................................................13 2.2. Political Economy of Development ............................................................................15 2.2.1 Globalization, Nationhood, and Development ................................................16 2.2.1.1 Bilateral Donors ................................................................................18 2.2.1.2 Politics of Bilateral Development Aid ..............................................20 2.2.2 South Korea in the Field of Development .......................................................24 2.2.2.1 World Friends Korea: Government-Sponsored International Development Volunteer Program ...........................................................27 2.3 Development as a Field of Discursive Practices ..........................................................29 2.4. Development Communication ....................................................................................31 2.4.1. Dominant Paradigm of Development Communication ..................................32 2.4.2. Critical Approach to Development Communication ......................................34 2.5. National Identity in Transition ....................................................................................38 2.5.1. Commodification of Culture ...........................................................................40 2.5.2. “Brand New Justice”? Branding for Development .........................................43 2.5.3. Nation branding and citizenship: Brand Nationalism .....................................44 ix 2.5.4. Development and Cultural Narrative ..............................................................47 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY