A Sociocultural Analysis of Korean Sport for International Development Initiatives
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A Sociocultural Analysis of Korean Sport for International Development Initiatives Dongkyu Na Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Kinetics School of Human Kinetics Faculty of Health Sciences University of Ottawa © Dongkyu Na, Ottawa, Canada, 2021 Korean Sport for International Development ii Abstract This dissertation focuses on the following questions: 1) What is the structure of the Korean sport for international development discourse? 2) How are the historical transformations of particular rules of formation manifested in the discourse of Korean sport for international development? 3) What knowledge, ideas, and strategies make up Korean sport for international development? And 4) what are the ways in which these components interact with the institutional aspirations of the Korean government, directed by the official development assistance goals, the foreign policy and diplomatic agenda, and domestic politics? To address these research questions, I focus my analysis on the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and its 30 years of expertise in designing and implementing sport and physical activity–related programs and aid projects. For this research project, I collected eight different sets of KOICA documents published from 1991 to 2017 as primary sources and two different sets of supplementary documents including government policy documents and newspaper articles. By using Foucault’s archaeology and genealogy as methodological frameworks, the analysis highlights how KOICA sport has functioned for three decades as 1) an international development tool, 2) a diplomacy tool, and 3) a domestic policy tool of the Korean state. The conclusion focuses on 1) the relevance of findings to the larger context of SFD, sport diplomacy, and domestic policy and political literature; 2) additional cases demonstrating the ways other nations might employ sport for political purposes, in comparison with KOICA sport; 3) KOICA sport’s potential future as an alternative to Korean SFD and future direction of my research journey toward a big picture of East Asian SFD. Korean Sport for International Development iii Acknowledgements This research journey would not have been possible without the enormous support and guidance I received from some very important people during my doctoral program. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to my esteemed supervisor Dr. Christine Dallaire for her support, guidance, and patience. Without her understanding and unwavering belief in me, I could not have realized this research project. As my supervisor over the past six years, she emulated the type of role model that I hope to one day become for my future students. I would like to thank my thesis committee for their insightful comments and suggestions. To Dr. Alexandra Arellano, you gave me friendship and the opportunity to participate in your project trip to Kitcisakik. This chance allowed me to more deeply consider how my research project could be situated differently in SFD research. I appreciate Dr. Michael Robidoux for offering his critical thoughts about state-driven Korean SFD and its symbolic value to the Korean state in the larger context of the Cold War, distinctive from the mainstream SFD of the West. I also thank Dr. Alex Dumas for providing rich insight into the importance of elucidating the details of the methodological process, allowing me to revisit how I came up with key themes and concepts. I had the privilege of being evaluated by Dr. David Black as my external examiner, thank you for offering significant insight for understanding the Korean state as related to the Asian developmental state. Furthermore, I have learnt a lot from your research which extends the state’s use of sport in Korean ODA to the realm of sport diplomacy and international politics. My sincere thanks also go to Dr. Settar Koçak and Dr. Irmak Hürmeriç Altunsöz for providing me an opportunity to teach and practically apply what I learnt from teaching certificate programs to the lecture setting at the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the Middle East Technical University (METU). I would particularly like to thank Dr. Settar Koçak for Korean Sport for International Development iv sharing wonderful humor and knowledge on how to adjust to teaching in the undergraduate university setting in Turkey. I also appreciate Dr. Irmak Hürmeriç Altunsöz, who is one of the friendliest professors I had the pleasure of meeting during the past several years. Thank you for your infinite support during my time teaching at METU. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to METU colleagues Nehir Kavi-Şimşek, Betül Coşkun, Serap Sarıkaya, Seda Taşci, Hakan Taş, and Tuba Yazıcı, for their warm welcome and friendship. I am grateful for the many lunches and social outings we shared together at Devrim. Thank you Nehir especially for your unwavering support, you always made me feel at home in Turkey even during the pandemic. I am grateful to your family for welcoming me with an amazing Turkish brunch and dinner. To Betül, it was a pleasure to share graduate studies and discussions with you on research life in both Canada (Korea) and Turkey. Your wholehearted support during my time at METU cannot go unacknowledged. It was a pleasure to share doctoral studies at the School of Human Kinetics of the University of Ottawa with my colleagues (as members of Team Christine!) Humphrey Nartey, Phillip Chipman, and Joseph Friis. Humphrey Nartey, thank you for your wise advice and never- ending encouragement. To Phillip Chipman, I was very impressed by your routine – it made me more dedicated to my research. Thank you for joining the Olympic Talks that I first hosted with Humphrey. To Joseph Friis, thank you for your friendship and offering many opportunities to be involved in your research trip and hosting me at your home in Switzerland. I would also like to thank Dr. Doeob Yang, you were someone I deeply relied on during my time in Ottawa. Thank you for being always on my side. To Dr. Yongeun Kim, I am much indebted to you for all that you have done for me. Your support allowed me to quickly adapt to a new environment, sport studies, at the School of Sport Science at Sungkyunkwan University. Korean Sport for International Development v I gratefully acknowledge the support of my friends outside academia during my years of graduate study. To Seonghyeon Joo, who was willing to share his place in Seoul while I completed my English courses: you helped me take my first steps toward doctoral studies abroad. Thank you. To Hyunjun Kim, giving me your time for our chats helped me overcome many difficulties in Ottawa. To Hwanjun Kim, your friendship over the last 25 years and presence in our hometown allowed me to recharge when doctoral life got exhausting. To Junhong Lee, for always welcoming me at our hometown: thank you. To Hojun Kwon, thank you for your words of encouragement. They always cheer me up. To Seungyeon Hong, I am thankful for your thoughtful ideas on relationships, which helped me mature and ease better into my new environment. Sunghwan Yeo, thank you for helping me successfully lead many social activities. They also instilled confidence in me towards my research. I thank Kainan Wang for her knowledge and skills that helped me, a non-native speaker, elevate my English abilities. I wish to extend my special thanks to Young-gyu Jo, who has been an indispensable life mentor and role model for building my teaching philosophy since the sixth grade of elementary school. I thank Ela, who has always made me special and believe that I can do anything. Finally, I am forever grateful to my family. The entirety of my graduate life would not have been possible without the unfailing love and support of my parents, Jongtaek Na and Jeongsoon Kim. To my father, thank you for your constant dedication and sacrifice for family. To my mother, who has taught me everything about how to live well: thank you for always believing in me and being there for me. Lastly, I thank my brother, Dong-uk Na, for his financial support and for taking on my role in the family while I was away during my doctoral studies. Korean Sport for International Development vi Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Topic and Research Question of the Dissertation ..................................................................................... 5 SFD and the Sociopolitical Approach ..................................................................................................... 10 Dissertation Chapters .............................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 2: Contextualizing KOICA Sport ..............................................................................