Author: Hyo-sook Kim.

Previous literature on Korea’s official development assistance (ODA) has tended to focus on Korea’s national interest in providing ODA, in a way that is biased toward accepting the assumption of a realist paradigm and ignoring the aspect of international cooperation observed in Korea’s aid behavior. To fill this gap in the literature, I examine the impact of the poverty reduction norm in determining Korea’s aid behavior. I adopt qualitative research methods and examine two aspects of the impact of the norm of poverty reduction in Korea’s ODA: the incorporation of this norm into ODA policy and transformations in aid allocation to African countries. I also conduct an analysis at the level of the system and the unit to identify the factors that encourage Korea to sensitively respond to the poverty reduction norm. I argue that norm internalization has led Korea to increase aid to Africa.