Aid as Transnational Social Capital: Korea's Official Development Assistance in Higher Education

Rennie Moon explores a new framework for higher education official development assistance (ODA) with a focus on the transnational bridging benefits of social capital. She first explains why and how a transnational social capital approach can improve the current focus on human resources and local bridges in higher education development. She then illustrates its merits by examining, 1) the transnational bridging potential of social capital formed by foreign students currently studying in Korea; and 2) the actual transnational social capital contributions of foreign professionals who returned home after completing a Korean higher education ODA program. In doing so, she directs particular attention to the value of transnational social capital in promoting development cooperation and public diplomacy. She concludes by discussing how this approach has conceptual importance and practical implications for development cooperation in higher education.

Moon is the 2016-17 Koret Fellow in the Korea Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, and an associate professor at the Underwood International College at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. With a background in international comparative education and sociology, her research has concentrated on globalization and education, brain/talent flows, diversity and social tolerance and official development assistance in higher education. Moon, a graduate of Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, Ph.D. ‘09, has collaborated with Stanford professor Gi-Wook Shin on a multiyear research project that examines diversity in higher education in East Asia. She co-edited the book Internationalizing Higher Education in Korea: Challenges and Opportunities in Comparative Perspective published in 2016. Her articles have appeared in academic journals including Comparative Education Review, Comparative Education, Australian Journal of International Affairs, and Pacific Affairs. As a Korean-American scholar, Moon has written editorials and columns in both English and Korean on higher education in Korea and Asia for the Nikkei Asian Review, The Conversation, East Asia Forum, Australian Outlook, Dong-A Daily, MK News, and other media outlets. Moon holds her a doctorate and a master's degree in international comparative education from Stanford and a bachelor’s degree in French from Wellesley College.

Supported by the Koret Foundation, the Koret Fellowship brings professionals to Stanford to conduct research on contemporary Korean affairs.