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Дипломатия знаний как инструмент внешней политики Республики Корея: теоретические аспекты и практическое применение на примере KOICA Scholarship Program
The relevance of this study derives from the limited understanding of the
mechanisms of public diplomacy that are activated when scholarship programs for international
students are conducted by East Asian countries, particularly South Korea. Moreover, the relevance
of the topic is also determined by the scarcity of research on the role of knowledge in public
diplomacy mechanisms. The author of this article analyzes South Korea’s international student
exchange scholarship program, the KOICA Scholarship Program. This case study analyzes the
contents of official documents adopted by the Government of the Republic of Korea, documents and
materials published by subordinate organizations that administer scholarship programs for
international students, as well as scholarly papers on the topic of knowledge diplomacy and related
topics. The novelty element is that the concept of knowledge diplomacy, which is gaining popularity
worldwide almost has not been used in the Russophone academia, and the studies on South Korean
exchange programs as public diplomacy instruments are also poorly represented. The analysis of
official documents has shown that the concept of knowledge in the official Korean interpretation
differs from the existing academic interpretations accepted in the West (e.g., Great Britain, the
United States). Also, the analysis of the scholarship program showed that it only partly complies
with the knowledge diplomacy goals assigned by the Government. In particular, through this
scholarship Korea successfully transmits knowledge about Korean history and culture, as well as
professional knowledge, while the field of knowledge exchange in the program remains unattained.
The author concludes with several practical recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness
of the scholarship program as a tool for knowledge diplomacy.