Africa–South Korea relations
This was mainly due to geographical and previous technological logistics, as well as the fact that Korea lost its national sovereignty until 1945 during the Japanese colonial era in the early 20th century.
In particular, in 1982 to host the 1988 Seoul Olympics, South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan was the first president to visit African countries in; Kenya, Nigeria, Gabon, and Senegal for expanding South Korea's diplomatic influences[12] From this point on, Korea dispatched delegations and diplomats to the African continent and started practical economic and technological cooperation.
[14] In order to maintain their advantageous position, the South Korean government established a Korean government-led initiative for African development with five primary values:[16] 1) Expand Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Africa 2) Invite international students from across the African continent to transfer to South Korea for advanced technologies studies 3) Expand medical and health support for infectious diseases 4) Expand trade with the countries of Africa 5) Regularly hold a South Korea-Africa Forum.
[14] Since the 2010s, the importance of Africa's enormous resources has been highlighted to South Korea, and investment from the private sphere and national projects began in earnest.
[16] The Covid-19 Pandemic has also influenced relations between South Korea and Africa, such as with donations and aid coming in the form of medical supplies.
[22] African countries in the 1970s tended to have economic systems that were dependent on basic industry due to the lack of capital, technology, experience, management ability, and corruption, although they had enormous natural resources.
[15] As can be seen in Japan and China's case, South Korea's economic interactions with Africa are relatively smaller than other major Asian nations.
[22] Algeria seeks its own development by strengthening ties with South Korea to be a significant country in the area of North Africa.
August 9, 1994, to May 15, 2006 Angola: After the civil war, as a UN peacekeeping force, an engineer battalion was dispatched to restore major walkways and facilities.
South Sudan: Medical and engineering battalion as a UN peacekeeping force for national reconstruction after a long civil war March 31, 2013, to the present.
Official exchanges between Korea and African countries began with the participation of Ethiopia and South Africa in the Korean War.
[12] As a result, political relations between South Korea and African countries were significantly affected by the ideological situation during the Cold War.
[14] After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the political solidarity between South Korea and African countries was further expanded, and this increased with the expansion of diplomatic ties as well.
In particular, to secure an edge in competition with China and Japan, South Korean politicians have done their best to ensure a sizable budget for KOICA.
[28] Their major projects include: Through this, KOICA states that it is striving for the prosperity of both countries' relations while passing on South Korean technology and advanced systems.
[28] KOICA designed their new project that re-systemize the national governance system with IT technologies, and this is being implemented with priority from key African countries.
Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia in Northern Africa have been selected and KOICA is aiming their project's result to made these nations become a high-middle-income country.
[28] In the case of Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Cameroon in the Midwest, investments are continuing with the goal of national growth, economic prosperity, and job opportunities.
[28] Lastly, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya in the southeast region are providing intensive support to reduce unemployment rate and develop human resources.
[26] Based on an analysis of each nation's differences, KOICA wants to provide customized cooperation and support for each African region.
