Centre for Asian Studies
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Item Special Edition on Chinweizu(Brill, 2021) Adu Amoah, L.G.Item General Introduction: “40 Years of Ghana-Korea Relations”(African and Asian Studies, 2019-03) Adu Amoah, L.G.Africa-Asia relations entered upon a particularly feisty and crucial phase in the last two decades of the twentieth century; this process continues apace in this century. As Amoah (2016) has argued, it is important not to be seduced by the turbo-charged quality of contemporary Africa-Asia relations and thereby for- get the long provenance of this interaction. To be sure, it is only recently that vigorous academic studies of the varied historical and contemporary links be- tween Africa and Asia has taken of. This new research interest has been driven in the main by China’s meteoric economic rise and its designs in Africa which have become a virtual cottage research industry (Ampiah and Naidu, 2008; Brautigam, 2011; Edoho, 2011; Monson, 2009; Prah and Gumede, 2018; Bodomo, 2013). A positive spin-of of this is the emergence of research centres in African academies (Amoah, 2015) dedicated to the study of the political-economy of Asia as well as and crucially “its … art, language, literature, history, philoso- phy, religion, etc.” (Amoah, 2015, 38). The Centre for Asian Studies () at the University of Ghana, Legon, is one of such centresItem Re-Framing Ghana-Korea People to People Solidarity(African and Asian Studies, 2019-03) Khoo-Dzisi, A.Movements of people between Africa and Asia have exponentially increased beyond diplomatic exchanges and development aid under neo-liberal globalisation. Similarly, Ghana-Korea encounters have expanded to people-to-people engagement, including sports and entertainment in recent years. This chapter explores new forms of people-to-people exchanges that go beyond ‘Ghana as the football nation’ and ‘Korea as the Samsung Republic’. The focus is to explore innovative ways of bridging cultures and transcending boundaries. This paper relies on primary data (participation observation, interviews) and secondary data (published academic, government and ephemeral material) to highlight new areas of collaboration, ranging from commerce and investment, academic exchanges, collaboration in art and cultural endeavours, and the merging of these areas in a mutually beneficial way. Korea can learn from Ghana’s cultural diversity and tolerance; Ghana can benefit from Korea’s success in turning its art and cultural industries into an important export. In considering new forms of Ghanaian-Korean cooperation that transcends the traditional paradigm, starting from the grassroots, critical perspectives and approaches are examined for building a sustainable partnership based on mutual respect and understanding.Item Ghana-Korea Economic Relations – The Record after 40 Years and the Future(African and Asian Studies, 2019-04) Adu Amoah, L.G.; Asante, K.Over the last sixty years the economic and industrial fortunes of Ghana and Korea have proved worryingly divergent. Though Ghana and South Korea had comparatively similar per capita in the 1960s, South Korea in 2017 ($29,742.839) has been able to attain a per capita that is about ten times that of Ghana ($1,641.487). This work critically examines the economic relationship between Ghana and South Korea in the last forty years. It focuses on the economic miracle of South Korea and the lessons for developing countries like Ghana. The article utilizes economic, historical and policy data drawn from primary and secondary sources in an attempt to examine the eco- nomic relations between the two countries thus far and prescribe ways in which Ghana can benet far more than ever before from her economic co-operation with Korea. The paper argues that for Ghana to benet from its economic relations with South Korea the ideational example of this East Asian state in constructing a developmental state (DS) is critical. Flowing from this, it is recommended that this West African nation be- comes more diligent and innovative in her economic relations with Korea as a matter of strategic necessity in pursuit of Ghana’s long held industrialization dream.Item Is the Saemaŭl Undong Initiative (the Korean Rural Development Strategy) a Compelling Exemplar for Ghana?(African and Asian Studies, 2019-03) Adu Amoah, L.G.; Mills, L.N.L.This paper examines Korea’s answer to the rural development challenge in the 1970s, the Saemaŭl Undong movement ( SMU ). As one of the revolutionary polices of Park Chung-Hee, it has been highlighted as contributing greatly to the South Korean economic miracle. There is consensus that it is a shining example of a successful rural development policy and has been widely documented. Given the signal achievements of the programme, this paper attempts to establish whether the SMU could be useful for Ghana as a lasting solution to rural underdevelopment. This paper presents a critical historical background of the SMU and how it was executed highlighting in particular the factors that were crucial to the success of the initiative. The Korean explications are then set against an overview of Ghana’s attempts at rural development in an attempt to account for the reasons why Ghana has not been as successful at this task. Our conclusion is that the SMU can serve as a repository of best practices and outline lessons therefrom to guide the formulation and implementation of an integrated, home-grown rural development strategy to ensure the best possible chance of success of such a strategy.