Why aid diplomacy eventually pays off: Lessons from Australia’s Demonstration Sheep Farm Project in 1970s South Korea

Abstract

When two Kelpie sheepdogs and the first consignment of 2,500 Australian sheep arrived in a remote Korean village of Unbong in the summer of 1972, few would have imagined it would lay the foundations for one of the most successful yet forgotten episodes in Australian aid diplomacy.

Our research on a hitherto unresearched history of Republic of Korea-Australia foreign aid engagement in the 1970s has found that relatively small projects which focus on both the technical issues and country-to-country diplomacy can result in significant and lasting long-term mutual benefits for both the donor and recipient countries.

We have unearthed an unlikely story of Australia’s involvement in the development of rural Korea which marked an important new phase in ROK-Australia relations. It is also a good example of Australia’s past foreign aid efforts which were driven by diplomatic aims rather than immediate need to advance trade, security and strategic interests in the region. However, almost a half century later, these diplomatic efforts laid the foundations to a relationship that is now one of Australia’s most important in trade, regional security and global diplomacy.