Over the past few decades, South Korea has increasingly sought to attract international talent. Every year, hundreds of students are invited to study in the country on a competitive scholarship provided by the government. Upon graduation, students are equipped with a tertiary degree, as well as knowledge of the Korean language and culture. This study examines the determinants of intention to stay in South Korea to work or study after graduation, using a 2019 survey of Global Korea Scholarship recipients (n = 524). We draw upon literature in student mobility and examine determinants of two-step migration, including satisfaction with the scholarship program, university experiences, social integration, and life in the host country. Results from the statistical analysis show that academic satisfaction, social adjustment, and satisfaction with life in South Korea are positively associated with participants' intentions to stay in the country to work or study after graduation. The findings highlight the role of academic institutions and host communities in influencing students' poststudy plans and point to the need for policy measures that approach talent retention with simultaneous attention to integration and satisfaction, both within and beyond campus.
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 Koreas 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.
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