Participation in development: Learning from the past and present in the Republic of Korea

The present study draws on two case studies, one on village dynamics during the 1970s rural community development movement in the Republic of Korea and the other on present day challenges and learning based on the experiences of a non-governmental organization from the Republic of Korea in implementing a community project together with local villagers in Cambodia. The study argues that the participatory approach, despite recent criticism and challenges associated with it, should remain the core mode of development cooperation because of its intrinsic and instrumental values in efforts to develop a sustainable community. Local leaders’ accountability and leadership, as well as genuine partnerships, involving equitable sharing of power in decisionmaking among various stakeholders, including external donor agencies, are also underlined as crucial in engaging local people in their own development initiatives.