The Development Cooperation Policy Program (DCPP) is a scholarship program offering each year an opportunity for 20 public servants from developing countries to study at the Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies (SNU GSIS)...
The Development Cooperation Policy Program (DCPP) is a scholarship program offering each year an opportunity for 20 public servants from developing countries to study at the Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies (SNU GSIS). As not only special program students, but also as developing country nationals, DCPP students in Korea face different challenges from their other foreign peers.
This paper focuses on belongingness—a central aspect of student life—and aims to understand the factors behind why some DCPP students feel like they belong at SNU GSIS and some others do not. Additionally, this paper also focuses on a crucial aspect of university belongingness (in the form of strong peer friendships) and the factors that bring about such a sense of belonging among DCPP students.
Using the case study method and through semi-structured in-depth interviews, this paper establishes that experiences of differential treatment at SNU GSIS appears to be the strongest factor influencing belongingness of DCPP students at GSIS, and that its effects are reinforced by secondary factors such as gender, batch and English proficiency. As for peer friendships among DCPP students, those appear to be most significantly influenced by students’ health, as well as—to a lesser extent—batch, marital status, and children.
Upon returning to their home countries, DCPP students often play a role in spreading the image of Korea to the branches of government they work in. In that sense, fostering GSIS belonging among DCPP students does not only mean improving their individual experiences in Korea, but also contributes to the strengthening of a positive image of Korea abroad.
The author of this thesis is a Global Korea Scholarship scholar sponsored by the Korean Government.