Capacity building and military assistance

Part of the military assistance was used for technical assistance in educating and training Korean military personnel. As seen in Table 8, the number of Korean military servicemen from all branches of the military that were sent to the US for education and training was considerable. The number of trainees began to increase during the Korean War and totaled nearly 11,607 by 1960. The military technical assistance programs contributed significantly to orienting Korean military personnel in modern warfare and technical skills. In the process, many were also exposed to new and modern ways of administration and management. It is reasonable to assume that the technical and managerial know-how gained by the military servicemen, many of whom went on to work in the public and private sector, had contributed to capacity building by upgrading the level of Korea’s manpower in general.41

[Table 1-1] Technical Assistance for Korean Military Personnel
 

Note: * 86% were officers while 14% (1,592) were enlisted men
Source: Armed Forces and Nation Building, Military Defense Annual Statistics
 

Source: Kim, Jun-Kyung and Kim, KS. 2012. Impact of foreign aid on Korea's development. Seoul: KDI School of Public Policy and Management.