Identifying success factors in inter-Korean cooperation projects: the World Vision "Seed Potato Project"

During the 1990s, North Korea suffered from severe economic hardships in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet bloc and massive floods; North Korea is still has not escaped this suffering. South Korea has pursued various inter-Korean cooperation projects to help North Korea open and develop its economy; however, there are limited successful cases for improvement in North Korea. It is imperative to define a long-term strategy through analysis of key success factors for inter-Korean cooperation in order to develop more successful cases of inter-Korean cooperation; however, limited studies have been conducted to analyze successful inter-Korean cooperation projects. This study selects the "Seed Potato Project" (implemented by the World Vision) as a successful case to be analyzed and identifies key success factors for inter-Korean cooperation. As illustrated in previous studies, the results of the analysis of success factors of a "Seed Potato Project" from a trust-building perspective has revealed that this project follows key success factors like openness, integrity, consistency, and benevolence. In the last section of this report, this study also presents important policy implications to develop future successful cases for inter-Korean cooperation.