Neoliberal practices amidst social justice orientations: global citizenship education in South Korea

Global citizenship education (GCE) positions itself on the global arena as a transformative social justice oriented educational curriculum that addresses the political, social, economic and cultural inequalities brought about through colonisation and neoliberalism on the global and local levels. Through an exploration of the discourse, design and delivery of GCE in the young nation-state of South Korea, we argue that, in fact, GCE reinforces and maintains the hegemonic ideals of global capitalism; core-periphery global and local relationships; and dichotomous views of poverty and inequalities. We argue that these approaches reflect South Korea's geopolitical realities, but that attitudes towards GCE in South Korea also reflect its cultural norms and values towards working together towards a common good. Ultimately, we call for a more nuanced approach to GCE scholarship in which we move away from theoretical divisions to practical applications of social justice that work within increasingly capitalist/neoliberal interests for a more inclusive world.