Gyeongsangbuk-do Province Gov. Lee Cheol-woo (fifth from right), local government officials and residents of the Sri Lankan village of Walpola on May 26 last year cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of a Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement) pilot village in Walpola. (Gyeongsangbuk-do Province)
By Kim Hyelin
Gyeongsangbuk-do Province has declared this year the “first year of a great transformation of Saemaul Undong” (New Community Movement) and will pursue related projects at home and abroad.
The province on March 10 said it will transform its 18-year project of globalizing the movement into a national transformation project to produce national-level outcomes in collaboration with the government and people of a partner country.
Since 2005, the province has conducted the project through sister ties with select regions in Asia including those in Vietnam and Indonesia. Over that time, it has built 77 pilot villages in 16 countries to share with the world Korea’s experience in overcoming poverty.
Sri Lanka, a participant in the project, set up a related body within a government ministry, and the Central African Republic, another participant, formed a Saemaeul committee under its presidential office.
Thus the scope of the Saemaul project will be widened from the construction of infrastructure for primary industries such as for increased food output to a smart version including the spread of Korean culture and setup of a digital education system.
The initiative will set up a learning management system in pilot villages in Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka and Nigeria and add cultural and digital elements by introducing aspects of Korean culture like Hangeul and taekwondo.
To pass on and develop the movement in Korea, the province will stimulate participation in Saemaul by the younger generation, namely people under age 45, through the group Youth Saemaul Solidarity.
“Saemaul Undong is K-brand content,” Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo said. “We will further bolster and achieve diplomacy at the local government level.”
kimhyelin211@korea.kr
