Saemaul Undong Movement in South Korea Essay Example

Saemaul Undong is a government-led strategic movement for basic infrastructure development in rural areas with the aim of achieving national development in rural and urban areas. with an aim of increasing the standard of living of rural communities into urban households. However, is Saemaul undong can be said success to developing rural and urban areas? To illustrate the results of this movement, there are three stages of the government's long-term development plan that were passed under the saemaul undong movement.

First, according to ADB (2012) stage I (1971-1973) this saemaul program focused on the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure and increasing rural incomes. In addition, the Saemaul Undong movement also contributed to the rehabilitation of the village for the basic infrastructure of village production, such as the extension and expansion of village lanes, workshops, barns, compost storage facilities, and replacement of thatched roofs with zinc, and residential telephones. This program generates income in the first phase of the saemaul undong movement which focuses on breed introduction, beef cattle breeding (hanwu), dairy farming, tea and ginseng cultivation, seaweed cultivation, oysters, greenhouse construction for vegetable cultivation, flower plant cultivation and ornamental plants and fruit cultivation growing in hot or tropical climates.

Second, according to ADB (2012) stage II (1974-1976), at this stage the emphasis was more on improving agricultural production infrastructure. like included various jobs such as housing or rural renovation, environmental improvement, the introduction of agricultural mechanisms, and income expansion in both agribusiness and non-agribusiness fields. In villages with associated productive activities, including the saemaul factory which began in 1974, the saemaul undong movement expanded its agricultural production infrastructure projects from individual village projects to inter-village saemaul projects. At the same time, the project to increase the income of the Saemaul Undong village has succeeded in developing into a Saemaul factory which has the mechanization of agribusiness and home industries. This program improves the agricultural production infrastructure of the Republic of Korea by building agricultural roads, adjusting rice fields, renovating entire cities, balancing river water resources, forest management, building river embankments, and reforestation. Collective farming plantation agribusiness in which the production of specialized agricultural goods is made possible through systematic production, processing, and distribution, which is thus an income-generating project.

Third, according to ADB (2012) stage III (1977-1979) at this stage, the activities of the saemaul focused on socializing or expanding the contribution of the saemaul undong movement to urban areas. both in the dimensions of the public and private sectors such as the public and private sectors which include increasing household income, basic infrastructure, social capital accumulation services as a result of the Saemaul Undong Movement's emphasis on achievement and community empowerment through self-reliance, independence, growth of civil society, gender liberation as a result of increasing women's political participation and transforming women's new roles in household management.

Furthermore, according to ADB (2012), the positive impact of the saemaul undong program for the welfare of individuals and society is to enrich the social capital of community members and empower civil society. For example the saemaul hall which functions as a village hall that facilitates networking between residents. Sinbaram or participation and enthusiasm in the Saemaul Movement keeps the rural population away from the mentality of government control over society. This can be seen from the fact that the village general meeting is stronger in making decisions regarding the saemaul undong project than the village development committee whose membership includes representatives of the local government. In addition, saemaul undong leaders participate actively in city and district level saemaul promotion boards, where influential regional leaders from both the public and private sectors participate. As a result of the saemaul undong program, civil society originating in rural communities in the 1970s and after 1991 was strengthened by the rise of autonomous municipalities that were the result of political democratization. 

On the other hand, according to ADB (2012), semaul undong also has a weakness, namely the layered government system that supports saemaul has adopted a type of local government under the authoritarian Park Chung Hee government. The government administration below has five rungs of the ladder such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Province, State, City, and Village. The structure is often delayed and sometimes prevents quick decisions about saemaul activities. Moreover, this top-down administrative structure, command, and control often discourages villages from participating and prevents creative ideas from being included in the saemaul program. As a result, villages have become more dependent on the government support system than they are willing to adopt the characteristics of self-help and self-reliance. In addition, in the women's role community program, gender discrimination occurs which limits women to household work and they are not allowed to participate in social activities outside of household matters. They also have to provide their labor not only for household tasks but also for agricultural work. During the early stages of the Saemaul Movement this heritage hindered participation because it advocated the active involvement of women in community activities. In October 1972, after the Yunsin constitution was implemented following the palace coup by Park Chung-hee, the Korean state was divided into two, namely anti-Yunsin democratization activists and pro-Saemaul supporters. Many political, religious, labor, and student leaders prevented participation in the saemaul movement and condemned saemaul education as merely political indoctrination as an economic-oriented government policy. As a result, the Saemaul Undong movement in industrial locations, in particular, was widely opposed by progressive religious leaders and Marxist-oriented student activists.

In conclusion, Saemaul undong was a great success for two reasons. As indicated by Reed (2010) the Seamaul Undong program was a great success for two reasons. First, saemaul undong completed all efforts to transform rural areas economically and socially in the national Movement under the personal leadership of Park Chung hee. the all-encompassing movement put agriculture at the center of the push for modernization, mobilized the bureaucracy, elevated the status of rural life and agriculture as a profession and included the whole nation in campaigns. Second, it should be emphasized that the success of the SMU program was built on the ironic combination of cooperation at the village level with mobilization and direction from an authoritarian government and its success is largely due to the ethos and pattern of cooperation that characterize Korean village life.