Is the Saemaŭl Undong Initiative (the Korean Rural Development Strategy) a Compelling Exemplar for Ghana?

Abstract

This paper examines Korea’s answer to the rural development challenge in the 1970s, the Saemaŭl Undong movement ( SMU ). As one of the revolutionary polices of Park Chung-Hee, it has been highlighted as contributing greatly to the South Korean economic miracle. There is consensus that it is a shining example of a successful rural development policy and has been widely documented. Given the signal achievements of the programme, this paper attempts to establish whether the SMU could be useful for Ghana as a lasting solution to rural underdevelopment. This paper presents a critical historical background of the SMU and how it was executed highlighting in particular the factors that were crucial to the success of the initiative. The Korean explications are then set against an overview of Ghana’s attempts at rural development in an attempt to account for the reasons why Ghana has not been as successful at this task. Our conclusion is that the SMU can serve as a repository of best practices and outline lessons therefrom to guide the formulation and implementation of an integrated, home-grown rural development strategy to ensure the best possible chance of success of such a strategy.