Ultimately, this was the key program in
the country’s long-term economic development
initiative implemented during the latter half of the
20th century. Saemaul Undong was not the first rural
community development initiative in the Republic
of Korea. Nongovernment rural community movements
such as the Christian 4-H (Head, Heart, Hand,
and Health) Club predated Saemaul Undong, as did
the nationalistic Ch’ŏndogyo agricultural cooperative
movement that dated back to the days when
the country was under colonial rule. As for modern
government-sponsored rural community development
programs, these were first introduced during
the 1950s by the UN Commission for the Unification
and Rehabilitation of Korea.