Kampala - In the 1970s, the Republic of Korea started a movement that changed its rural area. The movement known as the Saemaul Undong was intended to encourage communities in rural areas to take charge of their development.
The country was already industrializing at a first rate, however its benefits were only being realised in the urban areas creating a development gap between the urban and rural areas. To bridge this gap, the government started the Saemaul Undong initiative which transformed the rural areas in the 1970s.
Due to its success in rural development, Republic of Korea (RoK) has been keen on spreading the initiative to other developing countries across the globe. It’s for that reason that the RoK is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to promote the initiative in Uganda.
Introducing the initiative during the Saemaul Undong Forum, the RoK Ambassador PARK Jong-Dae described it as a self-help movement very much like bulungi-bwansi which had taken root and expanded all over Uganda.