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.