OPENING CEREMONY OF THE CENTER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT - SAEMAUL UNDONG

On the morning of August 30, 2016, Director of the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies, Dr. Tran Dinh Lam, attended the opening ceremony of the Center for Rural Development - Saemaul Undong at the second campus of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City (Quarter 6, Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc District).

Korean representatives present at the event included Mr. Lee Ji Ha – Chairman of the Saemaul Globalization Foundation, Mr. Jeong Woo Jin – Deputy Consul General, Mr. Kim Jea Chon – Consul General of South Korea in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Lee Seung Teak – Director of the Saemaul Globalization Foundation, Mr. Lee Sang Woo – Director of Saemaul Vietnam and a number of Korean enterprises as well as social organizations in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). As for VNU – HCMC’s delegates, the ceremony had the attendance of Assoc.Prof.Dr. Huynh Thanh Dat – Deputy Director of VNU – HCMC; Assoc.Prof.Dr. Vo Van Sen – (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) USSH’s President. Other important guests were Ms. Nguyen Thi Bach Mai – Chairwoman of the HCMC Farmer Association, delegates of centers and new village programs in Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, and so forth.

The establishment of the Center for Rural Development - Saemaul Undong was the fruit of long-term cooperation between HCMC USSH and the Saemaul Globalization Foundation. Dr. Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, HCMC USSH’s Deputy President, was appointed as the Center’s Director with the tenure from 2012 to 2017. The Center will design and carry out fundamental and applied research on rural development and new village, set up and launch pilot projects on establishing new village communities in Vietnam in order to apply the Saemaul Undong’s model, organize seminars and workshops, etc. In addition, the Center plays a role as a bridge in promoting cooperation in studying and developing projects on rural development among domestic and foreign partners.

Addressing at the event, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Vo Van Sen, HCMC USSH’s President, emphasized the philosophy of “new village” in South Korea, where he had visited, highlighting its core values as “Diligence – Self-help – Cooperation”, which form community strength to develop Korea and its rural areas. “The Center for Rural Development - Saemaul Undong must aim to become a leading research institution in building new countryside nationally and regionally, contributing to formulating policies on Vietnam’s national program on new countryside”, he said.

At the ceremony, Mr. Jeong Woo Jin – Deputy Consul General of South Korea in HCMC said that the establishment of the Center for Rural Development under the collaboration between the HCMC USSH and the Saemaul Globalization Foundation not only forms a relationship with Saemaul Undong-Korea but also serves the purpose of building and developing the countryside in Vietnam. He hoped that the opening of this center would contribute to laying a sound foundation for future cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea.

Saemaul Undong, also known as the New Village Movement, was launched in 1970 by the government of the Republic of Korea with the purpose of modernizing the country’s rural areas. With the spirit “Community strength is the key value”, after only 4 years, the movement achieved remarkable results which entirely changed the face of countryside in South Korea. In 1979, 98% of rural areas in South Korea are self-reliant in terms of economics. That is one of the important factors in pushing the South Korea’s economy in the period of post-war with North Korea to reach third place in Asia and a ranking of 10^th worldwide.

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