New Community Movement
Encyclopedia
The New Community Movement, also known as the New Village Movement or Saemaeul Movement, was a political initiative launched on April 22, 1970 by South Korean president Park Chung Hee to modernize the rural South Korean economy. It initially sought to rectify the growing disparity of the standard of living
between the nation's urban centres, which were rapidly industrializing, and the small villages, which continued to be mired in poverty. Later projects concentrated on building up rural infrastructure
. Though hailed as a great success in the 1970s, the movement lost momentum during the 1980s as it became increasingly unclear whether the program had achieved its objectives.
The movement promoted self-help
and co-operation among the people, as the central government provided a fixed amount of raw materials to each of the participating villages free of charge and entrusted the locals to build whatever they wished with them. Villages that demonstrated success were then granted additional resources.
The New Community Movement did much to improve infrastructure in rural South Korea, bringing modernized facilities such as water systems, bridges and roads to rural communities. The program also marked the widespread appearance of orange tiled houses throughout the countryside, replacing the traditional thatched or choga-jip houses. However, the movement proved ultimately inadequate in addressing the larger problem of rural poverty
, from which stemmed the issue of mass migration from the villages to cities by the country's younger demographic. Poverty among South Korea's farmers became a major political issue in the late 1980s, one that no government intervention had been able to fully solve.
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
between the nation's urban centres, which were rapidly industrializing, and the small villages, which continued to be mired in poverty. Later projects concentrated on building up rural infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. Though hailed as a great success in the 1970s, the movement lost momentum during the 1980s as it became increasingly unclear whether the program had achieved its objectives.
The movement promoted self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
and co-operation among the people, as the central government provided a fixed amount of raw materials to each of the participating villages free of charge and entrusted the locals to build whatever they wished with them. Villages that demonstrated success were then granted additional resources.
The New Community Movement did much to improve infrastructure in rural South Korea, bringing modernized facilities such as water systems, bridges and roads to rural communities. The program also marked the widespread appearance of orange tiled houses throughout the countryside, replacing the traditional thatched or choga-jip houses. However, the movement proved ultimately inadequate in addressing the larger problem of rural poverty
Rural poverty
Rural poverty refers to poverty found in rural areas, but more important, to factors of rural society, rural economy and rural political systems that give rise to the poverty found there...
, from which stemmed the issue of mass migration from the villages to cities by the country's younger demographic. Poverty among South Korea's farmers became a major political issue in the late 1980s, one that no government intervention had been able to fully solve.
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Demographics of South KoreaDemographics of South KoreaThis article is about the demographic features of the population of South Korea, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.-Background:...
- Economy of South KoreaEconomy of South KoreaSouth Korea has a market economy which ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity , identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a high-income developed country, with a developed market, and is a member of OECD...
- History of South KoreaHistory of South KoreaThe history of South Korea formally begins with the establishment of South Korea on 15 August 1948, although Syngman Rhee had declared the establishment in Seoul on 13 August....