SAEMAUL so far

This book, Saemaul so far, is a record of the holy works of those who have tried for the development of the country and the happiness of their descendants. President Park Jeonghee said in his handwritten manuscript,'I see many examples of one good village leader making one village raise up completely. The achievements they have accomplished should be documented and retained in later history. These people are the heroes of our farm village.' This book is the story of the villages' heroes.

A certain historian once diagnosed that one of the reasons for causing war was because young children were hungry, and there was nothing to feed them. The Saemaul Undong was a war. It was a war that fought poverty to escape hunger. We have won the war. I have seen many success stories in order to pass these on this book. These success stories are the story of village heroes. As I read them, I even shed tears with red eyes. The current abundance is only thanks to our great ancestors who sweated blood day and night. It is a report that if the amount of food waste currently being thrown away per year is converted into food value, it will reach KRW 25 trillion and the processing cost alone will reach KRW 800 won. Please regain control of ourselves. Our country becomes like a neighboring country. The Philippines, which has been rich enough to build Jangchung Gymnasium in Korea for free, is unable to continue its rich national luck and falls into poverty again. Not long ago, it reminds us of our miners and nurses who left for Germany for employment abroad. There is a saying in our country saying that a frog cannot think of a tadpole day. We need to be upright. Wake up.

This book, 'Saemaul so far' is an overview of the progress of Saemaul Undong for half a century. We hope that this book will help villagers, development officials and growing generations of countries around the world who are struggling to escape poverty. It was edited and written in a development manual format to help them induce and share the experience of Saemaul Undong into their own country's development. At the same time, some of the major Policy Docs(presidential approval documents) produced during the Saemaul Undong development process were cited to refer to their country's policy making. USA President Barack Obama said Korea is a role model for other developing countries to learn from. In other words, I have tried to make this book like a manual that sets a model country.