Korea’s Experience in Building New Cultural Villages and Implications for Vietnam

Abstract

In the early 1960s, Korea was still an underdeveloped country with low per
capita income. However, after only about four decades of industrialisation and modernisation,
the country has achieved remarkable progress, including in rural areas. With the right policies
and strategies, based on the specific political, social, economic, and cultural context, the Saemaul
Undong movement has created new rural cultural villages with many positive outcomes. It serves
as a valuable reference for developing countries. Studying the Saemaul Undong movement in
Korea to draw on its experiences and apply them appropriately to rural development in Vietnam
is essential in the context of promoting industrialisation and modernisation.