KDS 전승훈 원장은 주한 네덜란드 대사와의 개발협력에 관한 인터뷰를 요청받았으며, 이는 2007년 10월 네덜란드 개발협력청 월간지 NCDo에 게재되었습니다.
한국의 발전 경험 및 개도국으로의 적용모색, 한국의 개발협력에 관한 이야기를 나누었습니다.
기사 전문은 이하와 같습니다.
What is behind Korea’s success and can it also be applied to Africa? The Dutch ambassador in Seoul, Hans Heinsbroek, who has work experience in Zimbabwe and Tanzania, discusses this with the Korean development expert Seun-hun Chun.
In the 2002 World Cup the South-Korean football team, headed by coach Hiddink, had a surprisingly good showing. But that was nothing compared to what the country has accomplished in the past 50 years.
Just after the Korean War Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Nowadays, it is the eleventh biggest economy and, in economic terms, a more important player than The Netherlands. How did Korea do this? And what could countries in, for example, Africa learn from the Asian country’s rapid development? The Dutch ambassador to Korea, Hans Heinsbroek, who served in Zimbabwe and Tanzania, among other countries, asked Korean development expert Seung-Hun Chun these questions.
Chun began his career with the help of Dutch development aid and is currently examining whether the successful Korean development can be applied to Africa.
Asians have the reputation of being hard workers. Thus, the Koreans are known for their ‘can do’ mentality. Is the belief in one’s own abilities not the one of the most important reasons for the Korean success?
“Don’t be mistaken, after the Korean War in the beginning of the 50’s we did not belief in ourselves at all. We were poverty-stricken. The Japanese had been ruling over us for years.
We had just had a bloody war behind us. We did not have any natural resources to fall back on. We had the feeling to be nobodies who are not able to do anything.
President Pak Chung-hee, who came into power in 1961, changed this. He showed us that we did not need to be inferior to Japan or the rest of the world. He organised competitions between Korean and Japanese schools, he inspired and motivated. He was the founder of the Korean ‘can do’ mentality.”
Pak Chung-hee introduced the Saemaul Undong, i.e. the ‘new community’.
Could you explain this policy?
“The Saemaul Undong was mainly based on competition and education. President Pak provided cement to all Korean villages and gave additional aid to the villages that had performed the best. This procedure was repeated several times, and each time half of all the villages received additional aid. As a result, two neighbouring villages, while having the same possibilities, could still develop in different ways. People thus learned that they can make a difference. Then the success stories were considered during the training of all village heads. Education was, besides the awareness that one individually can make a difference, essential for the Korean Saemaul Undong.
Furthermore, in order to make this policy a success, strong leadership was needed. Park was undoubtedly a strong leader and he knew how to inspire others. If he had not succeeded in getting the support from the village heads, then Saemaul Undong would have had no chance either.”
The Saemaul Undong was not only focused on agriculture.
“That is right. Park began with policies concerning the agricultural sector, but later shifted his focus to the industrial sector. Training and changing the workers’ way of thinking were of foremost concern. However, Park was assassinated before he could have worked out these plans.”
Still Park is called the father of the chaebols (large Korean firms). He also induced foreign investments in the economy.
“Park said that was the most difficult decision in his life. He would have rather kept the borders closed (to foreign investments).
But Korea needed capital. The country was unstable, the threat was coming from the north: no one was willing to invest and Park realised that without money, Korea could not make any headway. Park’s government guaranteed repayment of loans. This created trust among foreign investors and foreign capital began to flow in. This was hard to sell to the Korean people. The students were terrified of foreign meddling. ”
Park was indeed an economic visionary, but not a perfect president.
Under his rule democracy and human rights were far from reality.
“In Korea there was no democratic tradition in the first place. The Koreans did not know it, and they did not miss it either.
I think that one can not impose democracy when a country’s economy has not yet developed sufficiently. The Western countries have the tendency to judge developing countries according to their own values. But a developing country is like a child. A child is childlike. A grown-up may find the child daft, because the grown-up looks at the child from his own perspective, but this is not right. Or let me put it this way: Etiquette is important in your profession. If one has food in abundance and neat clothes to wear, then etiquette is indeed important.
But for someone who is dying from hunger it does not have any relevance.
Park was not the only reason for Korea’s economic development.
“There were indeed also other factors at play. Korea could advance in the slipstream of Japan.
An environment where a country can learn from other countries is important for its development. Korea could also shade off its economy, so that it could develop at its own pace. Whether, with the current globalisation, this is still possible remains to be seen.”
Korea was a recipient of development aid. To what degree did this contribute to the development of the country?
“Poverty is like a mouse trap. You can not get out of it unless someone helps you.
In light of this the foreign aid was very much called for. Books and clothes for students, school buildings, scholarships: Korea certainly benefited from it. But aid donors tend to give, together with the aid, democratic and economic advice.
This clashed with Park’s approach. The World Bank and the IMF lent advice that Park ultimately did not follow. Yet Korea was developing very rapidly.”
Does the Saemaul Undong also work in other countries?
“Not as well as was hoped.
In a number of Asian countries, for instance in Cambodia, the principle has been applied. Also, what significance Saemaul Undong can have is being considered in Congo.
The biggest problem is that a strong leader is lacking. Without a strong leader and strong village heads the Saemaul Undong is doomed to failure.”
Actually, devoted leaders and strong village heads can be found. Still many African countries are not faring well enough. What is in your opinion the crux of this problem?
“The continent has not been able to complete its natural development since it was colonised at an early stage. Before anything else, Africa must go through the agricultural phase.
The Korean development model can play a role in this. It is important to create an environment where countries can learn from other countries. Japan’s advancement motivated the Koreans to work harder. In Africa, too, this approach could be successful.
If we all would focus on a few countries that have the potential to make progress, then those countries should be able to make a difference. Those countries could then, in their turn, serve as an example for their neighbouring countries.”
Korea has joined the club of donor countries. In 2005 0.1% of GNP was spent on development cooperation and in 2015 this percentage is supposed to rise to 0.25%. This is less than the average of OECD/DAC countries and is far below the internationally accepted norm of 0.7% of GNP, but Korea certainly has potential as a donor.
The country does not have any colonial past and it has recently and largely relying on its own strength made the leap from the poor countries lagging behind to the economically leading group. The Netherlands in its turn has much experience in development co-operation.
In what way can old and new donors co-operate?
“When I was in Africa for the first time, I spoke with various consultants. They were rather negative about the development possibilities of Africa.
But I think they had trouble really understanding the Africans. One can understand the situation of the Africans only if you have been in the same position. Just like only a widow knows what another widow is going through.
Korea can be an example, and also a coach: a child in elementary school sometimes benefits more by the help from a first-grader of a middle school than by the lessons of a university professor. At the same time Korea can still learn a lot from the old donors. We have little experience in conveyance of knowledge.
I think that we could complement each other well. Compare it with our national football team. Korea has great players who can develop themselves very much in short time. They quite showed that during the 2002 World Cup.
But they do not become good coaches just like that. Meanwhile we have contracted the fourth Dutchman as our coach. We are still searching for a local coach who is as good as Hiddink.”
Seung-hun Chung
Seung-hun Chung studied at the ISS in The Hague with Dutch aid.
Thereafter he worked in the centre of Korean growth, at the Economic Planning Board, and got promoted to Director-General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (now called Ministry of Strategy and Finance!) His work as Director-General of the Korean International Cooperation Agency, the branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meant a turning point in his career. He is now engaged in reducing poverty in the world.
As president and co-founder of the Korea Institute for Development he researches, among other things, whether the successful Korean development model can be applied to Africa.
Hans Heinsbroek
Hans Heinsbroek began his diplomatic career in Korea as third secretary (of the embassy/ambassador) and returned 30 years later as ambassador.
During the period in between he was the Deputy Head of Mission in Tanzania and ambassador to Zimbabwe.
Korean development cooperation
In 2005, Korea spent 0.1% of its GNP on international development cooperation.
In 2015 this percentage is supposed to be 0.25%. The aid to North-Korea (0.1% in 2005) can be added to that, although it is generally not qualified as ODA (Official Development Assistance). Thousand Africans are invited to study the Korean development experiences. 80% of the Korean assistance is provided as tied aid and is mainly given in the form of loans.
The role of NGO’s is, compared to The Netherlands, modest. The Dutch embassy has close contact with the Korean development cooperation field and would like to help, through discussions and exchange of information, in maximising the benefit from Korean aid for people in developing countries.
During the discussions attention to the question of to what degree donor countries can complement each other and learn from each other is also given.
