YU Offers Dual Diploma Program for ‘Saemaul Studies’ for the First Time in the World

Exporting ‘Saemaul Studies’ to Cambodian university, 2+2 diploma program offered

Opened doors to exchange in cultural arts with Cambodia’s top royal university of fine arts

Attended by the Korean Ambassador to Cambodia, expected to expand the New Southward Policy

[February 19, 2020]

<YU President Sur Gil-soo and Western University Kieng Rotana (right) exchange MOUs>

“The Saemaul Undong was the key driving force for the Republic of Korea, which was an aide recipient, to become an advanced nation that is an aide contributor. This experience has been recognized as a development model for developing countries from the international community. Today will be a historical day where Korea’s Saemaul Undong, which is a living textbook, was pledged to be shared with Cambodia. YU will not forget its mission as the university that developed the Saemaul Undong into Saemaul Studies and will do its best together with you to foster Saemaul leaders of Cambodia.”

This is what YU President Sur Gil-soo recently said to the students and faculty of Wester University (President Kieng Rotana).

YU will begin offering dual diploma programs with foreign universities with ‘Saemaul Studies’. This is the first time that a native Korean academic discipline, and not an imported discipline, is being exported to a foreign university for dual diploma programs.

For this, Mr. Sur visited Western University in the morning of January 31 and signed a Memorandum of Understanding for implementing the Saemaul Studies dual diploma program with the attendance of about 200 students and faculty members. Western University is a private university ranked seventh in all of Cambodia and it has a total of three campuses in Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. There are about 5,000 students currently enrolled and it is a university that is actively looking toward fostering global human resources by offering dual diploma programs with aviation logistics departments with universities in Australia, USA, Thailand and Singapore.

With this MOU, Western University will newly offer the Saemaul Economic Development Department at its Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham campuses in the early half of this year, and it will accept 40 and 30 freshmen, respectively, in each. Thus, 70 new students at the Western University Saemaul Economic Development Department will study for two years in Cambodia from November of this year, and then transfer to the YU International Development and Saemaul Undong two years later in September 2022 and study for two years more. And by the end of August 2024, they will receive their bachelor’s in Saemaul Studies from both YU and Western University, thus being recorded as not only Korea’s, but the world’s first dual diploma graduates in Saemaul studies.

Western University Chairman Te Laurant said in his congratulatory address, “Cambodia’s future depends on our two universities. Let’s operate the dual diploma program with a grave sense of responsibility to contribute to the development of national development.” He also announced his plans to provide study-abroad scholarships to five students, showing his strong will to support the dual diploma program.

The local press was also highly interested. YU President Sur Gil-soo and Western University President Kieng Rotana followed the MOU signing ceremony with interviews explaining the operation plans and eligibility for the dual diploma program, details on career choices after graduation, and it was aired nationwide by TV news on all broadcasting companies in Cambodia. (photo on left, YU President Sur Gil-soo being interviewed by local press)

It took about two years to finalize this MOU. YU first received a request for export of Saemaul studies to Western University at the time of entering an international exchange agreement between the two universities in April 2018, and then in April of 2019, YU received a request to export Saemaul studies directly from the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhaily. YU responded by organizing a project team as part of the URI (University-Region Innovation) project currently being pursued with the support of the Industry-Academic Cooperation Team. Professor Choi Wae-chul, who created the ‘Saemaul Studies’ and is currently serving as an advisor to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, was appointed as the supervising researcher. He drove the negotiations for opening the Saemaul Economic Development Department and offering dual diploma programs with Western University, which finally came into fruition.

Such achievements are the result of YU constructing the educational infrastructure for Saemaul studies and its leading efforts to construct a global network. Starting with the opening of the ‘Regional Society Development Department’ in 1976, research and education in regional social development and Saemaul Undong-related fields were continued for the past 40 years, and the Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Seamaul was established in 2011 giving master’s degrees to a total of 593 people from 63 countries around the world. Such efforts and abilities were finally recognized by the international community. Furthermore, the fact that over 40 Cambodian alumni who earned their master’s at the Park Chung Hee School returned to Cambodia and are playing crucial roles in the education ministry, local development ministry, foreign affairs ministry, tourism ministry, parliament, central bank and NGOs also helped with the push for exporting Saemaul studies and the dual diploma program in Cambodia. YU is also discussing exports of Saemaul studies with two national universities recommended by the Cambodian education ministry. Moreover, countries like Tanzania, Zambia, Indonesia, East Timor and Pakistan are also requesting YU to export Saemaul studies.

<YU President Sur Gil-soo and RUFA Rector Sovath (right) takes a photo with the MOU>

Meanwhile, Mr. Sur and his entourage visited the Royal University of Fine Arts, which is the oldest university of Cambodia on January 30 and met with Cambodian Vice Minister of Culture and chairman of RUFA Som Sokhun to sign an international academic exchange agreement with the attendance of Korean Ambassador to Cambodia Park Heung-gyeong (photo above). Ambassador Park said in his congratulatory address, “As the Korean government’s New Southward Policy aims at ‘fostering a peaceful community focusing on people’ by strengthening cooperation in various fields including economic, cultural and human exchange between Korea and ASEAN, I am certain that the exchange cooperation between the two universities will also play a part in achieving the goal of the New Southward Policy” to congratulate the opening of the doors to exchange in the culture and arts sector between not only the two universities, but between the two nations. Students of RUFA put on performances including traditional dances, singing Arirang, and chamber music to commemorate the exchange.

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