Members of press and politicians from Bolivia came to Yeungnam university to learn "Saemaul Undong and Can-do Spirit" in Korea.

Members of press and politicians from Bolivia who attended the 'Special Seminar on Saemaul Undong'
(left on front row is Mr. Lehm of Página Siete)

 "Is the Saemaul Undong of Korea related to religion?" "What is the relationship of the farmland ownership system and the success or failure of the Saemaul Undong?" "Is there a prototype of the Saemaul Undong that can be transplanted to other countries right away?"

 At 5 p.m. on the 16th, there was a barrage of questions in Spanish at the YU Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul (hereinafter called 'Saemaul School') Room 552. For an hour and half, members of the Bolivian press listened to a lecture by Saemaul School dean Park Seung-woo who explained the features and success factors of the Korean Saemaul Undong, and a comparative analysis with the development experience of other emerging countries. Afterwards, the press members all raised their hands to ask questions. The following Q&A session lasted for about an hour.

 From the other side of the world, key press members and politicians from Bolivia visited YU. The purpose of their visit was to find ways to integrate Korea's Saemaul Undong into Bolivia, which is one of the poorest countries in Central and South America.

 The members who visited YU with a special mission major press companies of Bolivia such as Página Siete, La Opinion, La Razón, and Energy Press, for a total of nine journalists including CEOs, chief editors and editors, as well as the Bolivian Mineral Resource Ministry PR Director, Bolivia Central Bank Press and PR officer, La Paz Congressman, and the wife of the Foreign Affairs Minister who is actively working with women development NGOs.

 They visited YU for about three hours for a lecture and Q&A session. Despite the short time, they took no breaks and showed amazing concentration and seriousness at the 'special seminar for the Saemaul Undong' that was specially offered by the YU Saemaul School.

 CEO of the major daily newspaper of Bolivia, Página Siete, Walter Raul Garafulic Lehm (53) said, "Despite having abundant natural resources such as being a global supplier of tin, Bolivia has yet been able to fight off poverty. The task at hand for the leaders is to find the cause of this and present solutions." He added, "Through this seminar today, I learned that at the base of the 'Miracle of the Han River' underlies the vision, policies and 'Can Do' spirit called the 'Saemaul Undong'. Though it would not be practical to apply Korea's Saemaul Undong as it is to Bolivia, I believe that through the leadership of the government and support of the society and economy, it will be possible to be successful. For this, the press will continuously provide exposure to the Saemaul Undong and spirit, while publicizing the educational program to motivate Bolivians and give them the necessary confidence."

 Meanwhile, during their stay in Korea from the 14th to the 19th that was made possible through the invitation by KOICA, they will attend lectures on Korea's development experience and official development assistance (ODA), Saemaul Undong, and the status of the Korean press, while visiting the Incheon Songdo International City, Pohang Saemaul Memorial Hall, POSCO, Hyundai Motors, SK Energy, Sangam DMC, and CJ E&M to experience the economic development model of Korea.