THE GLOBAL SAEMAUL UNDONG PROJECT - A WOLF IN A SHEEP’S CLOTHING
Author
Lee, Hyunju
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-05-30
Pages
64
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger kritisk den globale Saemaul Undong (SMU), et sydkoreansk landdistriktsudviklingsprogram fra 1970erne under præsident Park Chung-hee, som i dag eksporteres af den koreanske regering og støttes af FN's Udviklingsprogram (UNDP). Meget af den eksisterende litteratur lægger vægt på branding og udbredelse, men stiller sjældent det grundlæggende spørgsmål om, hvorvidt SMU overhovedet passer til andre lande. Med to casestudier fra Rwanda og Myanmar og en analyse af udviklingsdiskurser (de ideer og fortællinger, der bruges til at legitimere politik) spørger specialet, hvorfor modellen fremmes på trods af sine autoritære rødder og årtiers blandede resultater af udviklingsbistand. Selvom den globale SMU præsenteres med ord som inklusion, bæredygtighed og empowerment, viser feltet, at de allerfattigste i begge lande blev udelukket, og at beslutninger blev truffet ovenfra og ensidigt. Dermed blev de varme ord til buzzwords, også i UNDP's ISNC-model (en planlægningsramme brugt i SMU-projekter). Specialet argumenterer for, at den stærke promovering af SMU tjente bestemte interesser: for den tidligere koreanske præsident Park Geun-hye og hendes fortrolige Choi Soon-sil handlede det om private økonomiske gevinster; for UNDP handlede det om at præsentere en plausibel udviklingsløsning for at beskytte sin troværdighed og legitimitet, en dynamik forfatteren beskriver som institutionel korruption (når organisatoriske incitamenter undergraver kerneopgaven). Mere bredt viser specialet, at udviklingssproget formes af rige donorlande og store multilaterale organisationer, så deres egne dagsordener fremmes. Da vestlig modernisering er blevet stærkt bestridt, gør præsentationen af SMU som South-South-samarbejde (samarbejde mellem udviklingslande) det lettere at gennemføre nordlige prioriteter, selv om Korea næppe længere kan betegnes som en del af det Globale Syd. Samlet viser specialet, hvordan mainstream-udvikling blev pakket ind som alternativ udvikling (tilgange, der vægter deltagelse og lighed) for at fremme nationale og institutionelle mål, mens forbedringer for de fattigste forblev begrænsede.
This thesis offers a critical examination of the global Saemaul Undong (SMU) programme, a rural development model created in South Korea in the 1970s under President Park Chung-hee, now exported by the Korean government and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Much of the existing literature emphasises branding and expansion while avoiding basic questions about whether SMU is suitable for other countries. Using two case studies, Rwanda and Myanmar, and an analysis of development discourses (the ideas and narratives used to justify policies), the thesis asks why the model is promoted despite its authoritarian origins and decades of mixed results from aid. Although the global SMU is presented with terms such as inclusiveness, sustainability and empowerment, field evidence shows that, in both countries, the poorest were excluded and decisions were taken in a top-down, unilateral way. In this context, the positive terms became buzzwords rather than realities, including within UNDP's ISNC model (a planning framework used for SMU projects). The thesis argues that heavy promotion of SMU served specific interests: for former Korean president Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil, private economic gains; for UNDP, the need to present a plausible development solution to protect its credibility and legitimacy, a dynamic the author describes as institutional corruption (when organisational incentives undermine the public mission). More broadly, the language of development is shown to be shaped by wealthy donor governments and large multilateral organisations to advance their own agendas. As Western modernisation is increasingly contested, presenting SMU as South-South cooperation (collaboration between developing countries) makes it easier to pass Northern priorities, even though Korea is no longer easily placed in the Global South. Overall, the thesis shows how mainstream development interests were repackaged as alternative development (approaches that prioritise participation and equity) to pursue national and institutional goals, while benefits for the poorest remained limited.
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