The measuring rod for a country’s progress and development is the ‘integrity’ factor of both its Rulers and Ruled.
If the rulers are visionaries, if the precious natural resources are effectively utilized, If the the spirit of ebullience and enthusiasm, energy and exuberance in the youth are put in the right channels, and fill their hearts with self esteem and self confidence, if every citizen is taught the life skills and make them as a partner in the progress and development, any country can scale the heights of glory and becomes the cynosure of the world’s eyes.
South Korea, the trend setter.
South Korea, which attained independence two years before us, that is On August 15, 1945, has made giant leaps in the spheres of people welfare measures, Industrialization, literacy and in all spheres and shot ahead of us leaving us leagues behind.
Here is a detailed list of South Korea’s achievements in comparison with India.
- Average longevity in India is 67.48 years. In S. Korea it is 80.50 years.
- GDP per head in India is $3800. In S. Korea $ b31,900.
- People below poverty line in India, 22 percent. In S. Korea it is 16.5 percent.
- Electricity consumption per head in India is 90 Watts. In S. Korea it is 1038 Watts.
- India’s place in Human development index is 135 th position. S.Korea’s position is 12 th position.
- Hospital Beds for every 1000 in India is 1, whereas in S. Korea the number of beds are 10.
- Literacy percentage in India is 66. In S. Korea it is 98.
- Child deaths for 1000 in India is 44. In S. Korea it is 4.
- Exports 380 Billion dollars for India. 552 Billion dollars for S. Korea.
- Percentage of government loans in GDP for India is 51.70 where as in S. Korea it is 35.1.
The factors that gave an edge to S. Korea over India.
Though both the countries were freed from the colonial rule almost at the same time, What made S. Korea to reach today’s enviable position ?
Six decades ago, a country plagued by many complex problems today stands in the enviable position as the 11 th economically strongest country in the world. Korea’s success saga has become a case study for Development. It’s model suits any place or any country accurately. There were no leaders behind the stupendous success of Korea. It were only the commoners who took the lead Korea to pinnacles of success.
When Korea was released from the shackles of Japan, it was a poor country. All around the freed country of Korea, poverty, illiteracy and economic disparities were hovering on the country's head. The then advanced countries divided Korea as India was bifurcated by the Britishers.
Introspection started.
Division of Korea added more woes to S. Korea. A country known for its self respect was brought to the brink of ruins. Innumerable number of people lost their lives. Whatever rickety infrastructure was left was destroyed to smithereens. The entire country was forced to live on the aid received from all over the world. They faced hardships of living on one meal a day with great difficulty.
It’s my land, my crop.
In order to live a life of self sufficiency and to stop living on the mercy of others, one has to own land for cultivation. But a big chunk of cultivable lands are in the hands of rich. Crop or no crop rich will not be affected. It’s the poor who suffer, who are living with inadequate resources. The people of South Korea were down with distress and depression.
The only way to come out of this distressing condition is Land should be the property of the cultivator. Cultivator should be the owner of the land that he has tilled shedding his perspiration. It doesn’t mean that the government should grab away the land of those rich people who own the land.
S.Korean Government came up with the best solution.
The government purchased the land for the market price and distributed it to the poor farmers. This has brought a miraculous change in the minds of the people. The move by the government filled the hearts of the farmers with the feeling, ‘Yes, this is my Land.’ As a result, the poor farmers toiled hard. This in turn boosted the stocks of food grains.
Hunger satiated. Now it’s the turn of thought boosting.
After achieving the most important goal of food security, the Government of S. Korea turned it’s attention towards education. It’s through literacy alone thoughts can be enriched.
In the year 1950, the percentage of illiterates was 80 percent. As a first step, Education was made compulsory for the children. Elders should undergo 70 days or 200 hours of adult education. The scheme was implemented in the best possible way to such an extent that before 15 years of it’s implementation, the literacy shot up to a mind boggling 96 percent.
Inspired by the stupendous success, the government took up Higher and technical education and implemented its reforms.
The Government has established an impeccable coordination with the Industrial sphere. The Government is well aware of What the Industrial sphere needs. And the Industry knows the standards in the educational institutions. There is no extra preference for a particular discipline. All types of disciplines are treated important. It’s not that only Engineering education is the most sought after education and the other branches are of no use. All the educational institutions strive to prepare tomorrow’s citizens so that they can cater to the needs of the country.
“If you sleep you dream. If you are awake, you make your dreams true.”
This is one of the many slogans one can see in every educational institution in S. Korea. The teachers sow the seeds of virtues of education through their lessons. Every student has got an option to choose his or her subject of interest. And the results of the education system can be seen in every competition of international Olympiad of Maths and science. South Korean students are always in the fore. And it’s applicable to the sports also. Everybody knows what type of athletes S. Korea is producing year after year.
Mother tongue.
For many years S. Korea was not having its own script. It used to use Chinese script and alphabets.
Korean alphabet was invented by the Korean Monarch, Sejong the great of 15 th century. This commemorative day is observed as ‘Hangul Day’ on October 9 every year.
This stands as an example for the love of their mother tongue. Korea’s elementary education is in its Mother tongue. Then the S. Korean government embarked upon the mighty job of translating, the best books and literary works of great personalities.
Efforts to awaken the dormant ‘Self Respect’.
As part of the efforts to awaken the ‘Self Respect’ of S. Koreans that was lying dormant all the years because of Colonial rule, The word, ‘Free’ has been erased from the lexicons of S. Korea’s administration.
‘No’ to a Lazy society.
Anything supplied or given away things for free will create an impression in the people, that its ‘valueless. ‘It’s not all, these sops supplied free will make the people lazy. This was what the the S. Korean government firmly believed.
The necessity of saving the Earth.
It was felt by the government of S. Korea that, saving the sanctity of earth is equally important as Land reforms. The identified that in order to save the sanctity of Earth and its fertility, the Government turned its attention to conserve the forests.
Amazing and unbelievable results.
The result of planting 10 crores of trees in a span of 30 years and their upkeeping by ever vigilant 20 lakh people of ‘Green Soldiers’ was visible in a most heartening way. The forests which were below 15 percent in the year 1950 have grown to a stupendous number of 70 percent today.
Saemaul Undong, a revolutionary Rural development Miracle.
Shindo village in Chengdu province of S. Korea is one of the many villages which was plagued by a plethora of problems. Jang and Kim Lee are the two youths who were dejected by the indifference in their village have decided to fill the hearts of the village with awareness and hope.
The moment these two youth plunged in to action, declared that there is no place for drunkards and lazy in the village. They shot ahead with three objectives, Greenery, Economy and Self reliance.
Though the crops in the village are abundant, due to lack of adequate transport mode, all the abundance started rotting in the village itself. This resulted in not getting the minimum price for the farmer to his produce. Which is why Laying the road has become the top agenda of the Shindo people.
With the fierce determination of the villagers, a beautiful road was laid out in a span of 43 days. Now it has become easy to transport their agricultural products to the markets. Then things started happening in quick succession. There was a spurt in both the income and happiness in the people. Many cooperative colonies sprung up. Each dwelling had 50 fruit bearing trees. They formed their maintenance groups to attend the problems in the canal and drainage systems. With the same zeal and confidence, people of Shindo village built their own Railway station.
Chung Hee Park was moved.
The then President of S. Korea Chung Hee Park, while on his way to attend a function, happened to hear about the success stories of Shindo village. He was thrilled. He was inspired to such an extent that he ordered the implementation of Saemaul Undong, Rural development scheme in 37000 villages.
The president in a sermon addressing the villagers said that, Government will help those who help themselves. He has sent 300 bags of cement to each village. Labour and the working tools are the people’s contribution. Whatever amenities were needed for the village like roads, community halls were built by the people on their own. The feeling. “We are all laborers. All this belongs to us”, has firmly took roots in the hearts of the villagers. That’s why they preserve carefully their infrastructure.
A resurgent Village.
Saemaul Undong , the rural development miracle has brought an unbelievable change in Shindo village. 85 kilometers long Rural roads sprung up. 30000 culverts and 20000 community halls sprung up. All the active participants in the Saemaul Undong movement were duly rewarded with certificates of appreciation by the government. Thus the success of Saemaul Undong movement made the government to include the ‘Youth power’ in all its developmental activities. Those who sacrificed their property for the reshaping of the village were given a wide propaganda in both print and electronic media. This in turn made many rich people donate liberally to the noble cause of the scheme Saemaul Undong. The enchanting view of development has become a source of inspiration not only to the people of Shindo village, but also to the entire nation.
Utilization of the existing resources.
Though S. Korea had ambitious plans about industrialization of the country, it could not venture because of paucity of funds. Instead, it turned its eye towards the existing natural resources and boost their country’s economy.
South Korea is surrounded by sea. This aspect has been worked out thoroughly. As a result, it has developed sea ports. Through their sea ports it has imported raw material and started manufacturing quality products. But in order to promote industrialization, S. Korea felt the necessity of strengthening its infrastructure. In this direction S. Korea turned its attention towards Roadways, Railways , electricity and Telecom sectors.
Youth worked in German mines. Young women worked as nurses in the European countries. They led a life of economy and sent every penny of their income to their motherland. This not only strengthened the infrastructure boosted the foreign currency stocks too.
S. Korea manufactured quality goods in par with the high standards of goods manufactured by Toshiba and Sony of Japan. Thus the S. Koreans’ dream of producing goods of world standards were realized. Radios produced with the brand name of ‘Gold star’ had won a high acclaim in America.
In order to match supply with demand, number of working hours were increased. At a stretch employees in the manufacturing units worked for 13 hours. And the products of their perspiration resulted in the shape of world renowned brands like Samsung, LG, Hyundai to name a few.
A Leader behind every Brand.
Chung Ju-yung , a Youngman from a remote village of Korea with loads of ambition to grow, reached Seoul. He started as a laborer in a rice selling shop. His job is to carry the rice bags to the customers door on his cycle .
One day, on a rainy day Chung Ju-yung, while carrying a heavy rice bag, slipped and the entire rice in the bag was spilled on the road. The owner of the shop was annoyed and reprimanded Chung Ju-yung . Yung repented for his careless action and vowed not to repeat the mistake. In order to carry the heavy rice bags, Chung Ju-yung, practiced with heavy stones at the back of his bicycle.
Later, to enhance his income Chung Ju-yung, joined a Building construction group as a laborer. From then, Chung Ju-yung’s life took a new turn. By virtue of his hard work and single minded determination, he has established a Building construction company.
Not satisfied with his progress, Chung Ju-yung entered Automobile sector and Started Hyundai cars.
Chung Ju-yung’s success story is just one among many such success stories one can see in the history of South Korea’s Industrial history. Behind every leader who created history one can see that strong desire to ‘Grow’.
One responsible citizen is equivalent to an investment of one lakh Dollars.
Lee chul the founder of Samsung says that it’s the ‘Responsible citizen’ who can build the Nation. Here is a glowing example for ‘Responsible Citizenship.
Owing to the inflation, the government of South Korea in order to face the shortage of Foreign exchange, has advertised urging the people to refrain from gold purchases and contribute their gold to the government.
The response was beyond expectations. A staggering 227 Tons of gold was heaped in the government’s exchequer. Everyone, from pauper to prince contributed gold according to their capacity.
Moral Health.
South Korea is a strong believer in its citizen’s Moral Health. It believes that a Nation’s Health is nothing but a citizen’s physical, mental, social, spiritual and Moral health.
A unique medical system.
In South Korea no doctor has a prefix before his name. And no doctor has a string of degrees after his name. South Koreans say, when there are no prefixes and suffixes for a Nurse or a mechanic or a teacher, why a doctor should have?
The doctors never overburden the patient with dozens of unnecessary medicines. No medicine is prescribed more than what the ailment needs. By burdening the patient with unnecessary medicines, the doctors believe that the national resources dwindle.
South Koreans are very particular about their health. They ensure that every morsel of food they take consists of nutrients and fiber. They stay away from bad habits that jeopardize their health. Their dining table sutra is, ‘Food is meant for satiating hunger, not for filling the abdomen.’
A family based culture.
The strength of S. Korean culture lies in its strong family system. Compared with the past, though joint family system is dwindling, still there are families where 2 to 3 generations are living under one roof. One time at least in a day the entire family sit together for meals. The next important place after the father is the eldest son. Family head and the village head enjoy the highest respect.
‘Time’ is venerated.
Koreans have highest regard for Time and it’s management. They also have highest regard for other’s time. In conferences and meetings, Speakers religiously adhere to the Time allocated to them. Their speeches are filled with content relevant to the occasion. No unnecessary or unwanted stuff. In schools and offices people will not waste their time in gossiping and idle talk.
Trains and Buses are exactly on the dot. People always strive to finish off their jobs well before the scheduled time. The express way built between Seoul and Busan was built in 20 months as against the scheduled time of 27 months speaks volumes about their Time sense.
Stress on Responsibilities rather than Rights.
Accountability is writ all over the South Korean way of life. In every walk of life Accountability is strikingly visible. There are no supervisors. They believe in Self supervision.There is no Trade union culture. One who stick to responsibilities will be sent for training. If there is no change in the attitude of the employee, he will be warned. Even after warning if the employee fails to amend his erratic ways. He will be shown a Pink Slip. And this category is almost nil.
Regard for History and Heritage.
Koreans hold their History, culture and Heritage in high esteem. They will not tolerate any blemish or distortion of their past history. Even the Kings and Emperors fear to indulge in any activity or act against the people’s interests lest their History is blemished.
Greenery occupies the highest Pedestal.
South Koreans treat the trees as their family members. Tree plantation has become a part of their cultural life. It’s a practice to plant the saplings in family functions, marriages and get togethers. If it becomes necessary to cut down the trees during laying of roads and construction of Industries, 10 times more than the cut trees are immediately planted to compensate the loss.
Social Responsibility.
It’s a custom in South Korea to lend helping hand to the fellow human. If a member of the society irrespective of the relationship, faces hardships they all raise in one to help the suffering soul. They will not cut away all the fruits of a tree. Some fruits are left for the birds and to help poor countries in need of food.
Cash from Trash.
When it comes to utilization of waste, nobody knows better than South Koreans. Instead of pushing the industrial and domestic wastes in the rivers and sea, South Koreans use the trash to convert in to Energy. In this regard South Koreans are standing as an example to the world. They create electricity from Garbage. Fertilizers are manufactured. At Seokil, located 40 Km away from Seoul 50 Megawatts of electricity per annum is generated. South Korea is saving 1.54 million barrel oil every year. In all 84 percent of wastage is being converted in to cash.
History’s influence on South Korea’s Success.
Undivided Korea always used to show the strong desire to be unique in every sphere of life. In this process they had to pass through many turbulent phases all along the history. They had shown their immense patience and tolerance only with a hope that one day they become the trail blazers to the entire world.
When Japan occupied Korea, the Koreans fought tooth and nail to get rid of the shackles of slavery. They succeeded of course, but they became the victims of crazy whims of an advanced nation. Consequently Korea was divided in to South Korea and North Korea. Brothers were divided. They became rivals
Division has become a boon to South Korea. It has opted for a democratic rule headed by a President, whereas North Korea is still facing the problems cropped up due to division.
South Korea’s progress points out to the fact that our success or failure depends on not on the prevailing conditions, but on the quick and timely we decisions we take and work in that direction.