South Korea’s dragon awakes

By Robertson Work

I participated in the UN Public Service Global Forum on Sustainable Development in Seoul on June 23-26 this year. I made a presentation on Collaborative Leadership in a Time of Whole System Transformation (read it here: http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/Internet/Documents/UNPAN93173.pdf) and facilitated a workshop on E-Government Innovations for Sustainable Development. Up to 100 participants, in 10 table teams, used ToP methods following each panel to articulate their vision, obstacles, strategies and recommended actions for the UN and member states. The forum as a whole had 1,000 participants from around the world, mostly government and NGO officials.

While in Seoul, I was fortunate to visit ICA colleagues with whom I had worked for six years in the 1970s. Rev. Dr. Park Si Won is still President of ICA Korea and is as inspiring and generous as ever. Rev. Dr. Kang Byoung Hoon is still full of wisdom and energy. We happily have maintained our communication and friendship over all these years.

We visited the village of Kuh Du I Ri (Sleeping Dragon Village 2) north of Seoul, near the DMZ. It was one of the community projects where we had worked. Our efforts there and on Jeju Island in the south in the village of Kwang Yung Il Ri were our contributions to the Korean government’s Sae Maul Undong (New Community Movement.)

Well, the dragon woke up and became a highly prosperous community with cattle, green houses, orchards, new homes and paved roads. ICA Korea has a facility in the village for abused women. The village in Jeju Island is also prosperous. While in Kuh du I Ri, I was flooded with many memories such as my family of four living in one room behind the village store in the community centre. Those were great days indeed!

I had returned to Seoul from New York in 1994 and in 2005, both times as a UNDP policy advisor of decentralized governance. Every time I visit South Korea I am shocked by the rapid developments in infrastructure, economic growth, democratic institutions and cultural changes. There are now 31 bridges across the Han River that runs through Seoul. The city is filled with skyscrapers and beautiful parks. Seoul has been called the Miracle on the Han.

After the Korean War, South Korea was devastated and was one of the world’s poorest nations. Thanks to its national strategy of large industrial development combined with village development and a homogenous population with a common language and Confucian work ethic, it has become one of the leading economic powers in the world. In addition, the current Secretary-General of the UN is a South Korean and people are dancing Gangnam style all around the world!

The UN Public Service Global Forum was hosted in great style at the massive Korean International Trade Exhibition (KINTEX) centre. In the Public Service Award Ceremony, South Korea won first prize again for e-government innovations.

When I was first in South Korea in the 1970s I remember being told that Korea had been invaded over 900 times in its 5,000 year history. In the early 20th century it was colonized by Japan. It was then tragically divided into two nations after World War II. Many families were torn apart and the two Koreas have grown further apart. Even so, South Korea continues its journey of human development. It is especially inspiring to see how it is now helping poor countries around the world through its own international development cooperation.

Now the world faces critical challenges of climate chaos, gender inequality, elitist governance, socio-economic injustice and cultural intolerance. May the Land of the Morning Calm continue its journey safely through these turbulent times. May the two Koreas find ways to co-exist and help each other. May the Korean spirit of suffering, struggle, hard work, development and generosity continue to lead and inspire the world.

Robertson Work is professor of Public Administration at New York University Wagner. Email: mrw2@nyu.edu      www.innovativeleader.org