17 officials including local government heads benchmarked potentials to localize the Saemaul Undong and the Can-Do Spirit of the Park Chung Hee School
[May 2, 2013]

 Senior Public Officials from Uganda takes a photo saying 'kimchi'

 "It's more amazing coming here and actually hearing and seeing it. It was an opportunity to see for ourselves the development of Korea such as the 'Miracle on the Han River', 'Saemaul Undong' and 'Saemaul Spirit' that we only saw on the news. We were also be able to have a feel for how the Miracle on the Han River was possible. I am confident that students studying at the YU Park Chung Hee School which is taking the lead in globalizing Saemaul Undong and fostering Saemaul Undong experts will do great things for humanity in the future."

 At 9:30 in the morning on the 2nd at the YU Law Library 2nd floor international conference room, Charles Okello (51), the governor of Soroti, Uganda, met with YU President Noh, Seok Kyun and gave him a badge with the national emblem of Uganda.

 YU President Noh, Seok Kyun replied, "You have come to the right place to learn about the Saemaul Undong. I hope that this visit and YU Park Chung Hee School will contribute to helping the Saemaul Undong become established in Uganda."

 The governor of Soroti, Uganda is handing over a Uganda national emblem badge to YU President Noh, Seok Kyun

 Senior Public Officials from Uganda in Africa visited YU on the 2nd. A total of 17 members including 12 governors of Ugandan districts, city mayor, secretary of the municipal council, HR official of the local governments, employee of KOICA Uganda office and a journalist from a local press agency came to the YU Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul (known as Park Chung Hee School).

 After listening to the special lecture from Park, Seung Woo, dean of the Park Chung Hee School, for 3 hours from 9:30 a.m., they visited the classrooms, library, dormitory and campus of the Park Chung Hee School, and carefully looked over brochures on the Park Chung Hee School including the curriculum, admissions and scholarship programs, educational environment, etc, with an air of seriousness.

 Receiving a great deal of interest from the visitors, Park, Seung Woo (54), dean of the Park Chung Hee School, said, "It is Korea's job to share how Korea was able to become a global economic powerhouse when it was one of the poorest countries in the world in the 1950s and to help countries localize it." He added, "The YU Park Chung Hee School will take the initiative in it."

 Meanwhile, YU established the Park Chung Hee School to become a global graduate school on policies like the 'Harvard Kennedy School' in the US and the 'Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) School' of National University of Singapore, and accepted its first students in March 2012. 52 students from 26 countries are currently working on their master's degree from the 3 majors of Saemaul Undong Theory and Practice, Public Policy and Leadership, and Forest Resources and Ecological Restoration. Most of the students are elites working as public officials, professors or entrepreneurs in their respective countries. They all receive full scholarships, monthly allowances of one million won, and dormitories. Gyeongsangbuk-do, Daegu, Korea Forest Service, and KOICA also provided support to scholarship funds.

 Though it is a special graduate school, classes are offered all day long and it has 3 semesters in one year. The faculty is made up of top experts and scholars from within and outside of the YU such as Lee, Jai Chnag, president of the Saemaul Undong Center, Song, Byeong Rak, chair professor of Seoul National University, and Lee, Don Koo, former Minister of Korea Forest Service. All classes are offered in English.

 The 17 students who enrolled in March of last year have returned to their native countries and are working on their master's degree thesis. It is expected that once their theses are accepted, the world's first masters of Saemaul studies will be born in the upcoming month of August.

 High ranking officials of Uganda listening to a presentation by Park, Seung Woo, director of the Park Chung Hee School