Saemaul Undong Archives : The Saemaul Spirit Is an Entrepreneurial Spirit

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Find out which villages were most successful in the Saemaul Undong.

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The Saemaul Spirit Is an Entrepreneurial Spirit

The Story of Gi Young-Ho of Gwanggok Village in Imgok-myeon, Gwangsan-gun, South Jeolla Province

Eradicating “Saigeri Borrisse (새거리 보릿세)”

Gwanggok Village situated in Imgok-myeon, Gwangsan-gun, South Jeolla Province has also been called “Neobeusil” for the vast Naju plains that stretch along the village. The single-clan village of the Gi clan of Hengju, Gwanggok Village was the hometown of Gobong Gi Dae-Seung, a leading Confucian scholar of the Joseon dynasty. Wolbongseowon Confucian Academy is situated here in commemoration of Gobong’s virtuous deeds. With deeply-rooted Confucian traditions, the village was strongly resistant to the waves of modernization that swept across the country in the 1970’s.

Wolbongseowon Confucian Academy (Wolbongseowon Confucian Academy Official Website)

In 1978, Gi Young-Ho volunteered to undergo Saemaul leaders training. Setting up a maeul geumgo was the very first thing Gi did after completing the training program at the Saemaul Leaders Training Institute. Most of the villagers were tenant farmers caught up in high-interest loans called “Saigeri Borrisse (새거리 보릿세).” Despite the resistance and interference of the landlords, Gi succeeded in stabilizing the maeul geumgo and rooting out the vicious cycle of high-interest loans.

For the next 20 years, Gi led the village’s living condition improvement projects, as well as greenhouse horticulture and beef cattle businesses centering on the Village Youth Association. He also worked at a secondary industry by harvesting persimmon, mushrooms and wild greens, and directly supplying them to cities. Some earned enough money to pay for their children’s university tuitions by harvesting pine mushrooms. At the time, it was a groundbreaking way of doing business.

Neobeusil Saemaul Newsletter

Meanwhile, he personally made the newsletter “Neobeusil Saemaul” and distributed it to those who had left Gwanggok Village with the aim of sharing all the information he could on the village’s development. Upon reading about their hometown’s remarkable development, some donated money as a contribution.

Reforming a Village with Deep-rooted Confucian Beliefs

The biggest obstacle to Neobeusil Village’s modernization was the Confucian traditions deeply rooted among the Gi clan. In the eyes of those with strong feudal beliefs, Saemaul projects were nothing but disruptions to the traditional order. Landlords who had owned land for generation after generation were heavily reluctant to mottos like “independence” and “cooperation”. Gi faced most resistance when extending the village roads.

“How could I decide whether to donate this land that has been handed down to me by my ancestors?”

“You can build any road you like but not across my land.”

“Are you asking me to give up my land for the villagers at no cost?”

Gi confronted the seniors in his clan face-to-face.

“You agree that our village’s biggest asset is Wolbongseowon, right? If we are to receive large numbers of tourists from other regions, we need a wide access road. As descendants of Gobong Gi Dae-Seung, we should be ashamed of ourselves if we fail to take good care of it. We need to build roads for our village to develop and our village needs to develop for the Gi clan to thrive.”

It was the perfect argument leaving no room for refutation.

Saemaul Leader Applies for a Patent with Mugeunji Kimchi

for the First Time in Korea

In 1993, Gi passed on his position of the last two decades as Saemaul leader to the next generation and started his own kimchi business. It was a tertiary business that involved harvesting cabbages to supplying kimchi. All those around him tried to dissuade him.

“Agriculture is a primary industry. You have no chance at managing a tertiary business involving processing and sales!”

“How will you run your own business when you have no knowledge of business management?”

At the time, there were only five kimchi manufacturing facilities in all of Korea and none in Gwangju, which attests to how new a business area it was. Nevertheless, Gi established an agricultural association corporation with five villagers supported by 120 million won of government subsidy and named his company Naegohyang (meaning “my hometown”) Foods.

The challenge was a huge success. Delicious kimchi made only from domestically-grown agricultural products were sold to department stores both in and out of Korea and to the kitchens of Korean homes through home shopping channels. In 1999, he succeeded in acquiring a patent with mugeunji (aged kimchi) for the first time in Korea.

Gi Young-Ho (Gwangju Kimchi Culture Festival)

Where does his relentless enterprising spirit come from? Gi has the following answer:

“It is the Saemaul spirit of cooperation, hard work and commitment that has become a part of me since my youth. As a younger man, I had strong opinions but Saemaul training taught me how to respect other people’s opinions rather than my own and be considerate toward others.”

“It is the Saemaul spirit of cooperation, hard work and commitment
that has become a part of me since my youth..”

Leaders

A Black Revolution through Aquaculture in Community Fish Farms

Leaders

Saemaul Geumgo Saves a Village

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