China Inc. Taking Lessons From Korea

Chinese people are keen about learning from Korea.

The Chinese government is using Korea’s Samaeul (new village) Movement as an exemplary case of agricultural success, and sent 350,000 public officials for agriculture to Korea, while in Qiangqun City in Jilin Province, movements are made to learn from Korean companies in reducing the amount of time spent in construction.

Hong Kong’s news magazine Yazhou Zhoukan proposed in its latest edition, “From the Saemaeul Movement, we should learn from Korea in its independence, relations with the North, primary education, elimination of corruption, and economic system.”

Head editor Chiu Libun mentioned in his column titled: “An opportunity to revive the Chinese farms” that “the fate of China’s 800 million farmers is in the hands of the 350,000 public officials visiting South Korea,” and pointed out that “as instruments of American imperialism in the past, Korea now holds the key to reviving Chinese farms.”

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Chinese farmers were calling for revolution with Mao Zedong’s analects in their hands, while South Korea launched its Saemaeul Movement and resolved wealth disparities between urban and rural areas, which up till today most Third World countries including China are struggling with.

He added, “During the 1980s, Korea maintained its identity by persisting with its democratic movements and development of civil society but did not resist the flow of globalization and accepted the common values of international society.”

Chiu finished by saying, “In the process of globalization, Korea maintained its independence, and built today’s nation with its education and national pride,” and added, “This is today’s Daejanggeum (a Korean TV drama) spirit. If Korea can do it, why not China?”

Yazhou Zhoukan mentioned, “China should learn more from Korea other than the Saemaeul movement,” including the elimination of corruption, an independent spirit in the face of outside pressure, soft approaches to North Korea, and reducing dependency on the U.S.

Published in Jilin province, the Jilin Daily also reported on June 16 on Korea’s Kumho Tires building a new factory in Qiangqun and said, “We should do our best to create Kumho speed.” The newspaper expressed Kumho Tires’s way of insisting upon its construction schedule despite numerous difficulties as “Kumho speed.”

The newspaper stated, “Kumho Tires holds a conference at the construction site each week in order to resolve the problems on the spot,” and predicted that “Kumho Tires will be Northeast Asia’s biggest tire producer in the future.”

Kumho Tires held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 at Qiangqun, its third factory after Nanjing and Tienjin, with production capacity of 3.15 million tires per year. The construction is underway with the prospect of completion in the second half of next year.

Jong-Dae Ha orionha@donga.com