China can learn from South Korea's success in building new villages, said Chinese experts after their three-day investigation tour to South Korea, which was jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), China Green Food Association, China Youth Travel Service (CYTS), Renmin University of China, and China News Service.

According to a chinanews.com report on June 6, the experts said that if China is to realize its goals of "building a new socialist countryside", it should strengthen and increase exchange and cooperation with South Korea and draw on its experiences.

South Korea's "building new villages drive" that started in the 1970s has been instrumental in transforming it from a backward agricultural country into a world developed economy, said Li Xiande, an economics expert with the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development under the CAAS. "The drive is aimed at changing South Korean farmers' living environment, increasing their incomes, and promoting agricultural production," Li said, adding that government support plays an important role in the process.

Liang Jie, vice president of the China Green Food Association, said that the drive has greatly helped develop South Korea's agricultural industry, increase the competitiveness of its agricultural products, and protect farmers' rights and interests.

Zhang Lijun, deputy CEO of CYTS, said that the South Koreans had come up with a novel idea of introducing a "sightseeing tour with the 'building new villages' drive as the main attraction". He said that a similar localized idea could be adopted for China since it meets the requirements of Chinese tourists, especially farmers.

Tong Zhihui, a lecturer from the School of Agricultural Economics and Development, Renmin University, said that, taking a panoramic view of agricultural changes in South Korea, the "building new villages" drive is important, and the experiences are worth studying by China and will benefit the Chinese people a great deal.

The Chinese delegation visited South Korea at the invitation of the Korean National Tourism Organization under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of South Korea. As an overseas publicity arm of the South Korean government, the organization is responsible for marketing South Korea's success stories and traditional culture in China.

The organization also has plans to invite more Chinese farmers and agricultural management personnel to visit South Korea. Such trips would help the Chinese gain a better understanding of South Korea's "building new villages" drive and culture in general.

During their three-day visit, the Chinese delegation visited the Central Research Institute, which supervises the Building New Villages Drive, located in Kangwon Circuit, an agriculture technology center, a village in Wonju that stands out as one of the program's successes; and several villages still in the pilot stages of the program.

The visiting experts agreed that due to inherent cultural, geographical and historical differences, China would not adopt the South Korean model wholesale. Rather, it would adapt the concept to suit China's needs and natural conditions. Moreover, the key thing that impressed the Chinese was the South Korean spirit of hard work and striving for progress, the intellectual wealth that is necessary if the Chinese are to successfully build a new socialist countryside.

(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, June 7, 2006)