Your weakness is your strength - lessons from S Korea's development model

I was glad to participate in the live broadcast of a forum held in D.C. this morning with the title "The United States, South Korea and Civil Society Cooperation in Global Humanitarian Development". It was a very professional forum and broadcast held in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Global Peace Foundation.

I was impressed by Ambassador Young-mok Kim's presentation by the extent to which South Korea has expanded its global humanitarian efforts, but especially how they have utilized their unique experience in their reconstruction efforts after the Korean War to offer guidance to underdeveloped countries facing similar challenges in spurring socio-economic growth.

It goes to show that every nation has its times of trials, yet it is in those times that you can see the true spirit of the people and where the greatest innovations can take place that can be an inspiration to all people.

KOICA Pres. Young-mok Kim shared his personal experiences with
Korea's unique development model called "The New Village Movement"

If you get a chance, I recommend you read the summary of highlights from the event on the GPF website to get to know Korea's unique story as one of the few nations that went from being an under-developed country to an official donor country, especially in the span of less than 60 years.

This story also gives me insight into the important role S. Korea should play in relation to the re-unification process with North Korea and how this effort, though sure to be challenging, can be another valuable model for the region and world if the Korean people can demonstrate their noble character once again, which I believe they can.