The purpose of this study is to identify the progress of those rural development programs and projects that belong to the Balanced National Development special account, to systematically evaluate them against a number of carefully designed criteria, and finally, to suggest an alternative that will lead to the systematic reorganization and streamlining of various rural development programs and projects.
The raison d'etre of these programs is to enhance the quality of life in rural areas. This requires planners and policy-makers to work on a number of key factors in an effective manner. However, most of the programs in effect are principally targeted at the physical aspect, that is, designed only for the improvement and provision of physical facilities and infrastructure, ignoring other aspects. Even worse, programs and projects of similar and overlapping, if not same, goals and contents are competitively pushed forward by various ministries, subsequently causing inefficiencies and wastes. In addition, only for the reason of convenience, policy-makers divide up areas and regions, without paying sufficient attention to rural settlement networks and hierarchies, for the spatial designation of these programs and projects, thus causing irrelevance and insignificancy. Topping all these problems, newly created program of the so-called “New Dynamic Region” is not distinctive enough to differentiate itself from those programs and projects already existing, therefore revealing its dubious image of duplicating their goals and contents.
Rural development programs and projects can be consolidated and streamlined systematically under the principle that emphasizes, first, local autonomy and creative and entrepreneurial spirit, and secondly, proper role assignments among various, and sometimes competing, ministries, considering the relevance to rural conditions. For this, first, the separation of “Myon” administrative units of isolated areas and settlement areas must be nullified; second, programs and projects targeted at individual villages must be reevaluated, combined and consolidated; third, distinctive program contents must be secured for the “New Dynamic Region” program so that it can be clearly differentiated in its goals and contents from other rural development programs and projects; and finally, all the programs and projects must be reconsidered and reevaluated carefully whether to include in, or exclude from, the Balanced National Development special account so that only those programs and projects relevant in their goals and contents to the account will remain.
Researchers: Song, Mi-Ryung(mrsong@krei.re.kr)
and Park, Ju-Young