The “globalization” of Saemaeul Undong, or the New Community Movement to modernize the rural communities of South Korea, was selected the best government project of 2012 by the Presidential Council on Nation Branding on Tuesday.

At a meeting held at the Press Center in central Seoul on Tuesday, the advisory body selected the Saemaeul program along with a number of other projects: the globalization of Hangeul, the Korean writing system; making a multicultural family-friendly society, the fostering of seed exports and promotion of Korea as enhancing the nation’s brand image.

“These projects have met the initial goal and are expected to contribute to the enhancement of Korea’s nation brand,” said Lee Eun-kook of Yonsei University who was in charge of the evaluation.

The Saemaeul Undong promotion program, organized by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, invited 198 administrative officials from 20 countries to Korea for training. Related training centers were established in 15 villages in eight different countries as part of the program.

The Culture Ministry received recognition for operating 90 King Sejong Institutes, institutes dedicated to teaching the Korean language, in 43 countries and developing online Korean language education programs in nine different languages. The Gender Equality and Family Affairs Ministry was hailed for establishing 105 support centers for multicultural families and tightening regulations on international marriage brokers.

The Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry was noted for creating a road map for the “Golden Seed” project and supporting $34 million-worth of seed exports. The Education Ministry has asked 25 countries to revise their textbooks containing inaccurate information about Korea and developed a website, www.ikorea.ac.kr, available in six languages, dedicated to promoting the country’s history and culture.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)