Social and Economic Transformation in Tanzania and South Korea: Ujamaa and Saemaul Undong in the 1970s Compared

Julius Nyerere and Park Chung-hee carried out ambitious and important social and economic reforms for rural development in the 1970s in Tanzania and South Korea, respectively. The reforms not only affected the livelihood of rural people but also had longreaching impact on the entire nations. Despite the visionary and generally benevolent rulers’ policy initiatives, the economic results of the rural development programs in the two countries cannot be more different. This paper contrasts and explores the importance of the nature of the transformation strategy and processes, as brought about by differences in leadership as well as in political philosophies and developmental goals, as a possible explanation for the drastically different economic outcomes of Tanzania’s Ujamaa and South Korea’s Saemaul Undong.