Recognition and Practice of the Danish Model by Intellectuals Participating in the National Reconstruction Movement

This paper examines how the Danish model was implemented and transformed by intellectuals through the National Reconstruction Movement in the early 1960s. In the late 1950s, when the rural population was large and poverty was still widespread, the Danish model emerged as a solution to improve rural issues. Denmark was noted as an agricultural nation that rose from the ashes of war and transformed wasteland into fertile land. For South Korea, which had also experienced war and was an agricultural nation, Denmark served as a model for revival. Following the April Revolution, modernization discourses emerged aimed at overcoming backwardness through the expansion of the market economy, institutional reforms, and unification. However, intellectuals who followed the Danish model took an independent path. They joined the National Reconstruction Movement promoted by the coup forces after the May 16 coup and sought to spread and implement the Danish model. Intellectuals who focused on the Danish model believed that it was not possible to transplant the system as it was because South Korea and Denmark had different conditions and cultures. Therefore, what they focused on in the Danish model were spiritual elements such as education and the promotion of a strong work ethic. These aspects were in line with the coup forces' goal of a spiritual revolution among the people. The reason these intellectuals were able to easily join the Reconstruction Movement promoted by the military was because they shared the theory of spiritual revolution. The National Reconstruction Movement focused on education based on its understanding of the Danish model as a spiritual revolution. Most of the content of the movement's main activity, education, was geared toward ideological education and spiritual enlightenment. While intellectuals focused on education to train rural leaders, soldiers focused on education to instill anti-communist spirit. Those who participated in the movement also testified that the activities were geared toward spiritual education. A central education center was established under the headquarters, and education centers were also established at the provincial branch level. However, the National Reconstruction Movement faced difficulties due to conflicts between intellectuals and military personnel over political participation. As the transfer of political power approached, military officers stationed at the headquarters and branches engaged in political activities, which led to clashes with intellectuals who pursued non-political civilian movements. Military personnel recognized the spiritual revolution as the dissemination and learning of military government ideology to the people. On the other hand, intellectuals focused on non-political enlightenment to improve living conditions through the training of rural leaders. After the transfer of political power, the National Reconstruction Movement was criticized for being politicized and wasting budget funds, and it was eventually dissolved. The military lost interest in the Danish model. Another reason was the decline in interest in rural areas due to industrialization. On the other hand, intellectuals who had participated in the National Reconstruction Movement continued to maintain their interest in the Danish model and sought to put it into practice. The Danish model returned to the national agenda in the 1970s when rural issues were given greater attention through the Saemaul Movement.