The Ideological-Educational Characteristics of Saemaul Undong Songs

Launched in 1970s South Korea, the Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement) was a state-led rural modernization campaign aimed at overcoming poverty. To ensure its success, national unity and collective dedication were essential. Two official songs—Saemaul Song and Let’s Live Well—served as powerful tools to inspire shared identity and voluntary participation. These songs significantly contributed to the movement’s outcomes, yet their ideological and pedagogical roles remain understudied. This paper addresses this gap by applying the theories of Antonio Gramsci and Jürgen Habermas to examine how music functioned as a medium of civic education and cultural integration.