With the cooperation of Professor Taejong KIM, Professor Byungjoo KIM, and the KDI School''s Development Research and Learning Network, the World Bank Group has launched a free online course-Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Policy Lessons from South Korea''s Development. With over some 7,600 participants from as many of 178 countries, the course was delivered during 17 January to 19 February 2017 with the intention of educating its participants on the development of Korea’s policies.

The aim of the course was to sensitize audiences around the world on the factors contributing to Korea’s rapid development from the 1960s through the 1990s and to discuss how some of the policies that were employed then can still be effective today. The course also explored Korea’s development in the trade and manufacturing industry. Finally, the course looked at some of the development challenges of the country and its coping mechanisms.

The course was facilitated under four modules, namely: (1) Korean development in global perspective; (2) Rapid Growth: the first three decades; (3) Evolving a 21st Century Growth Model; and (4) Post Industrial Development Challenges. Statistics showed that 53% of the MOOC participants were from low-middle income countries which meant that the course would have reached its key audiences from developing countries, such as  Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan. This proves that the course has helped to shape informed citizens around the world who may, in turn, be more equipped to make decisions as it concerns development policies.

Not only did the course attract participants from around the world but it also gathered respectable facilitators who facilitated the modules. Some of the notable educators include Professor Dwight PERKINS, a professor of Political Economy, Emeritus from the Harvard University, who facilitated on the Korean Development in the East Asian context, and Professor Ju-Ho LEE, a professor in Labor Economics, Education and Social Policy, Science and Technology Policy at KDI School of Public Policy and Management, who facilitated a lecture on Human Capital and focused on the key to Korea’s growth performance. In the third week of the program, Mr. Soogil YOUNG, the Director of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network in Korea and the Visiting Professor of KDI School of Public Policy and Management; Professor Sungchul CHUNG, who teaches Science and Technology Policy at the University of Science and Technology; and Mr. Danny LEIPZIGER, a professor of Practice of International Business at George Washington University, facilitated lectures on evolving a 21st Century Growth Model. In the final week, Professor Barry EICHENGREEN of University of California, Professor Taejong KIM of KDI School, Professor Eun KIM from Ewha Womans University and Economist Mr. Shahid YUSUF from the George Washington University provided lectures on the post industrial development challenges faced in Korea.

At the end of the course, materials were made available online for one year for reviewing by anyone interested in Korea’s growth and respective policy lessons. Many expressed their satisfaction with the outcome and looked forward to many other study areas from the partnering institutions. Participants interested in securing verification certified were given a chance to do so at the expense of a small fee.

By Tracy Amanda SMITH [2017 MPP, Guyana]