By Dirgha Raj Joshi
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President Moon did a good diplomatic job to make sound relations with North Korea and calm down America too. This reflected his diplomatic success and the quality of his leadership in how problems can be solved in a peaceful way.
In 1991, South Korea established the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as a governmental organization for Official Development Assistance (ODA) to enhance the effectiveness of South Korea's grant aid programs for developing countries.
The 1950-53 Korean War made Korea the poorest country in the world. Around two-thirds of South Korean production capacity was destroyed.
Even after the decade of war the per-capita income remained a meager $82 and net domestic savings were almost negligible. These conditions made Korea a recipient nation from 1945 to 1995 and the good donors for it were the International Development Association (IDA), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) among others.
But Korea no more remains that way. It became a donor country beginning in 1990 and is recognized as a post-war success. Now it has the world's 11th-largest economy, being a leading producer of ships, steel, automobiles and semiconductors.
Now Korea is also a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD.) The Korean government in 1987 established the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) which provides loans to developing countries for developmental projects. Later it established KOICA to work effectively throughout the world.
Regarding all these activities of Korea for developing nations, I request the Korea government and related agencies of Korea via President Moon to establish productive help.
I think its first responsibility is to help the Asian nations in wider aspects. Many foreigners are getting educated in Korea; the country also provides government scholarships ― the Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP).
So I suggest Korea collect the data of foreigners who studied in Korea with specialization, who worked in Korea with their skills, and who conducted business in Korea.
Make a detailed study and implement their technical skills, business skills, and their research skills in their own homeland, so that other nations will also grow in a similar way, which will make Korea great.
Korea needs to establish hospitals, industries, universities, and research institutes in poor nations so the people there will have access to quality education and services.
Specifically, President Moon has already visited Nepal and he knows Nepal well. I think the feelings of Asians are similar, I am sure that this message will alert President Moon to think bigger for Nepal.
As for myself, a Nepali studying for a Ph.D. in pharmacy at Korea University, I humbly request Korea establish research institutes and universities in the field of technology, automobiles, engineering and medicine, so the base-level population can have access to quality education.
Nepal itself is a very beautiful country with diversity in nature, and it is a country with peace and calmness so it could be a better place for world-class research. Let's work together to make Nepal as a research country.
Every leading country of the world can establish research-based institutes and universities that could be named like the Korea-Nepal Research Institute (KNRI), America-Nepal Research Institute (ANRI), China-Nepal Research Institute (CNRI) and so on.
Let's begin it with Korea, so the 2,000 Nepalese students studying in Korea, thousands of students from Nepal thinking, dreaming to come to Korea and the Nepalese who are working here via the Employment Permit System (EPS) process will get a better opportunity.
A total of around 90,000 Nepalese are here in Korea. They will be grateful toward Korea if Korea did the above-mentioned things. I hope President Moon will listen to this small voice from a researcher.
If the youth cannot see their future in their nation, then the nation will have no future. I always see all the possibilities and future in my nation. It will be grateful for us if we walk in, hand in hand and I call for help from every sector to make it possible.
Dirgha Raj Joshi (djmeropaila121@gmail.com) is a Ph.D. scholar and research assistant at College of Pharmacy, Korea University and secretary at the Society of Nepalese Students in Korea (SONSIK). He was national secretary at Pragyik Vidyarthi Parishad Nepal (PVP Nepal).
