Koreans have own version of ‘bayanihan’

MANILA, Philippines—The “Bayanihan” spirit is not exclusive to Filipinos.

In the South Korean city of Daejeon, ordinary folk have also made it a way of life.

Thousands of volunteers in Daejeon provide basic social services and welfare to its poor citizens—a task usually handled by the state in most cases.

Similar to the Filipinos’ bayanihan, Daejeon’s version of its welfare program taps its citizens to give a helping hand to those in need, albeit on a larger scale.

Dubbed the “Mandurae” welfare system, it is a community-based program that aids the poor in South Korea’s fifth largest metropolis.

“Volunteers, not bureaucrats, are the foundation of the system,” Mayor Hong-Chul Yum stressed in a conference at the University of the Philippines.

Other nations have their own welfare programs but what makes Daejeon’s unique is that it does not only operate at the grassroots level but draws its strength from its thousands of volunteers belonging to 973 groups working with the government.

The Mandurae system has 17,000 volunteers who provide for the needs of 12,000 poor families, who are identified through one-on-one consultation.

These needs may range from education, health care, better homes and toilets, to beautification and urban renewal of old downtown areas where the poor can enjoy their own cultural hubs.

The multipronged effort is similar to the Filipino concept of bayanihan which involves an entire community to achieve a goal, say, moving an entire house to a new location.

In Daejeon’s case, the goal is to get people to help others who need help the most.

“Mandurae expects the citizens to step up and take an active role in improving their community,” Yum said.

The Daejeon mayor was in Quezon City last month for an international conference on the role of local governments, industries and universities in promoting regional prosperity.

The conference was a joint effort of UP, South Korea’s Hannam University and Chungnan National University, and the World Technopolis Association.

Daejeon is the capital of Chungnam province and is an administration and transportation hub. It is also touted to be South Korea’s science capital.

Conceived in 2003, Mandurae welfare assumes the role of cash-strapped city halls tasked to provide social services and welfare to the poor.

In his keynote speech, Yum explained that the Mandurae concept originated from the “durae,” an olden system which served as a community collective leadership in times of hardship such as droughts.

At first, it was a plea to citizens to get involved in community work to lessen their dependence on the central government.

From only 83 organizations and 2,600 volunteers in 2003, the Mandurae welfare programs now promote local arts and crafts, tutor children, provide medical care and food subsidies to poor families, etc.