It’s no secret that some Korean public officials have misused overseas training programs, financed with precious taxes, by enjoying them as their freebie tours abroad. Those programs, thanks to such accumulative scandals over time, now tend to be considered a waste of government money.

Had it not been for those few who neglected their duties and responsibilities as civil servants, overseas training programs could be welcomed or even encouraged as valuable opportunities to learn exemplary cases from advanced systems in various fields and subjects then possibly to apply to ours for further improvements. The word “advanced,” however, should not necessarily imply only countries that are rich.

Recently, for part of my project at work, I ran a training program for visiting public servants from Morocco for three weeks here in Seoul. Morocco may not be known for having a high GDP. But I would like to introduce their visit as a role-model for what our civil servants should learn and do on overseas training programs.

This training course was designed for water resources development and management; accordingly, the invited Moroccans were those in charge of or working for water-related sectors. In addition, the group encompassed a wide range of ranks, work experiences and ages rather than just those with the right status to receive such a privilege, which sometimes happens in developing countries.

Due to limited time and seemingly unlimited learning materials from field trips, public and private company visits as well as classroom lectures, the program was intensively crammed with 8 hours plus a day. The trainees, for their part, were as focused and absorbed just like senior high school students in suneung season. At the end of each class for example, so many hands were raised shouting “me me” that answers and follow-ups easily ate into breaks and lunch time.

Having heard of more than a few scandalous overseas training programs with Korean public officials, this writer had been squint-eyed with prejudice until actually running a program. Based on this restricted experience, I learned that a national GDP may have little to do with the ability of civil servants or their willingness to serve their country and people.

The success of the program with the Moroccans was largely down to two factors: goal-driven and well-designed courses, and strong motivation. Therefore, if the Korean government can draw up bespoke programs with specific goals and incentives running under certain monitoring systems, those programs can promote national interests as intended.

The majority of our officials have undeniably been serving with a high sense of responsibility and they are eligible for those learning chances. It is the black sheep that stands conspicuous. The Moroccan trainees went back to their own lives, but they send hello emails in French from time to time.

By Lee Hyejin

Lee Hyejin is associate research fellow at the Future Resources Institute, a private institute in Seoul. She holds a Ph.D. in agriculture from Washington State University in the U.S. ― Ed.