[Overview]
A letter from Kyunghee University Professor Seo Jeong Beom describing the effects of his wife’s SLTI training.

[Content]
Seo writes that although his wife was not initially very enthusiastic about the SLTI training she has become much more high-spirited and proactive after completing the SLTI program. He even states that he believes the change is thanks to Kim’s “nongshimtang” (literally translated as “stew of love for agriculture ” which is a play on words based on the Nongshim brand and Kim Jun’s philosophy of respect for agriculture (which is nongshim in Korean). Seo also expresses his regret that his wife was unable to publicly state her reflections on her time at the SLTI at her graduation ceremony. Seo tells Kim that he has written a book of essays on his experience at the SLTI entitled Lover’s Rice which equates Saemaul Undong to a “movement of love” and a religious movement that aims to create a “paradise of love.” Seo also mentions his plans to write several more essays on Saemaul Undong.

[Terminology]

[Significance]
This letter shows the effect that the SLTI’s training program had on a famous intellectual and his wife. Seo admits that he did not have high expectations regarding his SLTI training at first but ended up gaining a great deal from it afterward. This letter highlights the extent to which the SLTI program influenced intellectuals (e.g. Seo’s writing of essay books based on his experiences) at the time.