SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY McALEESE AT EWHA UNIVERSITY, SEOUL, THURSDAY, 24 MARCH, 2005
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY McALEESE AT EWHA UNIVERSITY, SEOUL, THURSDAY, 24 MARCH, 2005
Madame President, Distinguished members of the staff of Ewha University, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
I am deeply grateful for the very great honour which has just been accorded me, and the country I represent, by the conferring of the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law for this renowned University. I thank the Academic Council for the confidence shown in me and I am proud to be counted now among your alumni.
This University, with its roots going back over 120 years, has played a leading role in the education of women and in the development of modern Korea. It can proudly boast that it is the largest women’s University in the world and it can boast too of standards of excellence which have gained it the respect and pre-eminence it deservedly enjoys.
Since it inception, this University has dedicated itself to empowering women to realise their widest potential and to play full roles throughout Korean society. You are entitled to take pride in the many outstanding graduates who have graced Korean life in the professions, the arts, politics, the media, business and industry.
In my own country our fortunes changed when we began to dismantle the old patriarchal system which had kept women restricted in their life choices and chances. When I started Law School at the end of the 1960’s, women made up only about 20 per cent of the student body. But today that story has changed dramatically and over half the students in our universities are female. Today women are taking their place in every sphere of Irish life; their talents and creativity are part of the new confidence and energy which drives Ireland and, though the journey towards full inclusion is far from complete, we are now flying on two wings instead of one. We are feeling the surging power that comes from harnessing all our talent rather than half our talent but it will be another generation or more before we witness the kind of world that emerges when women finally overcome history’s legacy of exclusion.
Today two women Presidents meet across the divides of geography and history. Madame President, I am particularly pleased to be the first President of Ireland to make a State visit to your beautiful country. Thousands of miles separate us. We have different languages, histories and cultures and until recently, there was little or no contact between our peoples. Yet once we meet we are not just fascinated by the differences but just as struck by the similarities which make it easy for us to befriend and empathise with one another. The first and most obvious similarity is the deep desire of our peoples to control our own destinies.
In Ireland, at the beginning of the 20th century, after centuries of war and colonisation, the demand for self-determination became insistent. In 1916 there was an uprising which, although unsuccessful and tragic in its consequences, awakened and radicalised the spirit of Irish nationalism. In the 1918 elections, nationalists sought a mandate for the self-determination of the people of Ireland. This was endorsed by the people and led to the convening of an Irish Parliament on 21 January 1919, just at the very time nationalists in Korea were also seeking self-determination for their country.
This was followed by a period of bitter conflict which led to the political division of Ireland between the north and south. In the south a State was established which evolved in the following decades into a full and active member of the international community: an independent, democratic Republic.
The twentieth century was, I know, a harsh and terrifying time for the people of Korea. Your moment of liberation was blighted by the division of the peninsula followed by a tragic and dreadful war which saw the deaths of close on one million people north and south.
We in Ireland have followed closely the efforts of successive Presidents of the Republic of Korea to bring about a greater degree of reconciliation between the people of Korea, both North and South. We in Ireland know from direct experience how difficult this can be and we wish you well in this task.
Madame President, apart from the similarities between the histories of our two countries, the twentieth century saw new contacts between our two peoples. In 1933, Irish Catholic missionaries came here for the first time and since then several hundred of their fellow priests and nuns from Ireland have followed. They dedicated their lives, their skills and talents to Korea and its people. They brought the face and heart of Ireland to Korean homes and the face of Korea to Irish homes. In their exemplary, tireless work in education and healthcare as well as social, economic and cultural activities, they have created a network of friendship between Ireland and Korea which has enriched both of us. It is good to see some of them present today and to have this chance to thank them for their vocation of care for Korea.
There are other links too. During the war in the 1950s, many soldiers from foreign lands took part. They fought and died alongside Koreans who were fighting for their country’s freedom.
One of the regiments of the British Army which took part in that war was the Royal Ulster Rifles. Its members come from both the Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland, the place of my birth. It saw action in two battles of that war in January and April 1951 and it gave in sacrifice, over 130 lives. Today I pay homage to my compatriots who made the supreme sacrifice in that war and to those, their colleagues and families who shared in that sacrifice through their loss and loneliness.
Since the end of that war over fifty years ago, enormous changes have taken place in both our countries. Korea today is unrecognisable from what it was when the guns fell silent. The people of Korea by their sheer determination, hard work and national genius have taken their country from the rubble of 1953 and turned it into the tenth largest economy today. We applaud you for that incredible achievement.
Ireland too has changed. Thirty years ago when we joined what is now the European Union we were the poorest member state. Today we are one of the wealthiest. Our growth rate has been the fastest for the last ten years and each year our exports reach new record levels. I am often asked to explain this phenomenal transformation and, in truth, there are many reasons but one predominates: that is education.
I am told that there is a Korean proverb, “Don’t try to bequeath money to your children, educate them!” There is also an Irish proverb which is relevant “Ní haon ualach é an toideachas” (Education is no burden). Both Korea and Ireland have taken these lessons very much to heart. In both countries parents and society place the highest priority on learning and the teaching profession is highly regarded and respected. The parents of Ireland and Korea both believe passionately that education is the key to personal fulfilment, to opportunity, to civic strength and to widespread prosperity.
Our common thirst for learning has helped form another point of contact between our peoples. For the past number of years hundreds of young Irish teachers have been coming to Korea to teach. More recently, Irish educational establishments have been linking up with their Korean counterparts. More and more Koreans are going to Ireland to further their education. We welcome them and hope that many more will go in the coming times. Ireland today is a young country - one of the youngest in Europe – where over forty per cent of the population are under twenty-five years of age. There is a vibrant youth culture, particularly in sport and in music. It is an exciting time to be there and of course both our countries are leaders in the sphere of information technology. We in Ireland are constantly on the look out for new talent, for research partnerships and collaborations which will help us stay at the forefront of today’s industrial revolution. Our young people have opportunities to visit, to work and to study in each other’s countries which simply did not exist even a short few years ago. Each Irish person who visits Korea, each Korean who visits Ireland, builds links of friendship which last beyond a lifetime. Each contributes to the great network of human endeavour through which we explore our world with a healthy curiosity and reveal its truest potential - by harnessing its diverse talent in common pursuits. The stronger that network the more opportunities we create for tomorrow’s Irish and Korean children and the more chance we have of eradicating between us the poverty, violence, disease and oppression which blights the lives of so many of the world’s children today.
Madame President, I am honoured to accept this Honorary Doctorate. This happy and generous occasion is symbolic of the warm friendship that exists between our two countries. I hope that through the lives of your students and of young Irish men and women the peoples of Korea and of Ireland will grow in friendship, in solidarity and in partnership in the years ahead. I wish you and Ewha University continued success in the coming years.
KAM SA HAM NI TA (Thank you)