Essay Competition for Foreigners in Korea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Korea have recently launched an essay competition for foreigners in Korea. The aim of the competition is to get an impression of how foreigners feel about Korea.

There’s a new laptop and bunch of tablet PCs and digital cameras up for grabs for the winning entries.

We here in the IAK don’t see why we shouldn’t have an Irish entry or two, and even if you’re not Irish there’s no reason why we shouldn’t share the good word. After all, the more entries the competition receives the healthier it is, right?

Here’s the official notice from MOFAT.

Click here to view

Good luck to everyone who gets involved.

*The Irish Association of Korea is not connected with the MOFAT or this competition in any way. The Irish Association of Korea seeks solely to promote the sharing of culture in Korea.

Ambassador’s message – September 17th

“I am delighted to inform you that the Government of Ireland has approved €200,000 in support of the World Food Programme’s continuing operations in the DPRK. This is a significant contribution to the WFP’s feeding operation in North Korea, which provides vital nutritional support to women and children in eighty-nine counties in nine provinces. As you may recall from my message last May, during our visit to the DPRK, my wife and I saw at first hand the young beneficiaries of the WFP programme; the provision of essential micro-nutrients help them develop normally despite the chronic malnutrition that is so widespread in North Korea.

You may also recall that the Irish NGO Concern is operating in the DPRK (see www.concern.net ). Its programme is focused centres of excellence for testing and sharing new techniques to improve agricultural methods, mitigate problems (like soil erosion and poor fertiliser), improve yields and enhance nutritional returns on crops. It is also working on water sanitation systems and solar pumping for clean water distribution.  The Irish Government, through the Irish Aid Civil Society programme, is providing €400,000 this year to Concern’s operation in the DPRK.  The EU also supports Concern’s projects in the DPRK.

One of the UN’s great recent innovations in emergency relief was the creation of the Central Emergency Relief Fund or CERF in 2006.  Its purpose is two-fold:  to provide rapid funding for sudden onset emergencies through grants and loans (facilities of $450m and $30m respectively) and to grant-aid under-funded emergencies (see www.unocha.org/cerf ).  The UN has made some $13 million available so far this year to agencies operating in the DPRK via the CERF.

When I was in Pyongyang last August I attended the inter-agency meeting of UN and NGO organisations.  The value of the CERF was widely acknowledged at the meeting.  The CERF is the third way in which the Irish Government supports humanitarian relief in the DPRK. Since its inception, Ireland has been a strong supporter: Ireland has contributed $115m to the CERF since its establishment.  Ireland’s 2012 allocation to the CERF is €4 million.

The Irish public continues to support the Irish Aid programme, despite our fiscal and financial challenges.  Opinion polls suggest support of 85% .  Indeed, almost 80% believe that Ireland should try to reach its aid target of 0.7% of GNP by 2015, one of the key UN Millennium Development Goals.  Currently our aid budget is €670m, down from €921m in 2008 but still a significant 0.5% of GNP.

For more information, see www.irishaid.gov.ie where you can also download Irish Aid’s 2011 Annual Report, which has just been released.

Best wishes,
Eamonn

Eamonn McKee
Ambassador”

Ambassador’s message – September 7th

“As we pivot into autumn and summer becomes a memory, I hope you had a good break, whether that involved holidaying in Korea, taking a vacation nearby or, best of all, enjoying a break in Ireland. Before visiting family in the US, I took some time to hike part of the Kerry Way with my son, starting on a glorious day at Waterville. The weather did not keep up over following days but even with cloud overhead, Kerry is beautiful. Between hostelries along the way and Bed and Breakfasts at day’s end, it was a wonderful experience.

Returning from familiar settings reminds me that living far away from home can be a stressful experience as well as enjoyable and exciting. Many us living wihout our networks of family and long-term friends and well known professionals close-by have times when we’d like to speak to someone independent about the issues we are facing and how they are making us feel without having to deal with differences of cultural background.

A service established in July 2011 provides just this space. The Irish Online Counselling and Psychotherapy Service will arrange to speak to Irish people living abroad online through instant messaging, telephone and Skype. They are available outside Irish office hours and they are already speaking to Irish people all over the world. Further information is available at http://www.counsellingonline.ie/ and http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/generationemigration/2012/08/01/providing-support-beyond-the-departure-gates/.

I thought you might be interested in some catch up about the things that are on our radar screens here at the Embassy.

The Irish Association of Korea is hosting its second autumn Céilí at D-Cube Plaza, Shindorim. Last year’s event was wonderful with Irish music and dancing in the amphitheatre there and great facilities and shops in the adjacent shopping mall. If you are free, please join us on Saturday 15 September next, between 1pm and 5pm.

Ireland continues to make progress in terms of meeting its targets under the EC/ECB/IMF programme. Revenue remains on course and our underlying budget deficit is decreasing, though payments in response to the banking crisis continue to be a major burden. As a measure of increase confidence in our recovery, the National Treasury Management Agency returned to the markets with a bond offer last July. This generated strong investor demand with commitments of €5.23 billion.

A full return to the international bond market depends on resolving the crisis in the Eurozone because only that will definitively lower bond yields. Confidence in the Euro has been boosted considerably this week by the announcement by the ECB of using unlimited monetary resources to support the bond market. That the ECB’s council of central bankers agreed to this yesterday, with the support of EU leaders, indicates a new level of determination to protect and preserve the Euro. Markets have already rallied and the Euro strengthened. The key is to sustain this confidence. This and a return of demand in Europe will greatly boost growth prospects in exporting countries like Ireland and Korea.

Ireland does not export natural resources like Russia and the Middle East. Our exports are not based on commodities like South American economies. We offer an educated, talented and flexible workforce, combined with a low rate of tax at 12.5% on trading profits and an excellent business environment that is competitive and facilitates enterprise. In short, we trade on our reputation as a place to invest, to do business and to live.

It was important therefore that Ireland has steadily improved its reputation. According to a recent survey of public opinion within the top G8 countries, our ranking as a reputable country has improved from 17th to 15th (Canada ranked first, Iraq last.) We were 11th in three previous studies and so we have a ways to go but we are moving in the right direction. For more information, visit http://www.corporatereputations.ie.

Here in Seoul, we will have a unique platform to highlight Ireland’s road to recovery and the future of the Eurozone when former Taoiseach John Bruton addresses the 13th World Knowledge Forum on 10th October next. The forum, organised by the Maeil Media Group whose daily business newspaper is the fourth largest in the world by circulation, convenes some 3,000 leaders, policy makers and academics for presentations and discussions.

While the Foreign Direct Investment sector in Ireland has driven our growth since the 1960s and comprises the bulk of our exports, Ireland does have a vigorous indigenous sector and I will profile some of our leading exporters over the coming months. I am often asked, for example, what does Ireland export to Korea? I will look at some of those stories but also further a-field to give you a sense of Ireland’s economic future from the perspective of our entrepreneurs.

Have a good weekend,
Best wishes,
Eamonn

Eamonn McKee
Ambassador