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OECD 교육차관회의 만찬사<영문>

  • 작성자 : 김진옥
  • 등록일 : 2008.09.05
  • 조회수 : 3117
Distinguished delegates,
and ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to speak to you at this farewell dinner tonight. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to you on the successful outcomes of the meeting during the past two days.

We now stand at the end of a very enriching meeting of chief education executives, co-organized by the OECD and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea.

This meeting holds great significance for us in many ways, especially in that we were able to develop visions for education, and reaffirm our will towards shared development.

I take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to the OECD for its ceaseless effort and valuable contributions to charting a path for global economic development over the last half a century by generating in-depth policy dialogues on critical issues facing us today.

I am very pleased to note that since its accession to the OECD, Korea has much benefited from various opportunities to participate in those dialogues and share experiences and good practices of other OECD members particularly in education policy.

I am also delighted to acknowledge that Korea's economic and social governance, including education, has improved to a great extent through the rigorous peer review process of the OECD.

As you may know, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, I was the chief principal minister in charge of negotiations for Korea's accession to the OECD in which Korea successfully joined in December 1996. Therefore, I have great pleasure to observe the increasingly closer association of Korea with the OECD for which I have a special attachment, and even affection.

This meeting is one of the examples demonstrating a deep bond of affinity and trust between Korea and the OECD.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea.

It was sixty years ago when we embarked on a new journey to transform our country from one of the poorest and most destitute countries in the world, with its per-capita income being less than 100 dollars, to today's prosperous, peaceful and modern Korea.

Since then, Korea has set a rare example for the world by treading the thorny path of industrialization while unrelentingly pursuing the democratic ideal.

Today, Korea is the world's thirteenth largest economy. The size of the economy has grown 750 times and the per capita income has increased more than 300 times since 1948. Korea is now playing a leading and predominant role in various sectors of the world economy including semiconductor, automobile, steel, shipbuilding, petrochemical and electronics as well as information and communications industry.

As President Lee Myung-bak rightly said in his remarks to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of our nation, the 60 years since 1948 was a history of success, a history of progress and a history of miracles.

I don't hesitate to say that it was education that has played a pivotal role in making this miraculous history of an unprecedented success.

As you may well know, the Korean people have valued education throughout its long history and the Confucian tradition.

It is not uncommon here in Korea and often in Korean communities abroad to find Korean parents who are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to provide better education for their children. I believe this Korean zeal for education has laid the cornerstone for what we call the Miracle on the Han River.

Enthusiasm for education in Korean society is also reflected on the statistics that 97 percent of Koreans aged 25-34 have completed upper secondary education, which is the highest level in the OECD.

Given that illiteracy rate was almost 80 percent back in 1945, it is a wonder for the very same country to become one of the richest sources of human capital.

As one of the most wired countries in the world, Korea is keenly aware of the growing importance of obtaining information and knowledge in the knowledge-based economy. The Lee Myung-bak government already demonstrated its strong committment to fostering human resources and industries in this area by reorganizing its government setups and creating the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in place of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Korea will embark on the historic task of moving our nation forward on the road to a genuine top-notch nation by building upon modernization and democratization that the Korean people have achieved.

On 15 August, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea, President Lee Myung-bak presented 'Low Carbon, Green Growth' as the core of Korea's new vision and new paradigm for development.

Green growth will also be a new national development paradigm that creates new growth engines and enables Korea to join in international efforts to combat the global challenge of climate change.

Firmly committed to this vision of Low Carbon and Green Growth, the Korean government will make every effort to re-establish Korea as a responsible member, capable of contributing to enhancing international peace and prosperity, of the international community.

Ladies and gentlemen,

During this meeting meaningful to both Korea and the OECD, we shared extensive dialogue on these and other agendas for educational reform. Although the meeting was short, I sincerely hope that the outcomes of this meeting could offer good guidance to each country's initiatives for educational reform.

Before closing, I would once again like to thank all delegates and participants for your passion with which you engaged in this important meeting.

To the good health and success of everyone gathered here tonight as well as the better future which your dedicated endeavours for better education will bring forth, I would now like to propose a toast. Cheers!

Thank you.