Tuesday, 5 November 2024
Royal Motor Yacht Club, Point Piper
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari gamarruwa

Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

I greet you in the language of the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the Traditional Owners of these lands and waterways. I pay my respect to their Elders, past, present and future, and acknowledge the enduring connection of First Nations people of New South Wales to Country, to culture, and to community.

• Minister^[1],
• Parliamentarians^[2],
• Mayor^[3],
• Rear Admiral^[4],
• members of the NSW Consular Corps,
• distinguished guests, friends,

Thank you, Consul-General, for your kind invitation to attend tonight.

Most days of national celebration mark the anniversary of dates associated with the emergence of a modern state – the signing of constitutions, the declarations of independence, the sittings of first parliaments.

Gaecheon-jeol, Korea’s National Foundation Day, celebrated on October 3 every year, is a little different, in at least two ways:  

The first is the beauty of the name itself, which translates as “the day the heavens opened.”

The second is the antiquity of the anniversary it marks, the founding of the ancient Kingdom of Gojoseon by the legendary ancestor of the Korean people, Dangun in 2333 BCE^[5].

The proclamation of the modern Republic of Korea on the 15^th of August 1948 is celebrated as National Liberation Day.^[6]

Why, you may ask, is National Foundation Day called Gaecheon-jeol “the day when the heavens open?”

In the old stories, Hwanung, the son of the Lord of Heaven, yearned to live on earth amongst the mountains and rivers. Asking his father if he could go, the heavens were opened so Hwanung could descend to a mountain, where he ruled from the holy city of Sin-see, teaching the people how to live as human.

One day, a bear and a tiger came and prayed to Hwanung, asking that he turn them into people. Hwanung said he would, but only if they stayed out of the sun for a hundred days, living only off 20 bulbs of garlic and a handful of mugwort. The bear and the tiger agreed, and quickly disappeared into a nearby cave.

At first, they did quite well. However, after 3 weeks, the tiger became impatient and hungry, gave up and ran away.  The bear, determined to become a human, endured, and, having fulfilled Hwanung’s challenge, was transformed into a woman, who took the name of Ungnyeo

Ungnyeo soon became sad because she had no one to marry. So, she prayed again to Hwanung who, moved by her pleas, turned himself into a human and marred her, giving her a son. This was Dangun, who would go on to found Gojoseon, the first Kingdom of the Korean people.

This story embeds not only the foundations of a Korean identity as a people, but also its origins in resilience and patience, as well as the spirit of Hongik Ingan “for the benefit of the entire human people”, the driving spirit upon which Dangun founded his Kingdom, and which underpins the story of Koreans to this day.

Australians, of course, have firsthand experience of Korean resilience and their determination for freedom. We were one of the first nations to contribute military personnel to the Korean War,^[7] and the Consul-General has already spoken of the “deep bond of trust” between our nations that experience has forged, and the important commemorations we share on the anniversary of the signing of the armistice.

Three years ago, during a visit by then-President Moon Jae-in as part of the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic ties between our nations, our defence connections were further strengthened by the signing of the 2021 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.^[8] I was privileged to receive the President and his wife Mrs Kim Jung-sook at Government House during his visit.

The world also knows the determination and embrace of innovation that has fuelled the ‘Korean Miracle’, a transformation from an agrarian economy amidst the ashes of war to a global economic powerhouse. In the early 1960s, Korea’s per capita income was lower than those of Haiti and Ethiopia.^[9] Today, it is a developed industrial nation whose economy, according to the World Bank, is now the 4^th-largest in Asia and the 14th-largest in the world.^[10]

Marking a ‘return to the heavens’, as it were, in 2022, Korea became [only] the seventh nation capable of independent space launches with the launch of its Nuri rocket; a few months later, its first lunar probe, Danuri, reached the Moon’s orbit, where it is surveying potential future lunar landing sites as we speak.^[11]

The world has also benefitted from, and embraced, the gift of Korean culture through Hallyu^[12] (the Korean wave), which has everything from K-pop and K-drama through to K-food and K-beauty, and which, in the words of one contemporary commentator “cemented [Korea’s] […] credentials as a cultural superpower”.^[13]

Boon Joon-ho’s 2019 film Parasite won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the first foreign-language film to do so.^[14] Two years later, the Korean series Squid Game achieved 63 million hours of viewing internationally in just two days during its debut week.^[15]

Less than a month ago, the Korean poet and novelist Han Kang – whose works include Human Acts, an account of the traumas of the Korean democratic uprisings in the early 1980s – won the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature.^[16]

As the Consul-General has mentioned, Australia has not only been part of this embrace of all things Korean, but has also been actively engaged with the Korean language which is surging in popularity in Australia. According to the Korean Education Centre in Sydney, more than 9,500 students are currently learning Korean in 68 primary and secondary schools nationwide, an increase of nearly 1,000 from a decade ago^[17], while the Korean language, at Australian Universities, is one of the few language courses in which enrolments are growing.^[18]

Aside from their success on the world stage through their cultural, economic, and scientific contributions, Koreans are also – understandably – proud of their success on the world sporting stage, something you share with us Australians, Consul-General, along with our avid spirit of competition that drives that success.

Prior to this year’s Paris Olympics, of the previous 10 Summer Olympics, Korea featured in the top 10 medal tallies on 8 occasions.^[19] This is a formidable achievement given that, by population, Korea is ranked 29^th largest in the world.^[20]

Of course, I should point out that Australia, at just over half Korea’s population, finished above Korea on 5 of those 8 occasions.^[21] But anyway, back to Korea…

At the beginning of this year with the Paris Olympics coming up and after a slide to 16^th on the medals table at the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, things weren’t looking good for Team Korea, especially given that the smallest team of Korean athletes since 1976 was bound for Paris. Indeed, it led some to describe it as “the weakest team ever”,^[22] a pessimism matched by the Korean Olympic Committee’s own assessment, whose best hopes were for only 5 gold medals and a top 15 finish.^[23]

The athletes of Team Korea, however, had different ideas. By the closing ceremony on the 12^th of August, Korea had won 32 medals, 13 of them Gold in Paris, placing them 8^th on the overall medal tally.^[24]

Not to rain on this achievement, I will note that Australia finished 4^th, with 53 medals!!^[25].   But let me put upmanship aside and put these results in context.  Australia sent a team of 461 athletes, which equates to about one medal for every 8 and-a-half members. Korea, on the other hand, with only 145 athletes, earned one medal for every 4 and-a-half members. This says something not only about the efficiency of Koreans, but also tells us that when Koreans decide to put their mind to being good at something, they do it very well.

Thank you again, Consul-General, for the invitation to celebrate and share Korean culture tonight, a culture and people brought to this world on “the day the heavens opened”.

[1] The Honourable Tara Moriarty MLC, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales

[2] Hon. Natalie Ward MLC, Shadow Minister for Transport and Roads, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, and Shadow Minister for the Illawarra and South Coast, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party; Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC, Shadow Minister for Families and Communities, Shadow Minister for Disability Inclusion, Shadow Minister for Homelessness, and Shadow Minister for Youth; Hon. Scott Farlow MLC, Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Shadow Minister for the Hunter, Shadow Minister for Housing, and Shadow Minister for Cities; Hon. Chris Rath MLC, Shadow Special Minister of State, Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council; Hon. Susan Carter MLC, Shadow Assistant Minister for Attorney General, Shadow Assistant Special Minister of State, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Corrections; Mr. Mark Coure MP, Member for Oatley, Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, Shadow Minister for Jobs, Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, and Shadow Minister for South-Western Sydney; Mr. Jason Yat-Sen Li MP, Member for Strathfield, Assistant Speaker; Ms. Lynda Voltz MP, Member for Auburn; Mr. Jordan Lane MP, Member for Ryde, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multiculturalism, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Health; Mr. Matt Cross MP, Member for Davidson, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Government Accountability; Ms. Kelly Sloane MP, Member for Vaucluse, Shadow Minister for Health

[3] Ms. Tanya Taylor, Mayor of Willoughby

[4] Rear Admiral Ian Crawford, Korean War Veteran

[5] Originally called Joseon, the Go- prefix (in English ‘ancient’) was added in the 14^th century to differentiate it from a later Korean kingdom of the same name: Park Ji-yeong, ‘How Much Do You Know About National Foundation Day?’, UOS Times online, 15 December 2020, available here

[6] The 15^th of August is both the anniversary of the date on which the Korean peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 following at the end of the Second World War, and the date in 1948 when the First Republic of Korea was proclaimed following elections in the southern part of Korea in May 1948.

[7] More than 17,000 Australian troops served in the Korean War; 340 were killed and over 1,000 wounded: ‘Korean War, 1950-53’, Australian War Memorial website, available here

[8] The Hon Richard Marles MP, ‘Australia and Republic of Korea to enhance defence ties’, media release 30 May 2023, available here

[9] Kwan S. Kim, The Korean Miracle (1962-1980) Revisited: Myths and Realities in Strategy and Development, Kellogg Institute, 1991, p. 3; available here

[10] World Bank rankings for the years 2023, available here

[11] Sangsoon Lee, ‘Space: an Opportunity for South Korea and Australian Defence Cooperation’, The Strategist online, 17 October 2024, available here

[12] Hallyu was one of the more than 20 new words with Korean origin added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2021: Justin McCurry, ‘K-Beauty, Halltu, and Muckbang: Dozens of Korean Words Added to Oxford English Dictionary’, Guardian online, 5 October 2021, available here

[13] Justin McCurry, ‘BTS, Blackpink, Squid Game, Kimchi…What’s the secret of South Korea’s World-Conquering Culture?’, Guardian online, 6 March 2024, available here

[14] Catherine Shoard, ‘Parasite makes Oscars History as First Foreign Language Winner of Best Picture’, Guardian online, 10 February 2020, available here

[15] Sumeyye Dilara Dincer, ‘From Cultural Phenomenon to State Strategy: South Korea’s “Hallyu Policy”’, 22 August 2022, Anadolu Ajansi online, available here

[16] ‘South Korean Author Han Kang Wins the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature’, ABC News online, 10 October 2024, available here. See also: Erin Handley, ‘Han Kang’s Nobel Prize Win Sheds Light on Gwanju Uprising, a Dark Chapter in South Korean History,’ 27 October 2024, ABC News online, available here

[17] Leah Hyein Na and Carl Dixon, ‘More Australians are Learning this Language. Are K-pop and K-dramas to Thank?’, 8 February 2024, SBS website, available here

[18] Nicola Franschini, ‘The Korean Language is Booming at Australian Universities. What Needs to be Done to Keep the Momentum Going?’, 24 March 2023, University of Melbourne website, available here

[19] 10^th in 1984 (here); 4^th in 1988 (here); 7^th in 1992 (here); 10^th in 1996 (here); 9^th in 2004 (here); 7^th in 2008 (here); 5^th in 2012 (here); and 9^th in 2016 (here);

[20] See here

[21] in 1996 (here); 2004 (here); 2008 (here); 2012 (here); and 2016 (here)

[22] Lee Hae-rin, ‘Team Korea Exceeds Expectations at 2024 Paris Olympics’, The Korea Times online, 11 August 2024, available here

[23] Dr Guy Podoler, ‘Paris 2024: South Korean competitive sports at a crossroads’, Olympic and Paralympic Analysis blog, available here; Hong Min-seong, ‘Korea Said it Would Win 5 Gold Medals…2 Left to Reach Best Ever Performance’, Korea Economic Daily online, 6 August 2024, available here

[24] See here

[25] ibid.