Remarks
by H.E. Yun Byung-se
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Opening of the Thank You Small Library
Addis Ababa, July 13, 2015

H.E. Mr. Faud Ibrahim,
H.E. Mr. Gebru Gebresilasse,
Ambassador Do,
Teachers and pupils,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Tena yistillign! (떼나 이스틀링/안녕하세요) Good Afternoon. It’s great to meet you pupils of “Major General Hayelom Araya” Primary School.
I am especially excited to see so many of you. Because you are our hope. You are our future. You are our champions.

Today, we are opening the “Thank You Small Library.” Worldwide, this is the 169th Small Library, and the 35th one for Ethiopia. So please give a warm round of applause for Ambassador Do. She has made all this possible.

The library is called a “Small Library.” But for all of you, it is a big gateway. Through the library, you step toward your future, a brighter future full of hope. Why? Because the books in this library are your key to the future. Reading is a driver’s license to drive you to a better future.
In Korea we say, “people write books, but books make people.” In France, the famous philosopher Rene Descartes said, “reading good books is like a conversation with the finest men of past centuries.”

Ethiopia is an ancient civilization. Ethiopia has its own beautiful alphabet. So I hope and trust that you will take pride in Fidel, and will read many good books.

Books can make you travel through time and space, from far away countries, to future adventures. Books can be your teachers, your friends. So I hope you will grow wiser and become global citizens through them.

Korea and Ethiopia go back a long way. Korea and Ethiopia are very close friends. Does anybody know why? Yes, because Ethiopia helped Korea during the Korean War. Ethiopia is a friend that helped Korea at the hour of greatest need. The brave soldiers from Ethiopia made sacrifices for us.

The Korean War broke out 65 years ago, but we still remember them, and we think of Ethiopians like our brothers. Yesterday, I visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial Park to pay my respects. And today, I am very glad to be in here and meet you, the next generation of Ethiopians.

Sixty five years ago, Korea lost everything in the war. Korea was among the poorest nations. It relied on foreign aid. But over the decades, Korea developed at an astonishing pace. So fast, it has been called the “miracle on the Han river.” Now, Korea has become a donor country.

How did we do it? Like Ethiopia, Korea does not have many natural resources. So we invested in education. Because we knew investment in people is the smartest investment. And now, Korea is acknowledged as an example of economic development through education.

In this process, we received much help from the international community. So we want to give back, to share our experience with our friends around the world. That is why last May, Korea hosted the Global Education Summit, which discussed the future of education around the world.

This year, the United Nations turns seventy. Fifteen years ago, in 2000, world leaders agreed on the ambitious Millennium Development Goals to “make poverty history.” Now, the UN is focusing on the next steps that will take the place of these Goals. The hope is to make a better future for our planet Earth, and a key point in this is human dignity. I believe that the best way to ensure human dignity is to empower people through education. That means empowering each and every one of you here today.

Bill Gates has said how important his local library was for him as a child. I hope that for all of you, all 900 pupils of “Major General Hayelom Araya” Primary School, the Thank You Small Library will be the nest where you nurture your dreams. And I hope that this library will be the cradle of the “miracle of Abyssinia.”

Thank you. Amasegnalew (아마세그날로/고맙습니다). /끝/