Irish Ambassador to South Korea Eamonn McKee finished his four-year posting here, departing on Thursday to his next assignment as his country’s top diplomatic representative in Israel. He arrived here in 2009.

“Adjusting to operating in a country with so little exposure to Ireland and with such a different culture, in sharp contrast to my previous postings in the U.S., was a tremendous learning experience,” he said in a statement on Wednesday about his experience here in South Korea. “Making an impact here requires far more strategic, concerted and coordinated efforts by Ireland than is required in our familiar traditional markets.”

McKee said that one of the high points of his posting here was the collective effort by the embassy, the Irish Chamber of Commerce, the Seoul Gaels and the Irish Association of Korea in organizing the Asia Pacific Irish Business Forum (APIBF) and the Gaelic Athletic Association’s Asian Gaelic Games in October 2011.

Another high point was the visit of the delegation from the North-South Ministerial Council in 2012 and discussions among Korean and Irish officials on partition, reconciliation and cross-border cooperation, he said.

Ireland and South Korea established diplomatic relations in September 1983 and Ireland opened its chancery here in September 1989.

Aingeal O’Donoghue, counsellor-level envoy at Ireland’s permanent representative office to the European Union in Brussels, will replace McKee as ambassador here.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)