Written by: Douglas Barrett  |  Posted on: April 10th, 2021

The Annual General Meeting of the British Korean Society (BKS) was held via Zoom on 25 March 2021.

The meeting was attended by approximately 35 people including both our Joint Presidents, Ambassador Enna Park and Sir Stephen Brown.

Ambassador Park gave a short address before the formal meeting. She has been in the UK for three years and cherishes our relationship. The past year had been difficult for everyone. Throughout the year our partnership shone through. Korea launched the “Stay Strong” campaign to lead the fight against Covid-19.

Chairman’s Report

Chairman Martin Uden noted the committee met regularly throughout the year. He spoke about the difficulties of the year; our grants programme; on line meetings and events; and paid tribute to departing committee members Chris Holland and Cathy Kim.

The Chairman said thank to you our sponsors and particularly paid tribute to Samsung who maintained their contribution at its normal level as did the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Hay Designs. You can read his report here.

Finance Report

Hee Yu Lee reported a strong cash position at year end, thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which we specifically received for the Veterans’ event and continuous generous sponsorship from Samsung, KOCHAM and Hay Designs. She added that due to the pandemic there was lower event income and expense and the grant payment was reduced.

Membership report

Chris Hollands reported the total membership, including spouses and partners, stands at 211. Chris reported that the BKS took the opportunity of installing a new membership system Member Mojo. It is fully automated and gives members control of their own data.

Grants programme report

Ian Simm reported that although the programme of small grants has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the BKS have been able to support some worthwhile activities this year. The full report can be read here.

Events report

Sylvia Park reported that we held no live events due to the Pandemic. We did hold one on line event, Hari Blackmore’s talk on the Three Kingdoms, which was highly successful and attracted an audience of approximately 50. Sylvia mentioned future events which include the Chuseok Reception hosted by HE Ambassador Enna Park in September and the House of Lords Annual Reception on 4th November. Depending on the Covid situation, the BKS is hoping to hold BKS Diners’ events at Korean restaurants in London. The Chairman continued to report on Veterans’ event at the National Army Museum to commemorate the Korean War, which will likely take place on Thursday 24th June. Martin also added that the BKS will be holding the annual briefing by the British Ambassadors from Seoul and Pyongyang in partnership with Chatham House. The proposed date of this event is Friday 7th May.

Election of Officers and Committee

The new committee was elected. The fourteen nominees, who are a 7/7 split between men and women and a 7/7 split UK/Korean in terms of ethnicity if not nationality, were introduced by Zoom. We will also be able to co-opt two other volunteers.

Following the meeting we heard presentations from previous grant recipients Ms Sukyeon Cho and Ms Heylim Kim.

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