BKS Annual Dinner 2023 at the House of Lords
Written by: Douglas Barrett | Posted on: January 4th, 2024
Dinner on the Terrace, House of Lords
The British Korean Society held their annual dinner at the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace in the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, on 8 December 2023. The dinner was hosted by Viscount Trenchard DL and celebrated 140 years of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom. It was a prestigious and spectacular setting enjoyed by the 110 or so members and their guests.
Following a lovely Christmas dinner of salmon followed by turkey and Christmas pudding we were treated to very entertaining speeches.
Chairman of the BKS Martin Uden welcomed guests. He thanked our sponsors Samsung – and Asiana who donated a return business class ticket to Seoul. He also thanked Hanwha Aerospace for their sponsorship and paid special tribute to Sylvia for organising the dinner.
Our Host Viscount Trenchard DL
Our host Viscount Trenchard noted that he was fortunate enough to meet Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during his highly successful State Visit in November. He congratulated Ambassador Yoon on the success of the visit – and noted that his son was now living in Seoul.
His Excellency Yeocheol Yoon opened by saying that the State Visit by President Yoon had elevated relations between the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom into a global strategic partnership. The UK is a natural partner committed to peace, freedom and prosperity. The Downing Street Accord covered areas including nuclear, green energy and an upgraded Free Trade Agreement as well as 2+2 collaboration. He thanked the BKS for all their hard work.
Sir Ed Davey MP
Sir Ed Davey is MP for Kingston and Surbiton, which includes New Malden, which has the highest concentration of Koreans in Europe. He is also chair of the UK-Korea All Party Parliamentary Group – he hoped the group would visit Korea in the future. He congratulated Ambassador Yoon on the State Visit. He noted that he was fortunate enough to meet President Yoon who later sent him 20kgs of Kimchi – two kgs of which he donated to the BKS raffle!
It was a wonderful evening, enjoyed by all.
