House of Commons Reception, 29 November 2017

Written by: Derek Marsh | Posted on: December 4th, 2017

The BKS held its Annual Reception in the House of Commons Terrace Pavilion on Wednesday 29 November. About 95 members and guests attended and enjoyed drinks and bowl food while networking.

BKS Joint Presidents, Sir Stephen Brown and Ambassador Joon kook Hwang, with Sir Edward Davey MP and BKS Chairman Warwick Morris

Our host, the Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey MP, began the evening by speaking about his constituency and representing more Koreans than any other MP. He referred to the values that the UK and the ROK share and his hope that the two countries would continue to grow together.

Our guest speaker, the Rt Hon Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the FCO since June this year, referred to his recent, and second, visit to Korea. He said that the UK –ROK relationship was close to all our hearts. Despite the problems with the DPRK it was business as usual in the Republic and cooperation with the UK on diplomatic and security issues but also on climate change, nuclear decommissioning and the Winter Olympics was continuing. In particular, he hoped that there would be a smooth transition from the EU-Korea FTA to a bilateral one.

Responding, Ambassador Joon kook Hwang said that he had been in the UK for 18 months now and valued the tremendous support of the BKS to UK-Korea relations. He offered his sincere appreciation and thanks for the work of our Chairman and Committee and he welcomed Sir Stephen Brown as the Society’s new Joint President. He had that day spoken at Edinburgh University about Korea and welcomed the high level of interest shown by the British people in his country and the enduring strength of our relationship. He wished everyone a Happy Christmas.

Towards the end of the evening, our Chairman thanked our sponsors, including Samsung Electronics, for their continuing support. A draw was held for two business class tickets to Seoul donated by Korean Airlines and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label donated by Diageo, who also generously met the cost of the room hire. Mr Morris also thanked Sylvia Park, Cathy Kim and other Committee members for their hard work in organising the evening.