Annual Dinner

 

Madame Choo, Chairman Warwick Morris,
Guests of Honour Lord Howell and Ambassador Choo,
and our Host, Baroness Perry

Almost 100 members of the Society and their guests met at the House of Lords on 14 October for drinks in the ornate Peers' Guest Room followed by a fine dinner in the grand surroundings of the Peers' Dining Room. Nearly half of those present took advantage of the opportunity beforehand to do a fascinating guided tour of both Houses of Parliament. The evening was kindly hosted once again by Baroness Perry, a member of the All-Party Britain-Republic of Korea Parliamentary Group and we were graced with two Guests of Honour: HE The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Mr Choo Kyu Ho and the Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford, FCO Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the Lords since May 2010.

After warm words of welcome from Baroness Perry, the Society's Chairman Warwick Morris welcomed all those present especially the two Guests of Honour. He made particular mention of Ambassador Choo's wife, the Society's Joint President Robert Hawley and his wife, the Director of the Saatchi Gallery Nigel Hurst and his wife, General Mike Swindells, President of the BKVA, a former Lord Mayor of London Sir Paul Newall and Lady Newall, and Jan Stuart, Head of the Asian Department at the British Museum. He was pleased to see also representatives of the FCO and the Korean Embassy. He expressed especially warm thanks to Andrew Griffiths, Vice President of Samsung Electronics UK, accompanied by his wife Ruth, for renewing Samsung Electronics' generous sponsorship of the Society. Diageo had also just confirmed that they too would continue their sponsorship, and he hoped Hyundai would take note and follow suit!

Following toasts to The Queen and the President of the Republic of Korea, Lord Howell spoke after the main course. A former Secretary of State for Energy and later for Transport in the Thatcher government, his memories of Korea stretched back a considerable time. He spoke of Korea's remarkable emergence in recent years on the international stage, not just economically, hosting for example the G20, but also in cultural ways with hallyu, through its growing aid programme, and by winning the right to host major events such as the Olympics, the World Cup, the Grand Prix and, in 2018, the Winter Olympics. Ties between the two countries were close and thinking aligned on a wide range of issues, including energy and the environment, with regular high level exchanges. He welcomed the number of Koreans studying in the UK and the steady flow of investment in both directions, which he hoped would continue. He complimented the Anglo-Korean Society on playing a valuable supporting role.

Ambassador Choo endorsed Lord Howell's remarks about the strong bilateral relationship, and also praised the contribution made by the Anglo-Korean Society. He expressed the hope that the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement which came into force in July would lead to further increases in the two countries' bilateral trade and investment. In updating the audience on the state of affairs between South and North Korea, he expressed his government's disappointment at the current attitude and behaviour of North Korea. His government would continue, with the help of others, to work for continued peace and security on the peninsula.

After dessert and coffee Chairman Warwick Morris brought the formal part of the evening to a close a little after 10pm. Having thanked the Host, both Guest Speakers and the catering team, he expressed his pleasure at the wide range of people present, both in age and in terms of background. For the benefit of non-members he listed some of the events run by the Society over the past year and promised that 2012 would prove just as stimulating. After presenting Events Secretary Sylvia Park with a bouquet for making the evening happen, he surprised Baroness Perry by presenting her too with flowers and leading those present in a decidedly merry rendering of Happy Birthday for the following day.

Warwick Morris
 

A slideshow of images from the evening:

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