The British Chamber of Commerce in Korea is holding the Queen’s Birthday Ball next month in conjunction with the British Association of Seoul (BASS), to celebrate the monarch’s 90th birthday.
The BCCK expects more than 500 business and diplomatic guests for the black-tie dinner in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Seoul, which will feature music from bands and DJs and a secret theme to be unveiled on the night.
And naturally, the event will provide British food and drinks in a quintessentially British celebration.
“It’s a lot of fun. As a Brit here it’s quite nice. For an evening you sort of step back into the U.K. a little bit. I mean, it’s the queen’s 90th birthday, it can’t get more British, really,” said Sean Blakeley, CEO of the BCCK.
In addition to the food and entertainment, there will be a raffle and auction to raise money for three chosen causes.
The money raised will go to help the Jeon Jin Sang Center, a privately funded support center for the urban poor in southwest Seoul established in 1975, and Angels’ Haven, an organization that helps people with mental and physical disabilities. The money for Angels’ Haven will go toward building a residential care home for disabled people.
The BCCK also plans to fund a Chevening Scholarship to support a Korean student in the U.K. with the money raised.
Previous Queen’s Birthday Balls have been held in Korea by BASS alone – last year’s secret theme was Sherlock Holmes – but this year they teamed up with the chamber for a bigger celebration for the landmark birthday.
It has also been a big year for the BCCK, which has taken on a new role from the British government’s U.K. Trade & Investment department, helping smaller exporters do business in Korea, which the CEO sees as similar to the roles of the French and German chambers.
Blakeley sees the ball as a good way to honor British firms who operate here.
“We bring together British, foreign and Korean businesspeople to celebrate her majesty’s birthday and also to celebrate the success of British companies here in Korea,” he said. “We also raise a lot of money for charity. With lots of great food, entertainment, raffle, auction and even a secret theme, The Queen’s Birthday Ball is always a great evening.”
The ball takes place on June 4 from 6:30 p.m. For information and tickets, visit www.bcck.or.kr.
By Paul Kerry (
paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)
