The British Korean Women’s Society is a recently formed organisation. It grew out of a series of requests for help and advice from Korean women in the UK, which were originally received by the ROK embassy and forwarded on to people who the embassy thought might be able to help.
The principle objectives of the BKWS are as follows:
- To share the British experience and knowledge with new members who have recently arrived in the UK.
- To address the issues concerning Korean women and their families in the UK.
- To promote communication and mutual understanding among Korean and British communities and to advance the cultural, economic and educational development of its members
- To promote, preserve and contribute to Korean culture in Great Britain.
- To promote charitable work in order to give aid to Korean women and children
The Society has met periodically over lunch in the very congenial surroundings of the In and Out Club, 4 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JU, and sometimes they have a guest speaker. On a previous occasion they have had the company of Lord Alton of Liverpool, well known to those who are interested in human rights in North Korea. And this Monday, 5 December, they will be joined by Peter Hughes. Mr Hughes was until last month the British Ambassador in Pyongyang, having served there since July 2008. He joined the FCO in 1976 and was Head of the Korea Section, Far East & Pacific Department from 1994 to 1998.
New members of the BKWS are welcome, and anyone interested is invited to contact Sylvia Park at sylviaparkairtravel at hotmail dot co dot uk (tel 07802 858 771) if they wish to attend on Monday. There will be an informal meeting at 12 noon, followed by lunch (at which everyone pays their own way). All women who support our objectives are welcomed to attend.