London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Koreans help create a garden for London’s Royal Free Hospital 

“What a strange thing,” you may think, “to do a spot of volountary service when you are on holiday.” But that’s exactly what four Korean travellers did this weekend in response to Kim Minho’s Korean online request for volunteers to help with the hospital garden.

Kim Moon-sun came to learn English in London ten years ago and since then she likes to visit London every year.

Hyung-jin was on his way to Spain and cancelled his trip at a moment’s notice so he could help plant bulbs.

Jeon Bong-keun lives and works permanently teaching hairdressing at Chichester College, whilst his wife Youn Sun-hae works as a hairdresser in a top London salon, but even they took time out of their busy schedule to brighten up their local hospital garden.

Kim Ho-joung is an executive with Hyundai whilst his wife Shin Dong-hwan was kind enough to bring her two house guests to volunteer whilst they were on holiday. Not quite what the house guests had thought they were going to do on their travels! Shin Dong-hwan said that she was happy to be of use to society and that gardening was her her hobby. Perhaps she has been influenced by Hwang Ji-hae, Korean’s champion gardener!

Certainly, Malcolm Grove, retired, met Hwang Ji-hae at the Chelsea Flower Show and helped plant up the winning DMZ garden two years ago, plus he was so impressed the way Koreans came together to help plant Hwang’s masterpiece.

But having worked for six years in Seoul, Malcolm knows how organised and bonded Koreans are at working. He returns most years to visit his beloved Korea.

Our Korean friends so impressed everyone with the way they got stuck in to planting the daffodil bulbs and at the end, without a word, cleared everything up as a team.

We were lucky enough to eat Sun-hae’s kimbap which she had made for the team’s lunch, a little bit of Korea in NW3!

We hope they all come back to London in the Spring to see a “Host of golden daffodils!” Thank you Korea from the residents of NW3 and The Royal Free Hospital!

Linda Grove is a resident of Hampstead and together with her husband Malcolm supports the local community and in particular the local hospital

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