Dear Korea CQ members,

I hope you are having a pleasant day.

On February 21, Korea CQ had a lecture on ‘My Future, Orchids’ Future’ by Mr. Chung Lee at the Irish Ambassador’s residence in Seongbuk-dong.

H.E. Aingeal O’Donoghue, H.E. Clare Fearnley, H.E. Wei Kiat Yip, Chung Lee, Seung Jae Yoo, Bill Miner, Lissa Miner, Vivian Han, Youn Young Kim, Weh Gu Ha, Jake Kim, Yang Sub Sim, Ian Jeong, Jungwha Choi, Didier Beltoise, Edit Csaba, Chang Seop Lee, Soo Jin Yoo, Anne Topuz, Jae-heun Kim, and Crystal Park attend this forum.

CQ members arrived on time and had time to catch up during the reception.

H.E. Aingeal O’Donoghue officially welcomed CQ members with an opening speech, followed by a video showing the beauty of Ireland, which is often called the best place in the world to live.

Before the lecture, members enjoyed delicious dishes from Ireland, specially prepared by the residence staff. All of the food were based off of Irish Cookbooks. Members enjoyed the leek and pinenut Timbale, and the Kilmacanogue meatballs with potatoes.

Dinner ended with the delicious dessert; ‘Flahavan’s Strawberry Flummery’ with Irish oatmeal biscuits.

After dinner, the lecture by Mr. Chung Lee, CEO of Lee Won Orchids Nursery, started. Mr. Lee’s father dedicated his life to studying orchids, starting his business of the Orchids Nursery, an orchid farm that possesses the largest number of rare orchids in Asia, which Mr. Lee took over. Mr. Lee is the director of the Korea Orchid Growers Association, and is a board member on Overseas Promotion of International Horticulture Goyang Korea. In this lecture, members learned about how to raise orchids depending on their breed and how to use orchids in horticultural therapy, and also had the opportunity to see various different types of rare orchids.

Korea CQ members were impressed with his passion and explanations of horticultural therapy. People have companion animals that are usually given a name. Mr. Lee said that just as with companion animals, ‘companion plants’ should be given names as well. If we draw a face on the pot of the plant, and make a habit of smiling at it whenever we give it water, it gives a positive energy to the plant and ourselves.

Following the lecture, Ms. Seung-jae Yoo, CEO of Helena Flower, gave a mini-talk on flower decorations. Ms. Yoo has actively done flower designs at international cultural events, dramas, commercials, and exhibitions, and gave Korea CQ members tips to beautifully decorate orchids.

Ms. Yoo said she gives all her passion to create the most beautiful decorations with the flowers and trees she loves.

At the end of the evening, Korea CQ members all took an orchid gifted by Mr. Lee, which was cross-bred by Mr. Lee’s father.

We thank H.E Aingeal O’Donoghue for her warm hospitality and the wonderfully delicious Irish foods, making it an unforgettable night for Korea CQ members. We would also like to thank all members who attended for their precious time and attention.

We also give thanks to Mr. Chung Lee and Ms. Seung-jae Yoo for their informative lecture, and Crystal Park for her time and help in interpretation of the forum.

On March 7, Korea CQ will be visiting the ‘Barakat Seoul.’ We look forward to our members’ participation.

Thank you again for your unwavering support and have a nice day.

Korea CQ MeeJung Kim

For more pictures, please click the link below.

https://goo.gl/photos/cpC6hQ6y6Bbeq7BB7