South Korean Ambassador Shin Maeng-ho recently combined his wish to help the community in which he’s posted with his desire to expose Canadians to Korean culture. The result? Two successful fundraising dinners held at his residence. He offered the first dinner — for 19 guests — as an auction item to support the Ottawa Korean-Canadian Scholarship Foundation. “When I heard about their activities when I arrived last year, I offered to have a fundraising dinner at my residence,” Shin says. “Koreans and the Korean government put the biggest importance on education because Korea has no natural resources. We have just human resources, so we invest a lot in them.” Shin said he was pleased to offer support to Korean-Canadian students who are studying in Canada. Once he made the offer, members of the foundation sold tickets and each person paid $100 to attend, ultimately raising $1,900 toward the annual scholarship fund. Chung Su Broussard, who helped organize the event on behalf of the foundation, said the money went directly into the fund for next year’s awards. Often the foundation gives three awards of $1,000 each to students of Korean descent. “This dinner was a great help,” she said. “We hope to make it an annual event.” The second dinner was in support of the University of Ottawa’s Brain and Mind Research Institute. The ambassador attended the institute’s golf fundraiser and was approached by a board member to donate a prize for the auction. He offered a dinner for 10 at his residence. Daniel Fernandes, chairman of the Bruyère Foundation’s board, bought the dinner and filled the table with colleagues, raising upwards of $1,000 in the process. “My purpose is to always let Canadians know about Korean cuisine,” Shin said. “As a diplomat, I always try to have more contact with Canadians. It’s nice to meet these people who are working for medical science.” During the dinner, Shin told the group about a science, technology and innovation agreement between Canada and Korea, which came into effect in May 2017. Young-Hae Lee, who is on the board of the research institute and the long-time president of the Canada Korea Society, attended the dinner and told the ambassador she was “greatly appreciative of [his] unconditional support in promoting deeper bilateral understanding, friendship and co-operation” between Canada and Korea. She thanked the ambassador for far exceeding their expectations with the dinner, which she called “a truly special evening.” Broussard said she’s been to a state dinner between Canada and Korea and the one the ambassador hosted for the scholarship fund was on par with that high-level occasion.
