St. Andrew’s Society of Seoul to host annual St. Andrews Ball

By John Redmond

St. Andrew’s Society of Seoul will host the Annual St. Andrew’s Ball, on Nov. 20 at the JW Marriot Hotel.

This year’s guest speaker is the U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens.

The Seoul St. Andrew’s Society was formed by a small number of expat Scots in 1976. Initially St. Andrew’s Ball guests were invited by the host and because there was a curfew in Seoul which lasted from midnight through 4 a.m., the guests danced till the end of the curfew. Then, dancing restarted again after breakfast and continued until about 8 a.m.

The slogan for the event is: “Be Happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.”

Tickets are available at standrewsseoul@gmail.com and cost 200,000 won that includes a four-course meal, as much wine and whisky as you can consume, some excellent Scottish tradition and to end the evening a full breakfast at 3:30 a.m.

To get ready for the Scottish dancing part of the St Andrews Ball, the St. Andrews Society of Seoul holds Scottish dancing lessons at the British Embassy, Broughton's Club, each Wednesday evening up until Nov. 20. It costs only 5,000 won each and everyone is welcome.

International beers will be on offer at the bar.