Seoul to celebrate Australia Day

By John Redmond

Expats from across the nation will gather to celebrate Australia Day in the Grand Ballroom of JW Marriott DDM, Jan. 26.

Presented by the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AustCham) and supported by the Australian Embassy and the Australian-Korean business community, the event offers a night of networking, entertainment and celebration feature selections of Australian food and drink.

The evening also coincides with AustCham’s 10-year anniversary and includes a special Business Awards presentation by Australian Ambassador to Korea James Choi.

The awards ceremony “will provide a timely opportunity to look back on AustCham’s journey and to recognize those who have made invaluable contributions to AustCham’s success in Korea,” they said in a press release.

The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) went into effect on Dec. 12, 2014.

The mission of AustCham Korea is to promote Australian businesses in Korea through providing information, connections and representation.

Australia Day, Jan. 26, is the anniversary of the first landing of the British Fleet in 1788 on the shores of Port Jackson in what is now New South Wales.

The celebration is a politically divisive issue to many indigenous Australians and there are calls to change the date to May 9.

The event starts at 7:15 p.m.

The cost is 75,000 won for members and 95,000 won for nonmembers.

JW Marriott DDM is located next to Dongdaemun Station on lines 1 and 4, as well as Cheonggye Stream and Heunginjimun Gate.

Email admin@austchamkorea.org, or visit austchamkorea.org or facebook.com/AustChamKorea for more information.