Chairperson of Seoul Garden Club and doyenne of Korean Tea Culture Association
Mrs. Pinar Okcal, spouse of the ambassador of Turkey in Seoul, hosted a luncheon at her residence in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul on June 9, 2017 for the leaders and members of the Seoul Garden Club.
The meeting was attended by the spouses of the ambassadors and leaders of the Club, including Chairperson Mrs. Kim Chong-sook of the Seoul Garden Club, and Korea’s traditional tea culture doyenne, Madam Myung Won Kim Mi-hee, who is the chairperson of the Myung Won Cultural Foundation.
Seated in the front row are Mrs. Pinar Okcal, spouse of the ambassador of Turkey in Seoul flanked on the left by Chairperson Mrs. Kim Chong-sook of the Seoul Garden Club and on the right by Korean tea culture doyenne, Madam Myung Won Kim Mi-hee, who is the chairperson of the Myung Won Cultural Foundation.
In the rear row, from right, are Mrs. Marina Nobre Quinteiro (spouse of the ambassador of Portugal), Mrs. Zhanna Baigaziyeva (spouse of the ambassador of Kazakhstan), Mrs. Ndeye Asiiatou Faye Ndiaye (spouse of the ambassador of Senegal), Mrs. Olga Wilfrida Centurion De Silvero (spouxe of the ambassador of Paraguay), Mrs. Rina Okumura-Vaivara (spouse of the ambassador of Latvia), Mrs. Konul Teymurova (spouse of the ambassador of Azerbaijan, concurrently the doyenne of the Association of the Spouses of the Ambassadors in Seoul), Mrs. Ayako Nagamine (spouse of the ambassador of Japan), Mrs. Nehal Hanna (spouse of the ambassador of Egypt), Mrs. Maria Claudia Latorre Mejia (spouse of the ambassador of Colombia), Mrs. Sarah Bile (spouse of the ambassador of Cote D'ivoire, Mrs. Maria Leonor Roura Seminario (spouse of the ambassador of Ecuador). At far left is Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post (owning and operating 3 English and 2 Korean news media organizations)
Among the other ladies present at the meeting were spouses of some of the ambassadors. They were Mrs. Konul Teymurova (spouse of the ambassador of Azerbaijan, concurrently the doyenne of the Association of the Spouses of the Ambassadors in Seoul), Mrs. Maria Leonor Roura Seminario (spouse of the ambassador of Ecuador), Mrs. Sarah Bile (spouse of the ambassador of Cote D'ivoire0, Mrs. Maria Claudia Latorre Mejia (spouse of the ambassador of Colombia), Mrs. Nehal Hanna (spouse of the ambassador of Egypt), Mrs. Ayako Nagamine (spouse of the ambassador of Japan), Mrs. Rina Okumura-Vaivara (spouse of the ambassador of Latvia), Mrs. Olga Wilfrida Centurion De Silvero (spouxe of the ambassador of Paraguay), Mrs. Ndeye Asiiatou Faye Ndiaye (spouse of the ambassador of Senegal), Mrs. Zhanna Baigaziyeva (spouse of the ambassador of Kazakhstan), and Mrs. Marina Nobre Quinteiro (spouse of the ambassador of Portugal).
From the media, Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post attended the meeting with his Reporter/photographer Kim Sung-min.
It was a truly rare occasion to learn various aspects of the culture and art of Turkey, which included presentation of a video on modern art of Turkey.
To the Korean eyes, there were some revelations regarding flowers such as roses and tulips. According to the explanations of Mrs. Okcal, Turkish roses were a symbol of love and had a long history of curative, culinary and spiritual urses.
The slides shown to the participants included ‘Gui’ blossoming throughout the Turkish land and a target cultural studies for generations. The roses were also used in Turkey for the production of oils and perfumes as well as jams and sweets. There were rose water and rose oil.
The next item of interest was Turkish tulips. Slides were shown, which included Lale, Tulip motives and an Istambul Tulip Festival.
Tulips, according to Mrs. Okcal, were widely used at the ancient palaces in Turkey for ornaments, clothes, carpets and rugs.
