Memories New Year Drink 2023 Photos made by Hennie Savenije Photos made by Luc Herwin Photos made by Peter van der Meij

Thursday, 27 April 2017 On April 27, DBCK and Heineken Korea organized a Kingsday party to celebrate the King’s 50th birthday. A Dutch national anthem sing-a-long and a beer-tap Masterclass were provided by our host Heineken for creating a genuine Kingsday mood. Thank you all for participating and contributing to this event. 

Thursday, 20 April 2017 On April 20, DBCK organized its second brown bag lunch seminar.  During this event, Ms. Youngjoo Kim, Managing Director of TMF Korea, shared practical local compliance tips with the 20 people audience. The presentation contained insights on various questions foreign entities operating in Korea have with regards to the most recent tax…

Tuesday, 17 January 2017 Mrs. Corinne Vigreux, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Consumer Business Unit of Dutch consumer electronics company TOMTOM joined the DBCK for lunch and shared her knowledge and experience in business trends in Asia and challenges ahead for consumer electronics business. Click here for more pictures of the event

Wednesday, 28 September 2016On Wednesday 28th September, the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited DBCK Member Philips. He arrived together with the Netherlands’ ambassador to Korea Mr. Lody Embrechts, and spoke with Philips’ management and employees.

Wednesday, 28 September 2016On Wednesday 28th September, the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited DBCK Member ING Korea. He arrived together with the Netherlands’ ambassador to Korea Mr. Lody Embrechts and spoke with ING’s management and employees.

Wednesday, 28 September 2016 On 26, 27, 28 and 29 September, the Netherlands’ Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, together with a large business delegation, visited South Korea. Part of the visit included donating 220 bicycles to the city. Bicycles are a common point of interest that both the Netherlands and the city of Seoul have. Therefore, the Dutch Embassy came up with the…

26-29 September 2016 Official visit of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Mark Rutte, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Martijn van Dam and the Netherlands Trade Mission to the Republic of Korea. Netherlands-Korea Trade Dinner On the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte, accompanied…

The Netherlands-Korea Business day consisted of seminars, network lunches and a very successful business matchmaking session. After the plenary session of the seminar officially opened by the Prime Minister Mark Rutte, five different break-out sessions were held on topics like agriculture, horticulture, gaming, big data and investment to the Netherlands. About 400 people attended the seminar and more than 50 Dutch companies/organizations from the Netherlands Trade…

On the occasion of the opening of the season 2015.16, DBCK and HAMEL (Dutch social club) hosted a casual drinks at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence.

The annual DBCK Golf Tournament, Dutch Open 2015 took place on Friday, 22nd May at the Lakeside Country Club in Yongin.  DBCK members and their business partners made 8 flights in total and played golf together, followed by an outdoor BBQ. With the support of our generous sponsors, several prizes were awarded.

DBCK members visited the Air France/ KLM redesigned office downtown Seoul. Commercial Director, Mr. Yu-Ming Sie, gave some insights in the dynamic competitive airline market of Korea, the role of social media in better servicing their customers and the future of Air France/ KLM in Korea. A interesting evening for DBCK members who are taking…

On the occasion of the visit of Mr.  Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of Euro Group and Finance Minister of the Netherlands, IGE (Institute for Global Economics) together with KITA (Korea International Trade Association) organized a special breakfast lecture on 15 January 2015 at the Westin Chosun Hotel, where 16 DBCK members have attended.

After over four years of posting in Korea, Ambassador Paul Menkveld and his wife Anna left the country. By means of the regular Dutch Drinks taking place on every 2nd Thursday of the month, DBCK together with HAMEL (Dutch social club) bid farewell to the Ambassador Menkveld and his wife. 

DBCK organized a mini-seminar on HR developments and issues in Korea, at the residence of Netherlands Ambassador in Seoul, together with the labor lawyers of Kim & Chang. The seminar consisted of two sessions on 1) termination of employments and 2) anti-corruption and compliances with a short coffee break in between. After each presentation by the HR legal experts,…

On the occasion of the visit of Dutch Parallel Economic Mission to Korea led by Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Mr. Henk Kamp.

The annual DBCK Golf Tournament, Dutch Open 2014 took place on Thursday, 29th May at the Lakeside Country Club in Yongin.  DBCK members and their business partners made 12 flights in total and played golf together, followed by an outdoor BBQ. With the support of our generous sponsors, several prizes were awarded.

Together with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Seoul, DBCK organized the Hamel Trade Awards Dinner 2014 on Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at The Plaza Hotel, Seoul.  For the 2014 Award, four companies have been nominated by the members : Heineken Korea, Vopak Terminals Korea, VAF Instruments and Dockwise Korea. The combined opinions of the…

<One Year President Park : Korea’s Economic Policies and Business Climate>DBCK organized a Discussion Evening on ‘One Year President Park : Korea’s Economic Policies and Business Climate’ on Thursday, 20 February 2014, at the residence of Netherlands Ambassador in Seoul.The first speaker, Mr. Simon Mundy, Financial Times correspondent in Seoul, shed light on the pros and cons of…

<Sustainability in Business : How to implement this within your company in Korea> DBCK organized a workshop on < Sustainability in Business : How to implement this within your company in Korea> on Tuesday, 26th November 2013 at Cafe & Lounge ‘Berlin’ in Itaewon. After a short presentation by Mr. Hong Lee, CEO of Control Union Certifications Korea, the group discussion has followed…

On the occasion of the opening of the season 2013/14, DBCK and HAMEL (Dutch social club) hosted a casual drink at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence.

<Doing Business in Korea : Challenges Ahead>DBCK organized a mini-workshop with Mr. Peter A. Underwood, senior partner of IRC Ltd., on < Doing Business in Korea: Challenges Ahead> on Thursday, 22nd August 2013.Mr. Underwood, as a specialist in business strategy development & implementation and Korean market entry, shared his in-depth knowledge of Korean industry and business culture.This…

The annual DBCK Golf Tournament, Dutch Open 2013 took place on Monday, 10th June at the Lakeside Country Club in Yongin.  DBCK members and their business partners and friends made 15 flights in total and played golf together, followed by an outdoor BBQ. With the support of our generous sponsors, several prizes were awarded.

On March 11th, more than 34 members of DBCK spent a special evening with Mr. Frans Weekers, Vice Minister for Finance of the Netherlands at <ChikoVino Wine & Dine> in Itaewon. At his speech, Mr. Weekers told about his program in Korea and touched upon the current developments in the Netherlands and Europe in light of his broad and long experience in political and financial…

There was a casual beer evening organized on Thursday, 7 February 2013 at the recently relocated office of Heineken Korea, where more than 40 guests attended.Mr. Jan Arie Smit, general manager of Heineken Korea, gave an interesting presentation about Heineken branding in Korea followed by a draught beer pouring training. Tuesday, 8 January 2013New Year’s ReceptionCelebrating the beginning of new year of black…

Celebrating the beginning of new year, DBCK together with HAMEL (Dutch social club) and Ambassador Paul Menkveld hosted a reception at the residence of Dutch Ambassador in Seoul, where more than 70 guests attended.

– Visit to BNCT (Busan New Container Terminal) & SHI (Samsung Heavy Industries)20 members joined the DBCK trip to Busan & Geoje on 2 November. The visit consisted of the visit to BNCT (Busan New Container Terminal) in the morning and the visit to Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje in the afternoon, where a mega project is going on…

The end-of-season BBQ took place at the Ambassason 19 June 2012, where more than 80 people attended.    At this event, there were special guests, namely the Netherlands’ Economic Mission to Korea. And Mr. Marten van den Berg, Deputy Director General for International Relations from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation also joined.

The annual DBCK Golf Tournament, Dutch Open 2012 took place on 29 May at the Lakeside Country Club in Yongin.  DBCK members and their business partners and friends made 14 flights in total and played golf together, followed by a outdoor BBQ. With the support of our generous sponsors, several prizes were awarded.

On the occasion of the visit of H.E. Dr. Uri Rosenthal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the Dutch Business Council Korea (DBCK) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands organized a Netherlands-Korea Trade & Investment Dinner at the Westin Chosun Hotel on the 28th March 2012. More than 150 guests are attended…

On March 7th, 33 DBCK members spent a very special evening with Mr. Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Netherlands Ambassador’s residence.In his speech, Mr. Kok touched upon the developments in social economy and political leadership. Q&A session and the buffet dinner followed after the speech.

One of long term DBCK members, Mr. Jack Damen, offered to organize a dinner and wine-pairing event in his recently opened Chiko Vino restaurant in Itaewon. About 14 people participated to this event and during the 4-course dinner various wines, properly paired, were tasted and explained by Jack. It was a tasteful and fun event where people could pick up some interesting details…

On the occasion of the visit of Mr. Nout Wellink, the former president of De Nederlandsche Bank to Korea, the DBCK organized a special evening with him at the Netherlands Ambassador’s residence. In his speech, Mr. Wellink touched upon the current developments in Europe in light of  his broad and long experience in the financial markets. Q&A session…

On October 19th a small group of the DBCK visited Incheon International Airport Corporation(IIAC). After an introduction about IIAC by Mina Choi, Director of International Relations, the DBCK members got a tour to interesting sites of the airport such as automated immigration system, mock-up booth at the new terminal, maglev train and the ice rink.

On September 15th, Mr. Tim Condon, ING Asia Head of research, gave a presentation titled ” The Current Crisis : How we got here and Where we are going” at the conference room of the embassy from 17:00 to 18:30.Tim Condon provided with the updates on the current world financial system that is experiencing a lot of turmoil by…

Thursday 15 September 2011 DBCK Season opening drinksFriday 17 June 2011 Company visit to Bosch Korea and KIA Motors Thursday 9 June 2011 DBCK End-of-Season BBQ Monday 16 May 2011 DBCK Dutch Open 2011 Wednesday 02 March 2011Tour to DMZ & JSA  Friday 03 December 2010DBCK Wine Tasting at Buon Posto Thursday 28 October 2010 GM Daewoo Visit Thursday 30 September 2010 DBCK Season-Opening…

The first edition of the Korean Friends of the DBCK (KFOD) was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on March 4, 2009. With around 100 participants, this event offered a great opportunity to the DBCK members and their business partners to strengthen their friendship and promote their future cooperation. Following the welcome address by the…

More than 30 members have joined the first DBCK event in 2009 on Thursday 15 January. A New Year’s drink was held in the Grand Hyatt hotel. During this event the chairman said goodbye to the board members Jean-Paul van Hengstum and Joost van Beveren. The other changes in the board were: Rogier van Beugen became…

Chiko Vino offered our members an evening of wine and cheese tasting. About 13 members gathered in the Chiko Vino shop in Yeoido. Jack started with a presentation about wine in general and how the process of wine tasting works. After that we could taste 11 different wines, and enjoyed different kinds of cheese imported…

On November 3rd a small group of the DBCK visited BAT factory in Sacheon. The flight to Jinju was already scheduled at 07.30 am, so the participants gathered at Gimpo airport at 6.45 am.After an introduction about BAT Global by Richard Bakker, a presentation about Corporate Social Responsibility and an introduction about the daily operation of…

The DBCK season opening drink, the first gathering of the season 2008-2009 was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Wednesday 27 August. Approximately 40 members enjoyed the buffet and the drinks. During the evening the board presented an overview of last years’ financial results and its plans for the coming season. Coming events will be…

The DBCK end of season barbecue, the last gathering of the season 2007-2008 was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Tuesday 17 June. DBCK had the pleasure of the company of Mr. Jan Kees de Jager, the state secretary of the Dutch Ministry of Finance, and guests from the Ministry of Finance and, Economic Affairs.

The annual DBCK Dutch Open Golf event was held at the beautiful Blue Heron Golf Club.   13 flights of members and their guests enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of golfing with superb weather conditions.   Last years winners VOPAK did not manage to maintain their trophy, this year the prize going to the ING Life 3 team.  Mr.…

DBCK visited the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, a unique industrial area in North Korea on Thursday 24 April. A group of 25 people was guided by Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee and GIC support foundation. The program included presentations on current status and future plans of GIC, area development of Hyundai Asan, guided tour of GIC facilities and factory…

On April 3rd a small group of the DBCK visited LotteWorld amusement park.After an introduction about the Lotte complex at the LotteWorld academy the DBCK members got a tour through the park.After witnessing the Parade we went to the maintenance area of the trains for the French Connection. There we received an explanation about the maintenance…

More than 20 members have joined this lunch meeting with Mr. Bongsoo Jung, a certified public labour attorney and the author of the “Korean Labor Law Bible”. Mr. Jung took us on a journey through the Korean labour law, the changes the the upcoming changes.

More than 30 members have joined the first DBCK event in 2008 on Wednesday 16 January. A New Year’s drink was held at the Giljy Italian restaurant followed by a guided tour of the Van Gogh Exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art. It was a precious time to see the biggest Van gogh exhibition in Asia…

The Hamel Trade Award 2007 has been held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul on 22 November 2007. Shell Pacific Enterprises won the Best Established Dutch Company in Korea and the Best New Comer went to the ArchitentenConsort. From this year, the new category Best Korean Company investing in the Netherlands has been added to also recognize and…

On 2 October Mr. Dick van Zanten and Mr. Jacques Snep, both board members of the Hendrick Hamel foundation from the Netherlands gave a presentation about their plans for erecting a Hamel house in Gorkum and to make a movie about the life of Hendrick Hamel. Also attending was the mayor of Gorkum mr. IJssels. At the…

On 28 August 2007 a new season started with drinks at chairman Han Rademaker’s house. Approximately 35 members were present. Special thanks goes to Lisette Jacobs, Mariska Vrakking and Jeanette Rademaker for their perfect hosting. During the evening the board presented its new board members and its plans for the coming season. Coming events will…

The annual DBCK Dutch Open Golf event was held at Shinwon Golf Club.  11 flights of memebers and their guests enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of golfing with superb weather conditions.  Last years winners ABN AMRO did not manage to maintain their trophy, this year the prize going to the KLM 2 team.  Mr Chul Min Hah from ABN…

The 19th of March 2007 DBCK had the pleasure of having Pim Verbeek, head coach of the Korean National Football team, as a guest speaker. Dutchman Pim Verbeek shared his experiences during the preparation and participation of the national Korean team in the World Cups in 2002 and 2006, where he acted as assistant coach to Guus…

On 12 december 2006 the Dutch companies ING Life Insurance and OTB Solar won the Hamel Trade Awards 2006 for best established company and best newcomer. The Hamel Trade Award is a yearly award for excellence to a company that has contributed substantially to business and trade relations between South Korea and the Netherlands. The…

DBCK has visited LG Philips LCD Paju Plant together with Dutch Junior Chamber of Commerce on 14 November 2006. It was a great opportunity for both our members and Dutch Junior Chamber of Commerce to look around world class LCD production plant.  Visit included P7 and module production line tour.

Dr. Gary Schwartz, one of the most renowned experts on Rembrandt in the world, gave a special lecture “The great Rembrandt” to DBCK members and guests on Friday 13 October at the Seoul Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 2006, it has been 400 years ago that Rembrandt, Holland’s greatest 17th century painter was born. The founder and webmaster of…

On 20 September Mr. Don Roelofs from Shilla travel (www.shilla.nl) elaborated on his activities in Korea. Shilla travel offers package and tailor made travels to/in South and North Korea. Mr. Roelofs explained which sites are essential to visit whilst living in Korea as an expat. Furthermore, Mr. Maarten Meijer presented his book “What’s So Good…

A bid farewll to a Dutch ambassador Radinck J. van Vollenhoven and Mrs. Beatrice van Vollenhoven was held on Saturday 16 September 2006. Dutch Business Club Korea and Dutch Hamel Club have handed over a nice present. We all wish all the best to Mr. and Mrs. van Vollenhoven and hope them enjoy their next posting as…

On 23 August 2006 a new season started with drinks at the chairman,Max Smits’ house. Approximately 35 members were present. Special thanksgoes to the chairman, Jeanette Rademaker and Ellen Smits for their perfecthosting. During the evening the board presented its plans for thecoming season. Coming events will be a presentation on Korea (by Don Roelofsand…

After almost 3 years in the Board of the DBCK, Garry Pieters (Chairman) and Tjeerd Bosklopper (Treasurer) will be leaving Korea. Good excuse for a drink.At this closing event of the season, Garry reiterated another year with highlights including visits to Hyundai Heavy Industries and Incheon Airport. This was also a year with even more membership…

The annual DBCK Golf open was held at the Blue Heron Golf Club. A field of 11 flights with a variety of corporate teams including ING, ABN-AMRO, Shell, Vopak, Forbo and Irdeto shot their way through a beautiful course under sunny conditions.The event was concluded with a sumptuous dinner followed by the award and prize ceremony. The individual winner was…

DBCK members were invited to a unique visit of Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC).The 15 members started with a presentation by CEO Mr Lee Jae Hee, who passionately explained the 2010 vision of World Best Air Hub (World-class logistics, 2nd phase construction, Air City Development, Global culture & leadership, Strategic networking with partners).They also got a tour…

We have all been to the Grand Hyatt Hotel (some more than others) and surely enjoyed it’s luxurious atmosphere and delicious food numerous times. Especially for DBCK members and with thanks to Mr. Henk Eijsing (Executive Assistant Manager Food & Beverage) the Grand Hyatt opened its doors for an exclusive tour. On March 7th DBCK members had a look behind the scenes…

Together with Ambassador and Mrs Radinck van Vollenhoven and the Board of the Dutch Club Hendrik Hamel, the Board of DBCK has the pleasure to invite its members and spouces for a New Year’s drink at the Ambassador’s Residence. More details will follow.

Thanks to Folkert Visser from BP, we were be able to get a tour of the Hyundai Shipyard and Hyundai Motor Company. About 19 of us were hosted with VIP treatment as we were picked up from Ulsan airport with the Hyundai coach. After a short film and presentation we were taken around the yard by Folkert and Mr…

This was a first, a combination evening with colleagues from the BKBF (Belgian Korean Business Forum). Thanks to the initiative of Erik Versavel,  Mr. Tim Condon, Head of Research for ING Wholesale Banking was the speaker of the evening, talking about Korea’s outlook in a global context. Tim, is based in Singapore, a well known commentator on regional economies, and served as…

The Dutch Business Club in Korea (DBCK) and the Royal Netherlands Embassy wish to inform you that the Hamel Trade Award 2005 for excellent performance on the Korean market has been granted to Inalfa Roof Systems and Irdeto. The jury of the Hamel Trade Award 2005, which consisted of Mr. Alan Timblik of Invest Korea, Mr. Frans Hampsink of…

DHV and SamAn formed a consortium to conduct a feasibility study regarding the use of the Kyung-in Canal for shipping. This canal, used as drainage to combat flooding, could be extended to form a link between the Han river and Incheon Harbour thus offering even better drainage facilities as well as a canal for inland shipping. Much of…

A delegation of businessmen and representatives of the Rotterdam Port Promotion Council headed by its Chairman Mr R.H. de Boer visited Korea and kindly hosted this DBCK event. Mr Roelf de Boer (ex Minister for Transportation) spoke about the Port of Rotterdam’s current situation (largest in Europe) and its ambitions (investing $3 bln in the Maasvlakte II) and gave us…

The first event of the season, to welcome old and new friends, kindly hosted by his Excellency Ambassador Radinck van Vollenhoven at the Residence. By chance, Mr Cees van der Knaap is visiting Korea on official business and has kindly offered to share some views and experiences with the DBCK members. State Secretary for Defense Mr.…

From May 28 Mr & Mrs W. Kok visited Korea, initially upon invitation of the Korea Labour Institute. However, the visit soon turned in a very busy schedule that included dinner at the Blue House, meetings with the PM, Ministers and assembly members, as well as researchers, committees and press. Mr Kok also spoke at the Global…

A beatiful day for a visit to Changdeok-gung, often but mistakingly refered to as “the Secret Gardens”. The Palace was constructed in 1405 (King Teajong) as a secondary palace to Geongbok-gung. Although the Japanese destroyed it in 1592, it was restored in 1610 and remained a royal living quarter until the last king died there in…

A large crowd gathered at the War Memorial “de Molen” at Saemal Interchange, HeongSeong to attend a service of commemoration of the dead on the occasion of the 55th aniversary of the Dutch participation in the Korean War.Wreaths and flowers were laid by H.E. Ambassador and Mrs. van Vollenhoven and Charge d’Affairs Mr. H. Koets,…

His Excellency and Mrs. Radinck van Vollenhoven had kindly invited Dutch Nationals and selected guests at their home for a celebration of the Queen’s birthday. As always, the hosts had gathered an interesting and entertaining crowd of young and old, including a KLM crew who landed with their noses in real bitterballen, haring and the ‘green stuff’, of which lots were…

 The Royal Dutch Embassy invited members to a breakfast meeting with Mr. Karel de Beer, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. de Beer spoke about the most recent political developments in the Netherlands, updated the members on the (re-) organisations within the Ministery and covered the latest international affairs.