Letter from our President: Happy New Year
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Dear BKBF Friends,
As we’re coming to the end of 2025, we want to wish you a fantastic 2026, full of good health, happiness, and unforgettable moments. 2026 will be a year of celebrations for Belgium and Korea, marking the 125th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations.
Before we step into 2026, we want to thank you for participating in our events. A forum is a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views can be exchanged, which is very much our mission.
2025 was a mix of traditional and new events for the Belgian Korean Business Forum. It was a pleasure to regroup for the traditional Belgium Dinner with Mussels and to participate in the Seoul Friendship Festival (Belgian beers, of course, but no waffles due to the change of venue, but we plan to bring them back in 2026!).
We’ve also been celebrating Belgian artists and talents. In 2025, Le Chat by Philippe Geluck was in Bukchon, Denis Sungho performed with Bernard Werber, and we hosted a special photography and creative talk with Bruno Devos and Wouter Vanhees. We certainly would like to do more on that front, if you have ideas, please connect with us.
On the business networking and collaboration front, we co-hosted the All-European Network Night (AENN) with the ECCK and co-produced the very first Best of Benelux event in Korea with DBCK and the Embassy of Luxembourg in Korea. We also had the pleasure of co-hosting a rooftop evening with AWEX for the AgriFood delegation.
Our collaboration with the BLCCs in Asia continues. We’ve promoted several webinars, one in particular, the Duo Talk “Expo 2025 Osaka,” was a great way to stay connected.
We’ve perhaps done too few ‘afterwork/drinks’ in 2025, but we certainly had a great time at Nuba, Reverse Seoul, and Café Mechelen’s pre-opening, enjoying Belgian beers with good friends.
In 2025, our Korean distributors and friends put together the first Belgian Beer Weekend, and rumors are quite strong for a 2026 edition!
We also want to thank and highlight the fantastic work of our Embassy, regions, and diplomatic team for the wonderful King’s Day last month, as well as their great efforts engaging at all levels with Korean officials and businesses.
We’ve upgraded our communication platform with a refreshed website and better tools. As we strive to make it as open as possible, we’ve introduced new and improved functionalities such as “Share Your Own Event” and the Business Directory.
For 2026, we’re working on more events and upgrades. Please share your ideas or projects, we’re happy to support, promote, or brainstorm with you!
Philippe Gerard, President of the BKBF