King Charles III visits New Malden's Korean community and shakes hands with drenched public
By Emily Dalton
8th Nov 2023 | Local News
King Charles III visited New Malden today, 8 November, to learn about Korean culture including K-pop and Kimchi.
After waiting hours in the rain, eager members of the public were delighted to see the new King arrive at New Malden Methodist Church at just before 2pm.
Ahead of the state visit by the President of the Republic of Korea and the First Lady later this month, His Majesty visited the area known as little Korea.
New Malden is known as London's Koreatown as it's home to the largest population of Koreans in Europe, most of whom are South Koreans with a significant minority of North Koreans.
Dodging umbrellas His Majesty went round and shook hands with the public. He thanked the crowd for waiting so long in the rain, as one woman joked the King "would not see us at our best".
An eclectic mix of people attended the event: from retired folk to teenagers in school uniform, working parents on a cheeky break between meetings to members of the council from the local infant school- even construction workers gawking from top-floor flats.
Not just New Malden residents, one person was overheard stating they had come from Teddington and waited since 9am to see His Majesty.
One man was spotted in the crowd with a 'Not my King' sign.
After a couple of false starts which saw the greeters hurry inside away from the rain, the King met the Republic of Korea's ambassador to the UK, Yeocheol Yoon, the mayor of Kingston, Councillor Diane White and leader of Kingston Council Andreas Kirsch.
The King met representatives from the Korean Residents Society, the Korean Restaurant and Supermarkets Association and local faith leaders inside New Malden Methodist Church.
He asked questions about Korea and listened to the London Korean Hummingbirds Choir sing a traditional song while a dancer performed.
It is reported his majesty also learned of how one man escaped North Korea and started a life in the UK.
The Daily Mail reports the King was gifted kimchi (a traditional fermented vegetable dish) before his birthday on November 14, and joked: "Will it blow my head off?"
Afterwards, King Charles visited the next door Cake & Bingsoo cafe, where he was presented an Earl Grey tea-flavoured cake as another early birthday present.
While he was at cafe, the King asked about K-pop music and wanted to hear more about the genre.
Before leaving the area, Charles also visited the New Malden War Memorial and met representatives from the Royal British Legion ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
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