What’s it like celebrating Singapore’s National Day in a foreign country? Well, maybe not quite a foreign country for some of us Singaporeans living in South Korea. It’s like celebrating your first home’s birthday in your second home?
This year, the (x)clusive team was invited to join the annual “Happy Singapore Day” celebrations hosted by SingCham Korea (Singapore Chamber of Commerce in Korea), and it was a blast! Themed “Experience the Future“, guests were first greeted by a mural which showed a glimpse of what Singapore looked like in the past, a nice touch of nostalgia especially for Singaporeans.
Once in the event hall, there were three main activities that guests could enjoy. The first was an AI photobooth that created images of the guests decked in futuristic renditions of the traditional costumes of the three main races in Singapore (Chinese, Malay, Indian) against the backdrop of some of Singapore’s most well-known tourist attractions. Secondly, there was a “letter-writing” station where guests could write postcards to their future self or to their loved ones which the SingCham Korea team will be posting out on everyone’s behalf next January. And finally, guests were invited to freely take photos of themselves throughout the event and share them on a live photo wall which was used as the backdrop for the event!
Since this was a business networking event, the bulk of the evening’s programme was reserved for free networking (and eating!), but what’s a national day celebration without some national pride? The evening began with speeches by SingCham Korea’s Chairperson, Mr Justin Yong, as well as Mr Eric Teo Boon Hee, Singapore’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and Honorary Patron of SingCham Korea, before a clip of last year’s National Day Parade was played, where guests were asked to join in the recital of the Singapore pledge and the singing of the national anthem. Guests were then free to enjoy the food and drinks, and the interactive activities.
And of course, the night ended with everyone’s favourite lucky draw session. There was a wide variety of prizes given out that night ranging from dining vouchers to hotel staycations to a return air ticket to Singapore! Staying true to the theme, the SingCham Korea team decided to go with a digital lucky draw roulette to pick the winners for the prizes and it was so exciting to see everyone’s names up on the screen, just waiting to be picked.
Although only a few winners won lucky draw prizes, nobody went home empty-handed as door gifts were prepared for all guests, comprising of some delicious flavours of Singapore, with a box of Gryphon tea, a sauce packet from Justin Quek, and vouchers to dine at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant!
It was a fun-filled night with interesting conversations, exciting moments, and delicious food. Plus we also spotted a few celebrities in the crowd!
