Ambassador Patrick Rata recently led a storytelling session at Kiwi English, an English language academy privately-owned and operated by a New Zealander in Seoul.

Over 50 students and parents listened attentively as Ambassador Rata brought to life New Zealand author Lynley Dodd’s Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy.  In addition to hearing the story, the students enjoyed a short waiata (song) in Maori.

On the occasion of the visit by three New Zealand curators to Korea, Ambassador Patrick Rata hosted a reception at the New Zealand Residence on 12 September.

To mark the visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully, Ambassador Rata hosted a reception to celebrate the Year of Friendship between Korea and New Zealand on Thursday 6 September. In his speech, Minister McCully noted the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries, exciting new areas of cooperation including on Antarctic, and successes of Korean New Zealanders such as golfer Lydia Ko.

At a ceremony on 4 September, the Ambassador of New Zealand to Korea, H.E. Patrick Rata, presented an award and certificate to teenage golfing sensation Lydia Ko designating her as the New Zealand Embassy’s Sports Ambassador for the 2012 Korea-New Zealand Year of Friendship.