I have been rather silent on these (and other) pages recently as I finished a book – apologies for the shameless publicity but more details will follow in due course. But we found time to visit the opening of the recent art exhibition held at the DPRK embassy in London.
Or rather, the first ever North Korean art exhibition in Britain took place, if you believe the Guardian, at the “secretive state’s outpost here” or, if the Daily Telegraph, at the “secretive North Korean embassy.” And so on, via the New Statesman, the Spectator and even the BBC. Some referred to the thrill of being on “North Korean soil” and talked about the first time that the British public had been allowed inside the doors. The Independent take was similar, but included a photograph of the embassy back garden, which it notes as adapted for playing basketball. Comments from the public were equally odd, including one that asked what precautions were taken against Ebola at the embassy and much speculation about why the embassy was in Ealing and not in Mayfair. This did provoke a sensible comment suggesting that the enquirer look at the respective costs of housing in the two areas.
I have been rather silent on these (and other) pages recently as I finished a book – apologies for the shameless publicity but more details will follow in due course. But we found time to visit the opening of the recent art exhibition held at the DPRK embassy in London.
Or rather, the first ever North Korean art exhibition in Britain took place, if you believe the Guardian, at the “secretive state’s outpost here” or, if the Daily Telegraph, at the “secretive North Korean embassy.” And so on, via the New Statesman, the Spectator and even the BBC. Some referred to the thrill of being on “North Korean soil” and talked about the first time that the British public had been allowed inside the doors. The Independent take was similar, but included a photograph of the embassy back garden, which it notes as adapted for playing basketball. Comments from the public were equally odd, including one that asked what precautions were taken against Ebola at the embassy and much speculation about why the embassy was in Ealing and not in Mayfair. This did provoke a sensible comment suggesting that the enquirer look at the respective costs of housing in the two areas.
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After Britain and North Korea re-established diplomatic relations in 2000, Hoare was appointed British Chargé d'affaires in Pyongyang; and his work laid the foundation for the establishment of a full embassy in the North Korean capital.
Previously, Hoare had been head of the Foreign Office's North Asia and Pacific Research Group. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1969 and was stationed in Seoul in 1981 1984 and in Beijing in 1988-1991.