Se Ri's Hall of Fame Dinner

Dinner
Our gang sat at a table that turned out to be next to both the table that Se Ri and Farr were at and another table with most of the Korean LPGA stars. The meal was a mash up of different tastes, many with a Korean flavor. We had chapchae, a pork dish of some kind, a chicken soup that tasted vaguely Thai, rice, Spanish rice, and beef almost falling off the bone. Apparently, the Ritz flew its chef to Korea so he could learn how to make these dishes, then Korea flew four guest chefs over to help in the preparation. Very cool. The chefs even got a moment in the sun, where they were introduced to the crowd and posed for pics with Se Ri. They bowed to her and the crowd. The media and the French camerawoman duly recorded all this (they posed next to one of the Se Ri cutouts, as shown on the right. It was dark, and the cutout was lit, so it pretty much obscured them in the photo, alas).

During the dinner, Se Ri buzzed from table to table to make sure everything was going well. Afterwards, she snuck out and changed into a maroon one piece dress cut at the knee (it was dark, but you can see that dress in some of the photos on this page). She had high heels on. She looked quite nice. Se Ri and the others ended up dancing to the DJ for a few hours, but by about 11 the party wound down and everybody cruised. I noticed that Sarah Lee left pretty early, and so did Birdie Kim, but Birdie (who apparently lives in Miami but stays with Se Ri when she's in town) returned a little later.

At first, no one was dancing, but Lorie Kane coaxed Se Ri onto the floor (see below), and that started the movement of everyone else. The gals pretty much did a high school dancing event, where they danced together in a circle. Some were more into it than others. Se Ri's sister Ae Ri was definitely into it the most of everyone there. She dances like she's on fire - her entire body quivers at times, she likes to strike poses, and affects a mock sexy come hither look as she struts around. She is a total ham, and loves the spotlight. She was dragging several of the Korean girls onto the floor, including Se Ri. Jee Young Lee in particular seemed bashful about being out there.

In the below photo, you can sort of see Se Ri's maroon dress. She is standing next to the table with the Korean LPGA golfers; Jee Young Lee is visible behind her, as well as another unidentified Korean golfer. Aram Cho is taking the photo.

The next night, Se Ri had a more private party to celebrate her thirtieth birthday. Although that birthday wouldn't happen until the following Friday, she wanted to celebrate it early to take advantage of the fact so many people were in town already. They threw her a nice little dinner, and even gave her a cake with her name on it.

Congratulations to Se Ri Pak, and good luck on the next ten years of your career!

Thanks very much to Scott St., Scott S and Bo for their photos and accounts!