Fresh beds and crockery for new first family
Portraits of Korea’s former presidents decorate the Blue House. [JoongAng Ilbo]
The main quarters of the president’s office is about a 10-minute drive from the secretaries’ building, but Kim Baek-jun, who was named the Blue House’s secretary of general affairs designate, said restructuring is unlikely. Instead, President Lee is focusing on interior decorating, replacing furniture and refurbishing offices.
First to go will be the desk and chairs in the president’s office, replaced at Lee’s request.
According to one Blue House aide, who wanted to keep his name out of the papers, Lee asked for the square desk in his new office to be changed for a round one.
The rationale is that a more curvacious table could help smooth over high-pressure state meetings and everyone sitting around in a circle could stimulate better communication.
Also to be replaced are government chairs with thick, cushioned seats and high-quality wooden frames typically used by high-ranking officials. President Lee wants ordinary office chairs on casters so they’re more mobile.
Out go the LCD monitors and microphone system in the state meeting rooms, at Lee’s request; and the new president has asked his secretaries to stock instant tea and coffee mix in the meeting rooms so visitors can discuss matters of state over a casual beverage.
Kim Ok-suk, first lady to former president Roh Tae-woo, introduced Hankook Chinaware-designed kitchenware to the Blue House. [JoongAng Ilbo]
Carpets will stay: It’s a cost issue. But paintings and other artworks in the residence could be replaced.
In fact, the interior will probably stay the same, but the wallpaper will be replaced if that is the wish of new first lady, Kim Yoon-ok. She decorated their family home in Gahoe-dong, central Seoul. The livingrooms were painted beige with framed photographs of her grandchildren.
“The wallpaper will wait for a while,” said Kim, the secretary designate. “We will probably replace it when the president and the first lady leave on an overseas state visit.”
Out of all the furniture in the president’s residence, the bed was the first item to be replaced. The kitchen utensils will stay, but the first lady is bringing a silverware set to the Blue House.
Kim Ok-suk, the first lady of former president Roh Tae-woo, first brought in 1989 the Hankook Chinaware-designed dinner service. The design features a thick, dark green laminated ring and a golden print of a phoenix, which symbolizes the state and the president, plus traditional symbols suggesting longevity. The handles and lids are adorned with golden stamps.
Over 50 kinds of kitchenware are currently stored in the Blue House kitchen including dishes for Korean, Chinese and Western-style meals.
“They’ve used it for a good 20 years, so they might change it soon,” says an official at Hankook Chinaware.
When the kitchenware gets replaced, plating experts are keenly interested in whether the Blue House will keep the phoenix emblem. For the president’s inauguration ceremony last week, Lee decided to use a new emblem because he sees the phoenix symbol as too authoritative.
The first ladies have always had the final say on the design of Blue House kitchenware. Yuk Young-soo, first lady to the longest-serving Korean president, the late Park Chung Hee, changed the plates from Japanese to Korean in 1973. Then, the dishes bore simple prints of grass and a golden phoenix.
During Chun Doo Hwan’s regime, the color scheme was changed to lavish pink.
Former first lady Lee Soon-ja took a keen interest in home decoration. She sent a designer the photograph of a royal azalea in full bloom so that the right colors would be used.
Roh’s first lady, Kwon Yang-suk, changed her kitchenware twice while her husband was in office. When Roh was inaugurated, she chose light blue ceramics, which is reminiscent of blue celadon, and later she chose the current design.
The Blue House authorities are also looking to hire barbers, beauticians and chefs.
Lee tentatively chose Park Jong-gu from the Lotte Hotel’s fitness center as his personal barber. Lee occasionally stopped by Park’s shop during his election campaign.
President Lee Myung-bak is discarding some trappings of presidential power in the Blue House and casting a business-oriented feel to the offices. [JoongAng Ilbo]
The president’s car will be driven by the security guards at the Blue House. A single door of Lee’s Mercedes-Benz S600 weighs 100 kilograms because of the security system, and a special driver is needed.
By Koo Hye-ryeong JoongAng Ilbo [myfeast@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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