Spotlight on first lady and her clothes on Madrid trip

Diplomacy

Published: 29 Jun. 2022, 14:55 Updated: 29 Jun. 2022, 15:22

Spotlight on first lady and her clothes on Madrid trip

First lady Kim Keon-hee views a Korean fashion exhibition at the Korean Cultural Center in Madrid Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

MADRID, Spain — First lady Kim Keon-hee took her first shot at soft diplomacy on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid with a tour of a Korean fashion exhibition.

Kim visited the Korean Cultural Center Tuesday afternoon in her first official activity in Madrid. She and President Yoon Suk-yeol kicked off a five-day trip to Spain Monday.

Kim, who worked as an exhibition planner, thanked the Cultural Center staff for their efforts to promote Korean culture and encouraged efforts to promote "K-pop, K-fashion, K-beauty and K-food" in Spain.

It was the first visit by a presidential spouse since the center's opening in 2011.

Kim viewed a Korean fashion exhibition at the center's Han-ul Gallery, showcasing clothes by designer Kim A-young, the founder of the CAHIERS brand, who lends a contemporary twist to Hanbok, traditional Korean dress. The exhibition, "The Old Wears the New," is set to run to July 29.

"Spain is known all over the world as the home country of Velázquez and Picasso," said Kim. "I am very glad that the first exhibition to promote Korean fashion is being held in Spain, a country leading the world in fashion."

She noted that the fabric used in Korean clothing is "exceptional" and pointed out "Korea's culture is expanding creatively."

A staffer at the center told Kim, "There is a lot of interest in Korean architecture, film, music and language, to the extent that even a small city in Spain has a request for a Hallyu event."

Kim visited a hanbok exhibition, workshops and hangul (Korean language) school at the center.

President Yoon Seok-yeol, second from left, and first lady Kim Keon-hee, far right, pose for a commemorative photo with King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia at the royal palace in Madrid Tuesday evening. [NEWS1]

Later Tuesday evening, Kim and Yoon attended a dinner hosted by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

Kim is also scheduled to attend a series of events planned for spouses of leaders of NATO members and partner countries Wednesday including a tour of the royal palace and the Queen Sofía National Museum Art Center. Kim was also scheduled to visit an upcycling store in Madrid and accompany Yoon to a dinner with Korean residents in Spain later that evening.

On Monday, Kim greeted reporters on Air Force One en route to Spain, her first contact with the press as first lady. She and her husband disembarked from the presidential jet holding hands.

Kim's wardrobe has been getting a lot of attention. She wore a white one-piece dress upon her arrival in the country and a black-and-white houndstooth pattern suit paired with a black belt to the cultural center. For the dinner, she wore a short-sleeved white cocktail dress paired with white gloves, a black clutch and black heels.

When U.S. President Joe Biden visited Seoul last month, Kim briefly greeted him at the National Museum of Korea but didn't join a state dinner as her counterpart, U.S. first lady Jill Biden, wasn't on the trip.

At the time, Biden told Yoon that they had both "married up."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]