President Biden Praised the First Lady of South Korea’s Harsh Advice to Her Husband

There is a saying in the United States. ‘Married Up’,  it means that a man has married a wonderful woman. The President and I would be ‘Married Up Men.’

On May 21, during a visit to the National Museum of Korea, U.S. President Joe Biden praised the wife of the new president, Yun Seong-Yeol (61). He was accompanied by his wife, Kim Geon-Hee (49), Wearing a white two-piece suit and gloves, she admired the collection, which included a stone pagoda and a golden crown.

When Mrs. Kim said, ‘I look forward to seeing you again soon,’ President Biden replied happily, “I hope we can meet when you come to the United States”.

Mrs. Kim is also a painter. As the head of the art exhibition planning company “Covana Contents,” she organized the “Mark Rothko Exhibition” in 2003, for which the U.S. National Museum loaned many works. President Biden mentioned the exhibition and was concerned about Mrs. Kim making her diplomatic debut. President Biden must have been quite pleased with Mrs. Kim. At the dinner that followed, he repeatedly told President Yun that she was ‘beautiful'” (Korean newspaper reporter).

Her belongings were sold out in no time.

President Biden was not the only one who was charmed by Mrs. Kim. The brilliant and talented Mrs. Kim is rapidly gaining popularity in Korea as well. Last December, she even launched a fan site called “Gongsarang (Love). The number of members was initially around 30,000, but has grown to nearly 100,000 since Yun assumed the presidency in May of this year.

Even after becoming First Lady, Yun’s popular behavior, such as taking out meals at a downtown market, has won her support. She also readily discloses her frugal personal life on Instagram. Her favorite pair of white sandals (about 3,500 yen) on Instagram became a topic of conversation and sold out at various stores.

On May 3, Mrs. Kim visited the famous Sae-in Temple in central Korea. The midi-length skirt (designed to cover the knees) she wore at that time, which cost about 5,500 yen, was called the “Gong hee Skirt” and became very popular on the Internet. The mail-order site says there is a month-long wait for delivery. A search for “Gong hee Kim” on “Neighbor Shopping,” a major Korean online shopping site, returns more than 2,500 hits.

 

Her support for her husband also attracts attention. Before the summit meeting with President Biden, she was said to have given President Yun some harsh advice.

President Yun, who has foot arthritis, usually wears low-heeled shoes to reduce the burden on her feet. When he tried to wear the same shoes to the summit meeting, his wife told him no. ‘It’s a special occasion so you should wear proper shoes”. President Yun took Mrs. Kim’s advice and wore high-heeled men’s shoes to the summit meeting. Thanks to her advice, President Yun was complemented by President Biden, who said, ‘Your shoes are well-polished and beautiful.’

Thanks to Mrs. Kim, President Yun succeeded in making President Biden feel welcome. The presence of the First Lady is becoming increasingly significant in South Korea.