▲ First Lady Kim Hye-kyung poses for a commemorative photo on Friday, October 2, with a foreign bride holding an outdoor wedding ceremony at the Ginkgo Tree Rest Area of the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, wife of President Lee Jae-myung, attended the first outdoor wedding ceremony held at Gyeongbokgung Palace to congratulate the "first couple" on their new beginning.
First Lady Kim visited the venue during the day on Friday, October 2, ahead of the first outdoor wedding ceremony held at the Ginkgo Tree Rest Area of the National Palace Museum of Korea at Gyeongbokgung Palace.
The bride of this inaugural Gyeongbokgung wedding was YouTuber Mai, who came from Estonia and tied the knot with her Korean husband.
Mai, the first foreigner to win a title at the "Miss Chunhyang" pageant, runs the YouTube channel "Kimchi Ghost Mai" with 220,000 subscribers, introducing traditional Korean culture, including hanbok.
At the gathering, Kim offered her congratulations and highlighted government support to ease the financial burden of marriage for young people, as well as the everyday use of cultural heritage, Cheong Wa Dae Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong said in a written briefing.
Kim also expressed her hope, saying, "I hope cultural heritage will not stay confined to solemn spaces, but be closely and warmly shared in the daily lives of the public."
The Korea Heritage Service plans to provide the Ginkgo Tree Rest Area of the National Palace Museum of Korea as an outdoor wedding venue for young couples.
Starting with this ceremony, the agency plans to support 28 weddings this year and expand the program to up to 80 couples next year.
(Photo courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae, Yonhap News)
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