First Lady Kim Hye-kyung Hosts Central Asian First Ladies: "Hoping to Continue Precious Ties"

First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, wife of President Lee Jae-myung, hosted a friendship gathering by inviting the first ladies of heads of state visiting South Korea on the occasion of the first Korea-Central Asia Summit.

On Wednesday (September 16), Kim invited First Lady Ziroat Mirziyoyeva of Uzbekistan and First Lady Aigul Japarova of Kyrgyzstan to Sangchunjae at Cheong Wa Dae.

Welcoming the first ladies while dressed in hanbok, Kim experienced a Korean traditional tea ceremony (darye) alongside them under the guidance of an expert.

Following the tea ceremony, the three first ladies watched performances of traditional dances including "Taepyeongmu" and "Hanryangmu" by the National Gugak Center dance troupe, and enjoyed Korean traditional music performances including "Gyemyeonjo Pyeongrong Bukduchilseong" by the National Gugak Center orchestra.

Kim introduced the event, saying, "We prepared traditional dance and music performances with a heartfelt wish for friendship and peace among the three countries."

Kim added, "Both Korea and Central Asia have sustained communal memories and aspirations through dance and music. I hope that through the time we shared today, Korea and Central Asia will understand each other more deeply and continue our precious relationship."

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Kim held a separate friendly conversation with Japarova to discuss the history and culture of both nations.

Japarova showed keen interest in the hanbok worn by Kim, who explained, "I am adding my efforts to widely promote the value of hanbok to the world and to inscribe hanbok culture on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," according to Cheong Wa Dae Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong.

Cheong Wa Dae presented Samsung Electronics' latest foldable smartphones as gifts to the state leaders visiting South Korea to attend the Korea-Central Asia Summit, and beauty devices and cosmetic sets to their spouses.

(Photo courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.