Korea’s First Lady Kim Yoon-ok on Monday hosted a dinner for 14 spouses of the global leaders attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit.

 

The spouses, who are accompanying state leaders and heads of international organizations attending the two-day global conference in Seoul, enjoyed a special banquet at the National Museum of Korea while their partners attended a separate summit business banquet at COEX, southern Seoul.

Antonioli Monti, wife of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Patience Jonathan, wife of Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Nompumelelo Zuma, wife of South African President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, Tran Thanh Kiem, wife of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and Ho Ching, wife of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, were among the first ladies who attended the event. Yoo Soon-taek, wife of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Gursharan Kaur, wife of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also attended.

The banquet was held at the nation’s largest museum which houses some of the most precious Korean treasures. The spouses were greeted by Kim Young-na, the director of the National Museum of Korea, who gave a brief tour of some of the museum’s holdings, including Joseon (1392-1897)-period wooden furniture and ornaments from the Pro-Three Kingdoms period (second century-third century) to Joseon period. The spouses also viewed an art exhibition featuring about 30 peace-themed works by children.

The dinner was prepared in Western style using local ingredients, including tile fish from Jeju Island and blue crab from the West Sea. Lee Bae-yong, chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, and Yang Il-sun, chair of the Korean Food Foundation, were present at the event to share their views on Korean cuisine and food culture.

During the dinner, Kim gave a speech welcoming the spouses and shared her hope for the success of the summit based on the joint efforts of the participating nations.

After the banquet, the spouses enjoyed a classical music concert by Korea’s young musical prodigies -- pianist Cho Seong-jin and violinist Kim Soo-yeon. Cho played Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp Minor while Kim performed Bach’s Sonata No.3.

On Tuesday, the spouses are scheduled to visit the presidential house, Cheong Wa Dae, where a Korean-style luncheon will be served. This will be followed by a special performance reenacting the wedding of a Joseon queen. Popular K-pop band JYJ and ballad singer Sung Si-kyung will also perform. 


By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)