This file photo provided by the Blue House shows South Korea’s first lady, Kim Keon Hee, visiting the Phillips Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., in April 2023, as her husband, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, made a state visit to the United States access. On June 26, 2023, Artnet News, an American art-professional media company, published a written interview with Kim Gun-hee titled “Kim Gun-hee, Korea’s first lady who loves art and ‘Korean culture salesman’ Mark Rothko’s conversation” And Yuetan diplomacy. “
Seoul, June 27 (Korea Bizwire) — According to a recent interview with American media, First Lady Kim Gun-hee said that she hopes to become a “Korean culture salesman” to promote Korean culture and art overseas.
In a written interview with Artnet News, an online art magazine on Monday (local time), Kim also said she believed she could be a cultural bridge between South Korea and the United States, citing her experience organizing large exhibitions of artists such as Mark Rothko, and her discussions when she accompanied President Yoon Hee-yeol on his state visit to the United States in April.
“In the first year since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office, when I travel abroad or meet international dignitaries, I can feel how elevated the status of Korean culture and art has been,” she said, referring to the growing interest in various fields. , including K-pop, TV dramas, movies, fashion and food.
“Given South Korea’s diversity, originality and creativity, our culture has great potential,” she said. “I thought I could play the role of ‘Korean culture salesman’ to promote and promote it overseas.”
Kim talked about how she helped introduce Korean culture to visiting foreign dignitaries, such as when she discussed the cultural aspects of traditional Korean architecture with then-Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc last December during his visit to Seoul.
She also said that when traveling abroad, she prepared gifts full of Korean culture for U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, including Mother-of-pearl moon altar, a Korean traditional cake prepared for the first lady of Japan, Yuko Kishida.
This file photo provided by the Blue House shows South Korean first lady Kim Gun-hee talking with Boston Museum of Fine Arts director Matthew Teitelbaum during a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in April 2023, when her husband, President Yoon Seok Yeol, was on a state visit to the United States . On June 26, 2023, Artnet News, an American art-professional media company, published a written interview with Kim Gun-hee titled “Kim Gun-hee, Korea’s first lady who loves art and ‘Korean culture salesman’ Mark Rothko’s conversation” And Yuetan diplomacy. “
Kim, the former chief executive of cultural content company Covana Contents, recalls that when she visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in April, it was especially rewarding to see a previously unseen work by Rothko, one of her personal favorites.
She said that while visiting the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, she discussed the possibility of collaborating with Korean galleries and museums.
“I believe I can be a bridge between the two countries, promoting cultural and artistic exchanges or promoting stalled discussions,” Kim said.
“I will do my best to promote cultural and artistic exchanges between South Korea and the United States. I believe this is the role I can play.”
(Yonhap News Agency)
