[G20 SEOUL SUMMIT 2010]Spouses Wine, Dine on Summit Sidelines

While heads of state were thrashing out the big issues during the working dinner that was the first official event of the G20 summit, First Lady Kim Yoon-ok invited their spouses for some “wives’ diplomacy” over a banquet at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art,

Following the summit opening reception at the National Museum of Korea, twelve spouses of heads of state and international organizations, including first ladies Laureen Harper of Canada, Ho Ching of Singapore and Gursharan Kaur of India, arrived at Leeum on two buses.

Hong Ra-hee, director of Leeum and wife of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, greeted guests at the entrance while the first lady, wearing Korea’s traditional silk hanbok dress, welcomed the guests from the lobby.

Upon their arrival, the spouses took a commemorative photograph in front of the traditional wall painting, “The Sun, the Moon and Five Mountain Peaks.” They were served a light dinner as some of them had arrived immediately after long-distance flights.

Mrs. Kim is known for her interest in matters culinary and she chose the dinner choices after extensive consultation and samplings. Korean tenderloin, crab, fish and organic tofu steak were offered, wine was served, and music from the guests’ nations played.

After wishing for the success of the summit, the first lady explained the characteristics of Korean culinary culture and presented a copy of her recently published book, “HANSIK: Stories of Korean Food,” to each guest as a gift.

After dinner, world-renowned pianist Paik Kun-woo gave a 25-minute special recital of five Chopin and Liszt selections. Some participants then proceeded to the second floor of the museum to view items designated as Korean national treasures. Mrs. Hong introduced each work.

Celebrity first ladies, Michelle Obama of the United States and Carla Bruni of France) were unable to visit Korea due to scheduling conflicts.

By Kim Seung-ryun
srkim@donga.com