Fashionista first lady draws polarized reactions

First lady Kim Keon-hee, center in green skirt, enters the Mandarin Oriental Ritz in Madrid to attend a meeting with Korean residents in Spain, June 29, local time. Yonhap

Public either loves or hates Kim Keon-hee

By Lee Hae-rin

As a first lady, Kim Keon-hee is unusual in many ways. Unlike her predecessors who tried to keep a low profile while their husbands were leading the country, Kim seems to care little about the public's attention to her.

She stands out to the point of overshadowing her husband on occasion. One aspect that draws attention to her is what she wears. As seen in her recent trip to Madrid, Spain, to accompany her husband Yoon Suk-yeol who took part in the 2022 NATO summit, the first lady could be called a fashionista.

Some fashion experts have lauded her for her wardrobe choices.

Kang Jin-joo, the head of the Personal Image Clinic, who served as former President Lee Myung-bak's image consultant from 2007 to 2008, told The Korea Times in a recent interview that the country has never seen such a first lady before.

"Until now, the country's first ladies had featured the beauty of humility and moderation in their attire," Kang said. "Kim, on the other hand, portrays the image of a classy, sophisticated, independent and professional woman."

First lady Kim Keon-hee enters a gala dinner held at the Royal Palace of Madrid in the Spanish capital, June 28. Yonhap

Cho Mi-kyung, the CEO of domestic image consulting firm CMK Image Korea, agrees with Kang.

"Kim portrays both the dignity of a first lady and individual personality in her look," Cho said. She found that Kim has received much attention not only from the public and media, but also within the image-making sector and fashion industry as well.

The glitz and glamour of Kim's fashion are probably behind the public's mixed reactions to her. People either love her or hate her and there seems to be almost no in between.

According to research organization, Data Research, 56.3 percent of respondents in a June 29 survey said "Kim is not doing a good job as a first lady," while 49.3 percent said her role should be "scaled down." The survey sought the opinions of 1,000 people aged over 18 across the country.

In another survey conducted in June, one month after Yoon's inauguration, six out of 10 participants said Kim should keep a low profile. The survey by Next Research involving 1,010 participants showed 64.5 percent of the respondents who identify as politically centrist and 56.6 percent identifying as conservative expressed negative opinions on Kim.

This combined photo shows some of the outfits worn by first lady Kim Keon-hee during the 2022 NATO Summit. From left, Kim leaves Madrid-Barajas Airport for Korea; Kim visits an upcycling store in Madrid; and Kim salutes the national flag of Korea during a meeting with Korean residents in Spain at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz in Madrid. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

Kim is also a rare first lady because she has her own fan club.

"Official fan site of Kim Keon-hee," an online community dedicated to her on Korea's largest web portal, Naver, was founded last December and boasts over 93,000 members as of Monday. Her Facebook fan page, "Keon-hee sarang," which in Korean means "Love for Keon-hee," is followed by over 3,300 fans and uploads unreleased photos of her daily life in and outside the presidential office.

None of her predecessors had drawn as much attention from the public ― both positive and negative ― as Kim has from the get-go of her husband's presidential term. Before her, the wives of Korean presidents were virtually invisible. Media coverage of them was rare. The general public had little idea what they were doing, as attention was focused on their president husbands' activities.

Cho Jin-man, a professor of political science at Duksung Women's University in Seoul, said Kim is not comparable to any of her predecessors because she is unique in so many ways, such as in her style, background and character.

"Most of the past first ladies had been quiet without getting much attention from the public when their husbands were in the presidency. The only exception would be first lady Lee Hee-ho, the spouse of late President Kim Dae-jung. The late Lee cast a 'New Woman' image because of her past involvement in the women's rights movement and she was more like her husband's companion or lifetime friend rather than a spouse," he said.

First lady Kim Keon-hee, visits a Korean grocery store at Maravillas Market in Madrid, June 30. The Embassy of Ukraine in Korea posted a photo of Kim on social media the next day and thanked her for her solidarity displayed by wearing the colors of the Ukraine flag. Yonhap

"Compared to her predecessors, first lady Kim is very different. She has lived a life which is very different from other first ladies. She had her own business and has been very active, so I think she won't be content with a life lived in the shadow of her husband," Cho said.

Cho encouraged the presidential office and first lady to think seriously about finding her role as the spouse of the sitting president.

"I think she should save her energy and search for a role that is fit for her and consult with the presidential office about a possible role, rather than just doing as she pleases," he said, noting that her high profile is a double-edged sword for her husband during his presidency.

For a long time, late former first lady Yuk Young-soo (1950-1974), the mother of former President Park Geun-hye and wife of the late former dictator Park Chung-hee, was an archetype of a first lady and Korean womanhood in the 1970s.

Yuk modeled a first lady who was a supportive wife and a good mother. Often dressed in a hanbok or traditional Korean attire, Yuk pursued a relatively simple lifestyle and ran several charities to help the poor and vulnerable while her husband ruled the country for nearly two decades after a military coup in 1961.

Korea's first ladies since then have not strayed far from Yuk's example, remaining as full-time housewives when their husbands were elected, keeping a low profile while supporting their husbands and others in need.

"Times have changed a lot, but Koreans are conservative regarding first ladies and they still prefer a first lady who is invisible and a silent helper of her husband," said Cho.