Kim Hea Kyung, right, the first lady of Korea, and Vietnam's first lady Ngo Phuong visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi, Thursday, during a friendly exchange during President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to the Southeast Asian country. Yonhap
HANOI — The first ladies of Korea and Vietnam had a friendly exchange in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, exploring shared cultural ties between the two countries during President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to the Southeast Asian country.
Kim Hea Kyung, the wife of President Lee Jae Myung, and Ngo Phuong Ly, the wife of Vietnam’s top leader To Lam, discussed similarities in weaving, rice farming and bedding as they toured the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, with the conversation often turning to the global popularity of K-pop and other Korean culture.
Kim wore an "ao dai," a traditional Vietnamese dress that the Vietnamese first lady gave as a present, Wednesday.
The two first ladies visited a traditional weaving loom, with Kim pointing out similarities in textile traditions by noting that the Korean equivalent also uses the interlacing of threads to make fabric.
As for the farming exhibits, Kim said Korea produces a lot of rice, as Vietnam does.
She added, “We also use plows in Korea that are pulled by cattle,” and knelt down to take a closer look at the exhibits. She asked if she could touch them, showing strong interest.
During the visit to the bedding exhibits, Kim said it was very similar to Korea and added that the shapes were almost identical.
“In Korea, women traditionally prepared bedding and mattresses when they get married,” she went on to say, pointing to parallels in wedding customs.
The two first ladies went to the Korean Pavilion on the same venue, where Kim discussed Korean items such as low tables.
Source: Korea Times News
