The fashion of South Korea’s first lady Kim Keon-hee makes her unusual – she’s unlike any of the women that came before her
- Kim Keon-hee, wife to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, is unlike the first ladies who came before her; she’s unafraid to stand out when it comes to fashion
- The glitz and glamour of Kim’s outfits have made her popular to the point of having her own fan club online – but the attention she commands has drawn criticism
By Lee Hae-rin
South Korea’s Kim Keon-hee is an unusual first lady in many ways. While her predecessors kept low profiles while their husbands were leading the country, Kim seems to care little about deflecting the public’s attention.
Some fashion experts have lauded her for her wardrobe choices.
“Until now, the country’s first ladies had featured the beauty of humbleness and moderation in their attire,” Kang says. “Kim, on the other hand, portrays the image of a classy, sophisticated, independent and professional woman.”
Cho Mi-kyung, the CEO of domestic image consulting firm CMK Image Korea, agrees.
“Kim portrays both first lady dignity and individual personality in her look,” Cho says, adding that Kim has received much attention not only from the public and media but also within the image-making sector and fashion industry.
The glitz and glamour of Kim’s fashion is probably behind the public’s mixed reactions to her. People either love or hate her, and there seems to be almost no in between.
According to a June 29 survey of 1,000 South Koreans by research organisation Data Research, a little over half of the respondents said “Kim is doing a good job as a first lady”, while just under half said Kim’s role should be “scaled down”.
In a Next Research survey in June, one month after Yoon’s inauguration, six out of 10 participants said Kim should keep a low profile. Of the 1,010 participants, 64.5 per cent of the respondents who identify as politically centrist and 56.6 per cent identifying as conservative expressed negative opinions on Kim.
Kim is a rare first lady in that she has her own fan club. The online community dedicated to her on Korea’s largest web portal, Naver, “Official fan site of Kim Keon-hee”, was founded last December and boasts over 93,000 members. Her Facebook fan page “Keon-hee sarang”, which in Korean means “Love for Keon-hee”, 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 as Kim has from the start of her husband’s presidential term. The wives of Korean presidents have historically been virtually invisible and media coverage was rare.
Cho Jin-man, a professor of political science at Duksung Women’s University in Seoul, says Kim is not comparable to her predecessors because she is unique in many ways, from style to background to character.
“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 says.
“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 encouraged the presidential office and first lady Kim to think seriously about finding her role as the spouse of the current president. “I think she should save her energy and search for a role that is fit for her and consult the presidential office about a possible role, rather than just doing as she pleases,” he says, noting that her high profile is a double-edged sword for her husband during his presidency.
Since then, Korea’s first ladies have not strayed far from Yuk’s example, remaining as full-time housewives when their husbands were elected and keeping a low profile.
“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,” says Cho.
