Kim

Yoon
ok
First Lady of the Republic of Korea
The PresidenT and FirsT Lady
GeneraTinG and sharinG hoPe

“No matter how tough the situation may be,

we should never ever give up.
Instead, we have to hold onto our hope and share
it with our neighbors.

Hope is the most important first step to happiness.

As First Lady, I will do my utmost to help all people harbor hope

and bring them one step closer to happiness.”

President Lee and First Lady Kim joining children who are heads of families at Cheong Wa Dae on Children’s Day, May 5, 2009

The First Lady loves children and never passes up a chance to meet with
them. The First Lady often talks with children in need, people who have
been marginalized in Korean society, women in lower income brackets
and multicultural families who have a tough time integrating into main-
stream Korean society. Her bright smile is a clear reminder of how loving
a mother figure she is.

Visiting children suffering from cancer at Seoul National University Visiting a welfare center in Incheon for Koreans who migrated back Volunteering at Bohyeon’s House, a welfare center for the homeless Working as a Korea National Red Cross Volunteer at the end of 2008
Children’s Hospital Korea from Sakhalin, Russia

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 Hiking on the Olle path on Jeju-do Island on June 1, 2009 with participants in the Korea-ASEAN Campus Summit

A Champion Of Korean Cuisine And

Other Things Uniquely Korean

In June 2009, Korea’s royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) were officially listed as UNESCO World Presenting a vase to 2009 World Figure Skating
Heritage sites. Champion Kim Yu-na at Cheong Wa Dae; Yu-na was
named as the goodwill ambassador for the 2010-2012
Visit Korea Year

Attending the Korean Cuisine to the World 2009 on April 7, 2009
The First Lady is a passionate advocate for traditional Korean food, which has drawn
the attention of nutritionists and people seeking healthier lifestyles around the world.
She has also taken the lead in publicizing time-honored cultural properties of Korea
and tourist destinations.
Participating in the inaugural meeting of the Task Force for Korean Cuisine to the
World on May 4, 2009

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The First Lady As a Goodwill
Ambassador For The Country
The First Lady enjoys wearing hanbok, the
Korean traditional clothing, whenever pos-
sible on special occasions, including on her
trips abroad with the President.
Although she keeps a low profile, the First
1
Lady has worked energetically to help Ko-
reans better understand people from other
countries and to help other countries see
Korea as a genuine friend.
She also makes sure that her itinerary for of-
ficial visits overseas includes visits to facili-
ties and organizations catering to the special
2 needs of women and children, as she feels a
special warmth towards them as a mother of
four children herself.
3 1. Posing for a photograph (second from right, front row, in
Korean costume) with spouses of the participants in the G20
Summit held in London on April 1, 2009
2. Joining the President and members of World Friends Korea
at its launching ceremony in Nokjiwon, the garden of
Cheong Wa Dae, on May 7, 2009; World Friends Korea
combines a number of government-sponsored overseas
volunteer groups
3. Visiting the Centro de Salud Materno Infantil Pachacutec
Peru-Corea, a health clinic for new mothers and their babies,
in Pachacutec, Peru, in November 2008, to encourage the
medical staff and patients; the facility was built with a grant
from the Korean Government
4. Meeting with young people at a children’s health center in
4 Poland in July 2009
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok majored in Health
Education and Management at Ewha Women’s Uni-
versity in Seoul, and now as the wife of President Lee
Myung-bak serving in the 17th presidential term of
the Republic of Korea, she is engaging in a variety of
activities in and out of Cheong Wa Dae (the Korean
presidential residence).
Her volunteer activities, in particular, have been
carried out continuously to include visits to child-
care facilities, children’s hospitals and welfare institu-
tions for low-income families and meal centers for the
homeless and to hear from them firsthand about their
challenges. After becoming First Lady, she has cham-
pioned a program to make sure the underprivileged
children in school do not have to go without meals. In
addition, she has also given support to children with
cancer as well as those who are suffering from rare dis-
eases, including muscular dystrophy.
The First Lady’s ceaseless efforts to help people
who are at a disadvantage socially are grounded in her
deep Christian faith. Her motto throughout her life
has been, “Love your neighbors, do what needs to be
done with utmost devotion and be positive in all situ-
ations.”
One of the latest tasks she has set her heart on is
the promotion of Korean cuisine overseas. Known as
on accomplished cook of Korean cuisine among her
inner circle of friends, she is the honorary chair of the
Task Force for Korean Cuisine to the World, an orga-
nization devoted to promoting Korean food.
Kim Yoon-ok
First Lady of the Republic of Korea
Experience
2009 Honorary Chair of the Commemoration Committee
for the 100th Anniversary of Korean Museums
2008 Honorary President of the Korean Cancer Society
Honorary Chair of the Visit Korea Committee
Honorary Chair of the Korean Support Committee
of the International Vaccine Institute
2002 Completed the Leadership Program of the Women’s
Academy at Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
2001 Honorary Chair of the Special Advisory Committee
for Woman’s Volunteer Service at the Seoul
Chapter, Korean Red Cross
Honorary President of the Seoul Council, Girl
Scouts of Korea
President of the Alumni Association of the
Women’s Top Management Program at Yonsei University
1996 Completed the 7th Women’s Top Management Program at
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
1995 Completed the 1st Advanced Leadership Program for
Women at Ewha Women’s University
Education
Ewha Women’s University
Date of Birth
March 26, 1947
Children
1 son and 3 daughters
Life Motto
Love your neighbors, do what needs to be done
with utmost devotion and be positive in all situations
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