UNJournal Jon Lee | First Lady Kim Keon-hee attended the “Children Drawing Hope: Ukrainian Children's Art Exhibition' at the Blue House on May 21.
The exhibition was initiated by Mrs. Olena Zelenska, who visited South Korea in May last year as a special envoy of the President of Ukraine, when she met with Mrs. Kim at the Yongsan Presidential Office and asked for support for the Ukrainians.
Two months later, in July, Mrs. Kim was so impressed by Ukrainian children's artwork at the NATO Heads of State Spouses Program at the Lithuanian Ukraine Center that she promised to organize an exhibition in South Korea at Mrs. Zelenska's urging during her visit to Ukraine a few days later.
Although there were many difficulties in cooperating with Ukraine during the war, the strong will of the two first ladies and the efforts of the relevant organizations in both countries made the exhibition a success.
“I don't know how many of you here have experienced the war firsthand, but in Ukraine, children like our angels live in fear every day, and suddenly there are explosions in their playgrounds or schools,” Mrs. Kim said in her greeting, adding, “I actually felt the war that I had only seen in videos, and I was able to feel it while visiting Ukraine.”
“Mrs. Zelenska said that the war is destroying not only Ukraine's history and culture, but also its rare wildlife and plants, and that she strongly requested the First Lady of Korea, who is an animal lover and has worked on cultural affairs, to share the horrors of the war in Korea,” Kim said, adding, “I hope that we, as human beings, can share and feel the need for respect for life and peace.”
“A child at a children's protection center in Ukraine put a sticker of Patron, a landmine detection dog, on the back of my hand and told me about the war,” Kim concluded, adding that her heartbreaking memory is of Mrs. Zelenska's words: “Please protect our dying children and animals. I hope this will give us all a chance to reflect on the meaning of respect for life and world peace,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, in a video message, the First Lady of Ukraine thanked Ms. Kim Keon-hee, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, the Embassy of Ukraine in Seoul, and all those involved in organizing the exhibition of Ukrainian children's artwork in South Korea, saying that the visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to Ukraine in July last year was a sign of friendship and solidarity.
“I wish that the message of hope shown by the Ukrainian children's paintings will blossom into world peace,” Mrs. Kim wrote on the stationery labeled “Children Drawing Hope. After writing the message, Kim posed for a photo with the children, wishing them happiness, health, and hope.
Afterward, Kim and the Ukrainian child sitting next to her viewed a drawing of Patron, a landmine detection dog. Patron is a hero of Ukrainian children who was awarded the Order of Merit by Ukrainian President Zelensky for his landmine detection work during the Ukrainian war, finding over 200 explosive devices.
As children are dying after stepping on buried mines while playing in playgrounds, mine detection dogs like Patron are among the first to be killed as they enter playgrounds to detect mines.
Today's event was attended by Ukrainian exhibition officials, including Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko and his wife, Byung-Oh Choi and Eun-Sun Kim, vice chairpersons of the Korean Committee for UNICEF, as well as actress So You-jin, a PR ambassador, and 10 international children, including Ukrainian children.
'Children Drawing Hope: Ukrainian Children's Art Exhibition' is designed to highlight the harmful effects of war on future generations through children's artwork, and will be held from May 1 to June 3 at the Briefing Room on the second floor of the Cheong Wa Dae's Chunchugwan.
The exhibition will feature 155 works of art by children who have lived through the war on war and hope, and will also include an interactive corner where visitors can create peace postcards to send to children in Ukraine.
