South Korean First Lady wears Vietnamese ao dai

She had worn a dark navy dress to the ceremony, and changed to a green ao dai before leaving. This is believed to be the first time she has worn the traditional Vietnamese costume in public.

South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee leaves the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on June 23. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Kim, 51, graduated from Kyonggi University with an art degree before getting a master’s degree in art education and a doctorate in digital content design.

She married Yoon in 2012.

In a 2018 interview she said they had been friends for a long time before their marriage and mutual friends played "matchmakers."

South Korea's first lady Kim Keon-hee at a tea party on June 23, 2023. Photo courtesy of the World &Vietnam Report

Since Yoon became president, she has been in the limelight, according to Korea Times. When she accompanied him to a NATO summit in Spain last year, she had been dubbed a "fashionista" by many South Korean newspapers for her style.

Kang Jin-joo, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's image consultant, said: "Kim portrays the image of a classy, sophisticated, independent and professional woman [which is different from the previous first ladies of South Korea]."

Cho Jin-man, professor of Political Science at Duksung Women’s University in Seoul, said Kim is unique compared to her predecessors for her style, background, and character.

Yoon arrived in Hanoi Thursday with his wife for a three-day state visit at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart.