During the G20 Summit in Germany, First Lady Kim Jung-sook attended various official events for the spouses of the heads of state and government. Known for her congeniality, First Lady Kim joined them in conversation covering a wide gamut of topics ranging from climate change and environmental issues to culture, arts and food.

On July 7, the First Lady visited the Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest port, at the invitation of Professor Joachim Sauer, the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She also attended a presentation session on climate change held at Hotel Atlantic Kempinski on the same day. In the evening, together with President Moon Jae-in, she joined other heads of state and government and their spouses in attending a classical music concert staged at the Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall). The next day on July 8, First Lady Kim joined a tour of Hamburg City Hall guided by Mayor Olaf Scholz.

First Lady Kim brought with her 30 pairs of mascot dolls, Soohorang and Bandabi, of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and, in her role as an honorary ambassador of the Games, she gave them out to those she met in Germany as a present.

During a boat tour of the Spouse Programme in Hamburg on July 7, First Lady Kim gave a pair to French First Lady Brigitte Macron while conversing about the upcoming winter Olympics. Speaking of her country`s efforts to win the bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the French First Lady said that the mascot dolls were likely to bring good luck to her country.

First Lady Kim promoted the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games at every opportunity during the official schedule. On July 8, after looking around Hamburg City Hall, the First Lady presented the Olympic mascots to Indonesia’s First Lady Iriana Widodo; Akie Abe, the wife of the Japanese Prime Minister; Ho Ching, the wife of the Singaporean Prime Minister; and Tran Nguyet Thu, the wife of the Vietnamese Prime Minister.

Earlier on July 5, after a meeting with German First Lady Elke Büdenbender at the presidential palace in Berlin, the Korean First Lady sent a pair of the mascots to her. When the employees of the hotel in Berlin, where she stayed, asked President Moon and the First Lady to take a picture together, she took out the mascots and held them while standing together with the employees, saying, “Let’s meet again in PyeongChang.”