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First Lady Kim Keon Hee Appears in Public After 169 Days: Here’s Why It Matters

Daniel Kim Views  

President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee are seen praying together at the Hoeamsa Sarira Lee Woon Memorial Cultural Festival and the Three Grand Sculptures Daryejae held at Hoeamsa Temple site in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on the 19th. Yonhap News
First Lady Kim Keon Hee is seen talking about traditional costumes with the wife of the Cambodian Prime Minister, Pich Chanmony, at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, on May 16, 2024. Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the “Hoeamsa Sarira Lee Woon Memorial Cultural Festival and the Three Grand Sculptures Daryejae” held at the Hoeamsa Temple site in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province on the 19th and congratulated this auspicious event for the Buddhist community.

In his speech, Yoon expressed joy that the sariras, which had been staying in a foreign country for nearly 100 years, have returned to their homeland, stating, “The returned sariras are precious national heritages that symbolize the authenticity of Korean Buddhism and its dharma lineage.”

Both Yoon and his wife attended the event. The Buddhist community had reportedly earnestly requested First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s attendance.

This is the first time Mrs. Kim has appeared in public in Korea since visiting the memorial altar for the late former president of Jogye Order, Jaseung, at Jogyesa Temple on December 2 last year, 169 days ago.

An official from the presidential office said, “The Jogye Order said that Mrs. Kim’s help was huge for the return of the sariras, and they conveyed their wish for Mrs. Kim to attend the event definitely.”

The event was held to commemorate the return of the sariras of Gaseopbul, Jeonggwangbul, Seokgabul, Naong Seonsa, and Jigong Seonsa (Three Buddhas and Two Patriarchs) to their original place from the Boston Museum of Art in the U.S. on ApriApril 16ter 100 years.

The returned sariras were initially enshrined in the Jigong Seonsa Sarira Pagoda at Hoeamsa Temple in Yangju. However, they were illegally exported during the Japanese colonial period and acquired by the Boston Museum of Art. In 2009, the North and South Buddhist communities adopted a joint agreement to return the sariras. They entered into return negotiations with the Boston Museum of Art, but the return discussions were halted after 2013.

Amid this, during Yoon’s state visit to the U.S. in April last year, First Lady Kim Keon Hee visited the Boston Museum of Art and requested the resumption of sarira return discussions. This resulted in the resumption of return discussions for the first time in 10 years, and last month, the Boston Museum of Art donated the saris to the Jogye Order, achieving their return to their original place.

Jinwoo, the president of the Jogye Order, thanked Yoon on the 15th, Buddha’s Birthday, when he visited Jogyesa Temple, saying, “The First Lady played a big role in the return of the sariras to their original place, such as actively requesting the Boston Museum of Art for the resumption of sarira return discussions, and we were able to bring them back.”

Daniel Kim
content@viewusglobal.com

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