First Lady Kim Hye-kyung meets with Mindan Women's Association in Japan over tea: “I will remember your kindness for a long time”

[Financial News] First Lady Kim Hye-kyung invited members of the Korean Women's Association in Japan (Mindan Women's Association) to Cheong Wa Dae on the 10th for a tea gathering and said she would “remember their kindness for a long time,” thanking them for their efforts on behalf of their homeland and the Korean community in Japan.
Ahn Gwi-ryeong, deputy spokesperson for Cheong Wa Dae, said in a written briefing that day that First Lady Kim and the members of the Mindan Women's Association all attended the tea gathering wearing hanbok. Kim said, “For Korean residents in Japan, hanbok must have been a garment that wrapped around their longing for their homeland and quietly conveyed our roots and culture to their children and grandchildren.”
Kim said, “Today's Republic of Korea embodies the years and devotion of all of you, who built lives on unfamiliar soil while never letting go of your love for your homeland.” Son Mi-ja, chair of the central headquarters of the Mindan Women's Association, expressed her gratitude for being invited again this year after last year, saying, “Although we live in another country, we have never forgotten our homeland for a moment. We are carrying on our ethnic identity by learning our language and history.”
The Mindan Women's Association is a women's organization for Korean residents in Japan, established in 1949 under Mindan, the Korean Residents Union in Japan. It has worked throughout Japan to pass on the Korean language and traditional culture, nurture the next generation of Korean residents, and promote exchanges between Korean and Japanese women.
Kim Jeong-ja, an adviser to the central headquarters of the Mindan Women's Association, recalled the “10-yen-a-day fundraising campaign” that members voluntarily launched to help host the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, saying, “For us, our homeland was always in our hearts, even when it was far away.” Lee Yeong-mi, vice chair of the Tokyo regional headquarters and a third-generation Korean resident in Japan, said she learned Korean at her grandfather's urging, adding, “Korean is the most precious gift my grandfather left me.”
At the suggestion of Kim Chu-gang, a vice chair of the central headquarters who founded the “Mother's Choir” in Osaka in 1992, the attendees sang “Spring in My Hometown” together. As the song continued, First Lady Kim and some of the attendees teared up.
Kim said, “I hope this gathering will become a precious bridge connecting Korea and Japan, rather than ending with sharing a cup of tea,” adding, “I will do my best so that Korean residents in Japan can live with pride.”

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