Going behind the scenes of the inter-Korean summit with Hwang Hojun (PART2)
- 6 years ago
2018 정상회담, 그 뒷 이야기(PART2)
Making sure the summit isn't just left as a political stunt,... but a true start of the reconciliation process.
Hojun, you were our go-to person on summit related updates.
We've dissected enough of the core topics, like the panmunjom declaration... so now, do enlighten us with some behind the scene stories.
Let's start with this.
What was President Moon's impression of his North Korean counterpart?
H: Well, according to a Blue House key official,.... President Moon described Kim Jong-un as straightforward yet polite.
So, here in Korea,.. age and seniority is a big part of determining social norms and ettiquete.
When the two leaders and their wives were about to get on the elevator to head to the third floor of the Peace House for the welcoming dinner,... Kim gestured President Moon to go in the elevator first and when Ri Sol-ju, Kim's wife, was about to enter,... he gently took her hand,... making sure South Korea's first lady Kim Jung-sook could enter first.
And if you remember,... During the ceremonial tree planting,...when President Moon and Kim Jong-un shoveled soil over the tree's roots,.... that soil had been collected from Halla-san Mountain in the South and Baekdu-san Mountain in the North,.... both very symbolic mountains representing the two sides.
But Baekdu-san Mountain is a volcano and entirely covered in volcanic ash without much soil.
So apparently, to get the dirt,... North Korean officials had to pull up handfuls of a specific type of grass, roots and all, that grows on the high altitudes of the mountain and they literally shook the dirt from the roots.
Making sure the summit isn't just left as a political stunt,... but a true start of the reconciliation process.
Hojun, you were our go-to person on summit related updates.
We've dissected enough of the core topics, like the panmunjom declaration... so now, do enlighten us with some behind the scene stories.
Let's start with this.
What was President Moon's impression of his North Korean counterpart?
H: Well, according to a Blue House key official,.... President Moon described Kim Jong-un as straightforward yet polite.
So, here in Korea,.. age and seniority is a big part of determining social norms and ettiquete.
When the two leaders and their wives were about to get on the elevator to head to the third floor of the Peace House for the welcoming dinner,... Kim gestured President Moon to go in the elevator first and when Ri Sol-ju, Kim's wife, was about to enter,... he gently took her hand,... making sure South Korea's first lady Kim Jung-sook could enter first.
And if you remember,... During the ceremonial tree planting,...when President Moon and Kim Jong-un shoveled soil over the tree's roots,.... that soil had been collected from Halla-san Mountain in the South and Baekdu-san Mountain in the North,.... both very symbolic mountains representing the two sides.
But Baekdu-san Mountain is a volcano and entirely covered in volcanic ash without much soil.
So apparently, to get the dirt,... North Korean officials had to pull up handfuls of a specific type of grass, roots and all, that grows on the high altitudes of the mountain and they literally shook the dirt from the roots.