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South Korean first lady accused of ‘poverty porn’ in photo ‘emulating Audrey Hepburn’
Nicola Smith
Tue, 15 November 2022 at 2:03 pm·2-min read
In this article:
Audrey Hepburn
British actress and humanitarian (1929-1993)
Picture of Kim Keon-hee is compared to a shot of Audrey Hepburn in Somalia in 1992 - Courtesy of presidential office, captured from Unicef Facebook
South Korea’s first lady has been accused of mimicking Audrey Hepburn and using a sick child in Cambodia as “poverty porn” for her own image.
Photos of Kim Keon-hee holding a gaunt young boy with a heart condition and comforting his family at their home were released over the weekend by the presidential office while she was accompanying her husband Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean president, in Phnom Penh at a meeting of Asian leaders.
One picture of Ms Kim wearing a short sleeved black shirt and white trousers while carrying the boy in her arms was immediately compared to a shot of Ms Hepburn in Somalia in 1992, when she held on to a starving child at a Unicef feeding centre and stared into the distance.
Korean opposition politicians immediately seized on the chance to criticise Ms Kim for acting like a celebrity and questioned her motives.
Kim Keon-hee holds a gaunt young boy with a heart condition at his family home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Office of the President of South Korea
Kim Yong-min of the main opposition Democratic Party wrote on Facebook. “I hope you do away with the wickedness of using people in pain as decorations,” he said, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Jang Kyung-tae, another opposition politician, accused the presidential office of creating “poverty porn”, meaning actions which exploit the needy for gain.
But members of the ruling People Power Party, called the criticism “ridiculous” and defended Ms Kim for doing her job.
“Rather than a first lady acting like a tourist, a first lady who visits neighbours in difficult situations and volunteers for them like Audrey Hepburn is a hundred times, thousand times better,” said Kim Ki-hyeon, a PPP representative.
Kim Keon-hee holds boy - Office of the President of South Korea
Ms Kim has come under intense scrutiny in Korea’s boisterous political scene, where the opposition have frequently accused her of generating controversy and stealing the limelight from her husband. Her sharp sense of fashion has on occasion been portrayed in a negative light.
During the presidential election campaign last year, she apologised for “exaggerations” in previous job applications that came to light.
Her supporters say she has been made a scapegoat to attack Mr Yoon, who has suffered low popularity ratings since entering office this year. He has previously accused critics of misogyny for their focus on his wife’s looks.
