Dutch State Visit to South Korea

After their arrival in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday November 2, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima started a two-day State Visit on Monday November 3.

The visit began in the morning when the Royal Couple went to the Seoul National Cemetery where they laid a wreath and burned incense at the Memorial Tower. The King and Queen were greeted by three South Korean veterans.

Then the Dutch King and Queen were welcomed by the South Korean President Park Geun-Hye at the Presidential Palace Cheong Wa Dae, the Blue House. King Willem-Alexander inspected the guard of honor. Following the welcoming ceremony, an audience took place inside the Palace, during which were signed several cooperation agreements.

The last event of the morning was a visit to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty. Built in 1935, it is situated in the center of Seoul. In the afternoon the King and the Queen went to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a new cultural design center where they opened a traveling exhibition of the works of the finalists of the prestigious Dutch Design Awards. At the Dongguk University the Royl Couple attended a seminar about creative economy.

The fist day of the visit ended with a State Banquet hosted by President Park. In his speech, King Willem-Alexander expressed his pleasure for being the first Dutch Head of State to visit Korea. He also praised the Republic of Korea in “succeeding after a period of fierce battle, chaos and violence to rise to a situation of stability, peace and broadly shared prosperity.”

In the morning Queen Maxima wore a new dress with a touch of green on the top and a sand-colored skirt from Dutch designer Matthijs van Bergen. The Queen added turban-style headwear and Gianvito Rossi gold pumps. For the evening Queen Maxima wore a new cocktail dress in green and gold with a big bow on the left of the neckline from Jan Taminiau.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, President Park of South Korea, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, South Korea, State Visit.

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