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President, first lady mark Children's Day with tour, activities with kids at Blue House

Published: 05 May. 2026, 16:34 Updated: 05 May. 2026, 16:39

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, make hearts with their hands as they take a commemorative photo with some 100 children from across the country at the main building of the Blue House compound in central Seoul to mark the 104th Children's Day on May 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Some 100 children flocked to the Blue House in central Seoul for a chance to tour the presidential premises and ask questions directly to President Lee Jae Myung in celebration of Children's Day on Tuesday.

Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung hosted some 200 children and their parents and guardians at the Blue House, giving them a tour of the main presidential building, a mock Cabinet meeting experience and a chance to enjoy outdoor craft activities and performances.

After taking commemorative photos, Lee convened a mock Cabinet meeting in the main presidential building, giving the children a chance to pretend to be ministers, and took questions directly from the kids.

President Lee Jae Myung, center, gives a group of children a tour of the Blue House in central Seoul to mark Children's Day on May 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Children from diverse backgrounds were invited to the event, including those from depopulated regions, foster care facilities, single-parent households and multicultural families. Children with disabilities and rare diseases, including those Lee and Kim met last year, and those living near the Blue House were also invited.

President Lee Jae Myung, center, hits the gavel giving children a mock Cabinet meeting experience at the Blue House in central Seoul to mark Children's Day on May 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

One child asked how to become president during the mock meeting.

"If you prepare well and work hard for the people and the country in your daily life and are recognized, you can become president," Lee said.

"When will unification happen?" another kid asked regarding the difficult issue of the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

"Depending on how things go, the timeline could take longer or it could happen sooner," Lee replied.

President Lee Jae Myung, third from left in the back row, takes questions from children at the Blue House in central Seoul to mark Children's Day on May 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Blue House, opened to the public under the previous administration, was closed off again after Lee moved the presidential office from Yongsan District in central Seoul back to the compound in December of last year.

The president, first lady and children later headed to Nokjiwon, the Blue House's garden, which was transformed into a playground for the day, featuring slides, a carousel and various booths to make key chains and cupcakes and get face painting designs.

President Lee Jae Myung, center, walks hand-in-hand with children to Nokjiwon, the garden on the Blue House compound in central Seoul, to mark Children's Day on May 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee and Kim made keycap key chains with several children, and also enjoyed face painting. Both the president and first lady got designs painted on the back of their hands; Lee sported artwork of Duffy, a supernatural tiger character from the award-winning Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" (2025).

Lee later held an impromptu signing session where children were able to tell the president their dreams — from rapper to artist as well as doctor, ice cream shop owner and president.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, makes keycap key chains with children at Nokjiwon, the garden in the Blue House compound, in central Seoul to mark Children's Day on May 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

One child told the president she had even composed a rap song herself.

To the kid who said he wanted to be president, Lee said, "The president's term is only five years."

"I will do my utmost to create a society where every day of the year feels like Children's Day," Lee wrote in a Facebook post later Tuesday.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]