First Lady Kim Hye-kyung walks with children after a Hope Cookies event for pediatric glycogen storage disease patients at Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin District, Seoul, on April 29. [Photo=Yonhap]
First Lady Kim Hye-kyung joined children with glycogen storage disease on April 29 to make cookies and deliver messages of encouragement.
Kim, the wife of President Lee Jae-myung, visited Children’s Grand Park in Seoul’s Gwangjin District and took part in a “Hope Cookies” baking activity with children living with the rare disease.
In a written briefing, presidential office deputy spokesperson Ahn Gui-ryeong said glycogen storage disease is a rare condition in which the body cannot properly break down glycogen, leading to repeated episodes of low blood sugar. She said Hope Cookies are a snack developed by parents of affected children by lowering the proportion of carbohydrates.
The event was arranged as a follow-up to a “communication event with rare disease patients and families” attended by the presidential couple on Dec. 24 last year. At that event, a parent of a child with the disease appealed for greater attention to rare illnesses and presented Hope Cookies to the president.
Kim said, “The story of Hope Cookies I heard on Christmas Eve stayed with me,” adding, “I really wanted to be part of making cookies that children with glycogen storage disease can eat without worry.”
Wearing an apron, she baked with the children and told them, “You’re doing so well. Did you practice before coming?”
She added that Hope Cookies “seem like a healthy snack that would be easy to make at home,” and said they would also go well as a late-night snack for the president. “My husband eats something at night, too, so it would be nice to make something like this for him,” she said.
While the cookies baked, Kim walked around the park with the children. Afterward, she tasted the finished cookies and exclaimed, “It’s delicious.”
Kim also introduced Jang Jun-woo, a student who entered Minjok Leadership Academy despite living with the disease, and told the children she hoped they would “grow up to be wonderful and healthy like Jun-woo.”
After the event, she gave participants Hope Cookies and gift packages. Ahn said Hope Cookies are also planned to be delivered on Children’s Day to pediatric patients who could not attend.
Ahn said the government is pursuing a plan to further lower the health insurance out-of-pocket rate for high-cost treatment for rare diseases from the current 10%, with implementation planned for the second half of this year after a vote by the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee.
Kim, the wife of President Lee Jae-myung, visited Children’s Grand Park in Seoul’s Gwangjin District and took part in a “Hope Cookies” baking activity with children living with the rare disease.
In a written briefing, presidential office deputy spokesperson Ahn Gui-ryeong said glycogen storage disease is a rare condition in which the body cannot properly break down glycogen, leading to repeated episodes of low blood sugar. She said Hope Cookies are a snack developed by parents of affected children by lowering the proportion of carbohydrates.
The event was arranged as a follow-up to a “communication event with rare disease patients and families” attended by the presidential couple on Dec. 24 last year. At that event, a parent of a child with the disease appealed for greater attention to rare illnesses and presented Hope Cookies to the president.
Kim said, “The story of Hope Cookies I heard on Christmas Eve stayed with me,” adding, “I really wanted to be part of making cookies that children with glycogen storage disease can eat without worry.”
Wearing an apron, she baked with the children and told them, “You’re doing so well. Did you practice before coming?”
She added that Hope Cookies “seem like a healthy snack that would be easy to make at home,” and said they would also go well as a late-night snack for the president. “My husband eats something at night, too, so it would be nice to make something like this for him,” she said.
While the cookies baked, Kim walked around the park with the children. Afterward, she tasted the finished cookies and exclaimed, “It’s delicious.”
Kim also introduced Jang Jun-woo, a student who entered Minjok Leadership Academy despite living with the disease, and told the children she hoped they would “grow up to be wonderful and healthy like Jun-woo.”
After the event, she gave participants Hope Cookies and gift packages. Ahn said Hope Cookies are also planned to be delivered on Children’s Day to pediatric patients who could not attend.
Ahn said the government is pursuing a plan to further lower the health insurance out-of-pocket rate for high-cost treatment for rare diseases from the current 10%, with implementation planned for the second half of this year after a vote by the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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