Second Lady Karen Pence Visits Korean Hospital as 'One Day' Art Therapist | Be Korea-savvy

Second Lady Karen Pence Visits Korean Hospital as ‘One Day’ Art Therapist


karen pence

SEOUL, April 18 (Korea Bizwire) – While Vice President Mike Pence visited the Demilitarized Zone to highlight the commitment of the U.S. to the security of the Korean Peninsula on Monday, the second lady, Karen Pence, visited Severance Children’s Hospital in Seoul as a daily art therapist. 

Mrs. Pence wore a name tag that read “Art Therapist,” as she attended to six children – fighting brain tumors, systemic rheumatoid arthritis and moyamoya disease – with her 25-year experience as a former elementary school teacher. 

The second lady is also a painter, and serves as an honorary chair of the Art Therapy Initiative at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Monday’s visit, in which she was accompanied by her daughter Charlotte, was requested by Mrs. Pence herself who wished to see firsthand a local art therapy session for children. 

“Art has the power to heal the body and soul of these children. I pray for their speedy return to health,” Mrs. Pence was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

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(UPDATE: The article was edited at 21:58, April 20th)

(Yonhap)

5 thoughts on “Second Lady Karen Pence Visits Korean Hospital as ‘One Day’ Art Therapist

    • Lily

      Mrs. Pence knows she’s not an art therapist and this is consistent in the American media. For example, see: https://apnews.com/3ef2bebfbc214a41ac9362392a51bf9a “She (Mrs. Pence) has a master’s degree in art education, but learned that art therapy “wasn’t even something that I would be qualified to do.”” And: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NImS3RVIcg Instead, consider this report from a cultural perspective – the article headline states that she visited the hospital, “as ‘One Day’ Art Therapist” – which suggests they were simply issuing her an honorary title for her official visit as the spouse of a visiting vice-head of state. Given this, I think that giving Mrs. Pence the benefit of the doubt is in order.

      Reply
  1. Barbara

    She is not qualified to call herself and art therapist. This is an insult to the many articles therapists who are credentialed

    Reply

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