South Korean officials have carefully choreographed nearly every moment of Friday’s summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and each piece of furniture, carpeting and artwork has been selected to convey deep meaning.
The historic meeting, on the South Korean side of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, will begin shortly before 10 a.m. local time. Kim and his entourage will be met by a South Korean honor guard and escorted to the Peace House, where they are expected to discuss inter-Korean relations and negotiate the groundwork to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
Inside, South Korea said it has spared no expense to give meaning to every object in sight. The “symbolic spaces have been designed to quietly speak to the leaders of the two Koreas as they come together during this historic event,” Moon’s government said in press briefing material.
Kim will be seated at a specially made table exactly 2,018 millimeters wide, “symbolizing the year the historic summit is being held,” the briefing statement said. The table’s oval shape is “to help bridge the psychological distance” between the two Koreas.
“It is also intended to promote candid, heart-to-heart discussions among officials from both sides sitting around the oval table,” the statement said.
Carpets have been carefully selected as well. Blue carpet in a second-floor conference room “represents aspirations for a brighter, more peaceful future.” Green in a third-floor banquet room “evokes the freshness of a barley field in late spring.”
A sofa in another area is emblazoned with the Korean Unification Flag, a reception area has been designed to mimic a traditional Korean home, and all of the furniture has been crafted from walnut, which is not “prone to bending and warping over time.”
“The wood has been chosen to wish that inter-Korean relations would remain unwavering on the basis of mutual trust,” according to the statement.
After the first round of meetings, Kim and Moon will jointly plant a pine tree, which the statement said “stands for peace and prosperity,” on the military demarcation line between the two countries.
Later, the two leaders will dine on a tasting menu that’s also stuffed with significance.
The meeting will be a significant moment in thawing tensions on the Korean peninsula, and is intended to lay the groundwork for an upcoming summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has said the pair will meet sometime in May or June, although the details have yet to be announced.
Experts have said Kim is likely to be cautious during Friday’s meeting and doubt that Pyongyang will agree to completely give up its nuclear weapons, even under the right conditions. The Washington Post notes that some analysts are worried that an honor guard to welcome Kim would grant his regime long-sought legitimacy.
Moon, however, remains optimistic.
“We are at the crossroads where it will be decided whether denuclearization and permanent peace is possible by peaceful — not by military — means,” the South Korean leader told reporters on Monday.