French Minister Fleur Pellerin began a highly anticipated visit Saturday to South Korea, the land of her birth, where her unusual success story is a source of public pride, admiration and curiosity, reprots GlobalPost.
Born in 1973 in Seoul and abandoned, Pellerin was adopted by a French couple six months later from an orphanage and moved to France. This is the first time she has ever returned to her homeland.
"On a personal level, it's true that I'm excited," Pellerin told the Korean-language Chosun Ilbo in an interview published before her arrival Saturday.
"I feel very proud to set foot in South Korea as a government minister of France," she added.
It is a working visit for Pellerin, the junior minister for small and medium enterprises, innovation, and the digital economy, who will meet President Park Geun-Hye, and top officials of major conglomerates Samsung and Hyundai.
Read more of this story from GlobalPost.