35 foreign individuals to be awarded for promoting Korean culture

Foreign individuals who promote Korean culture on the global stage will be honored with an award by the Korean Culture and Information Service, affiliated with the Culture Ministry, at the 2023 K-wave Festival on Saturday.

The winners comprise a total of 35 individuals; eight outstanding Korea.net Honorary Reporters; eight K-influencer teams (nine individuals); eight winners of 2023's Talk Talk Korea, a global online contest of Korea-related content; and three winning teams (10 individuals) of the Korean Community Challenge, an online contest for Hallyu, or Korean wave, clubs.

The eight Honorary Reporters include Nathalie Fisz from France, who wrote about the common cultural interests of the two nations by interviewing Korean adoptees in France, as well as Korean and French artists.

Among the K-influencer awardees is Franco Gil from Venezuela. Gil has portrayed the appeal of South Korea's tourism through videos of Hallyu content such as K-pop music and dramas, as well as travel destinations within the country, the KOCIS said.

Fabian Alejandro from Colombia is among the winners of this year's Talk Talk Korea, while the Mexican crew Crisale has won the K-Community Challenge with their K-pop performances based on the Joseon era (1392-1910).

K-pop idol groups such as Secret Number, Limelight, Kard and iKon will also take the stage during the ceremony.

The award ceremony will feature an exhibition of 45 award-winning works from this year's Talk Talk Korea and 37 from previous contests in the lobby of the Daloreum Theater.

The 2023 K-wave Festival will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the National Theater of Korea's Daloreum Theater in central Seoul. Admission is free. Visitors can receive K-pop CDs with artist signatures and gift cards from the event organizer in a raffle.