By Honorary Reporter John Paul Vergonia from the Philippines

Photos and videos= Korea.net DB

The Honorary Reporter corps consist of wonderful and like-minded people like bloggers, content creators and social media influencers. All of them are united in their passion for Korea and seek to further promote its rich culture around the globe through their pens and lenses.

So how did this all start? How far has this program gone? What has been accomplished so far? Read on to learn about the humble beginnings of Honorary Reporters and their status today.

Small beginnings

In January 2011, the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, launched Korea.net's The Korea Blog (http://blog.korea.net) to sustain the global popularity of Hallyu. Korea.net is the official multi-language news site of the Korean government.

The Worldwide Korea Bloggers program was also launched to recruit influential writers and bloggers to provide their contributions. About 42 individuals from Korea and overseas were officially appointed on March 29, 2011, in Seoul as the charter group. In their first year, the bloggers contributed content in a broad range of subjects for the blog, which has attracted about 480,000 visitors.

In the second year of the project, 50 writers from countries such as the U.S., Canada, India, Hungary and the Philippines were selected as contributors to the blog. Such bloggers were tagged "cultural ambassadors of Korea" in their appointment ceremony on March 23, 2012, and started producing stories about Korea and its culture through features stories, photos and videos.

Every year, bloggers receive a certificate of appointment. In addition, those cited for exemplary contributions to and active participation in all KOCIS activities at the end of the term get the opportunity to earn an all-expense-paid trip to Korea. The highlights of activities that the second group of bloggers experienced in Korea that year included attending the K-pop TV show "KBS Music Bank," the news conference of rapper Psy and the 2012 Yeosu Expo, in addition to tours across and beyond the capital of Seoul.

The third group of about 50 bloggers was announced on May 31, 2013. In July the same year, their welcoming ceremony was held at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul, where they met the institute's director Yoon Sook-ja, and got to taste traditional Korean food. The blogs "Kimchi & Basil" by Honorary Reporter Vincenzo Acampora of Italy and "The Soul of Seoul" by Hallie Bradley of the U.S. are two of the blogs that made the cut.

On June 20, 2014, the fourth group was formed with 74 members comprised of 20 existing members and 54 new ones. Korea.net dubbed them as the "cultural bridge" that brings the world closer to Korea. "You bloggers are the real supporters and honorary ambassadors for Korea, as you are at the forefront of introducing and supporting our country," said then KOCIS Director Won Yong-gi at the group's welcoming ceremony. Their term ran from April 2014 to March 2015.

Significant transition

In November 2015, KOCIS changed the Worldwide Korea Bloggers program into Honorary Reporters, giving the former a broader scope under the same objective. The organization further expanded the Honorary Reporters program, which had 76 individuals of 29 nationalities who could contribute to not just The Korea Blog and Korea.net, but also on Korea Clickers, the official Facebook page of Korea.net.

In the same year, Korea.net also had applicants choose three areas of expertise -- written content, photography and/or video. The fifth group of Honorary Reporters -- myself included -- was formally inducted on Dec. 11 that year at the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul. While studying the Korean language and volunteering at the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, I applied and was accepted as an Honorary Reporter.

The Korea Blog was moved from Korea.net to a new blogging platform in late 2015. Additionally, KOCIS added a manager in charge of Honorary Reporters.

Honorary Reporters also frequently covered major events and activities in Korea such as the annual Busan International Film Festival and a three-day trip to Dokdo Island jointly organized by KOCIS and the Northeast Asian History Foundation. Leading Honorary Reporters also got the opportunity to travel to Korea for a week-long cultural tour in October 2016 from Seoul to the southern port cities of Busan and Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

Growth in prominence

The sixth group of Honorary Reporters worked from late 2016 to 2017. A combined 149 reporters attended the induction ceremony on Dec. 16, 2016, at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul and Korea.net broadcast the event live on its official Facebook page in a first of its kind.

2018 saw the seventh group of 270 members from 55 countries, and they were asked to write content on certain topics under a new collaborative project series. The first in the series was about "touching stories in our own communities." 

The year was both tough and productive year for Honorary Reporters as they covered sensitive social issues and intriguing topics but they also had beautiful and inspiring stories of Korea to tell. In January 2018, they visited the host venues of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics that ran from Feb. 9-25 that year to promote both events.

In addition, Honorary Reporters covered the inter-Korean summit on April 27, 2018. In the piece "Hope for a new future" by Elena Kubitzki from Germany, she wrote about the possible reunification of the two Koreas by discussing the German experience in 1990 from her own perspective.

In May 2018, KOCIS produced a video featuring Honorary Reporters to mark the first anniversary of President Moon's term, sharing their most impressive moments of the past year and congratulatory messages. 

Growing as a team

Besides contributing content for Korea.net, Honorary Reporters can have their write-ups published in Korea.net's monthly magazine Korea. They were also invited to a live national TV interview by leading Korean media outlets, interviewed by Korea.net for exclusive features and appeared on HANAGo, a video series on Korea.net's official YouTube channel.

Where are we now

In 2019, the eighth group of Honorary Reporters was the biggest in their history at 591 from 73 countries. Under the slogan "Show your Korea," their induction ceremony was not only held in Korea but also in other countries. Through KCCs abroad, the induction ceremony was held simultaneously on May 20, 2019, or earlier in Mexico, Indonesia, Argentina, India, Spain, Egypt and Nigeria. In Seoul, Cheong Wa Dae hosted the ceremony sporting an official brand logo designed by Russian Honorary Reporter Victoria Shangina. The new recruits got to meet first lady Kim Jung-sook and received gifts from the presidential office.

Honorary Reporters saw another milestone as their articles got their own space in the news section of Korea.net. In September last year, Korea.net launched a web portal for the annual Korean content contest Talk Talk Korea (www.korea.net/TalkTalkKorea/English/community) to allow Honorary Reporters to promote teamwork, raise competence, and ease article submission for review and posting.

A proud moment for the community came when Honorary Reporter Majid Mushtaq from Pakistan in November last year received honorary citizenship from the city of Seoul in November last year. "Getting honorary citizenship from the city of Seoul is a moment I will always feel proud of and an honor I will cherish for life," he said in an article posted on Korea.net.

Honorary Reporters have also had opportunities to participate, attend and cover national events and major summits like the FINA World Aquatics Championship in Gwangju, the International Youth Forum in Seoul, the Korea.net-sponsored content competition Talk Talk Korea, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-Korea Train, the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan and Korea Grand Sale.

Fulfilling experience

Having been an Honorary Reporter for four years, I consider the growth of this program a testament to the work of everyone who made it a success. Being part of this family has been a highly rewarding experience.

Korea.net is recruiting its ninth group of Honorary Reporters who will start contributing from March. I invite every fan of Korea worldwide to join this growing family and help promote Korea to the world.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.