Over 2,100 people from 104 countries have joined the Korea.net Honorary Reporters program this year. Pictured here are members of last year's recruiting class at their induction ceremony on May 20 at Cheong Wa Dae.

By Lee Hana

Photos = Korea.net DB

Korea.net's Honorary Reporters program has added this year a record-high 2,154 members from 104 countries.

The reporters will promote and spread news about Korean culture, society and history through articles, photos and videos in nine languages on Korea.net's website and social media channels. The program is run by the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 

This year saw a surge in the number of applicants from Southeast Asia, a region playing a pivotal role in the New Southern Policy of the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration. The program added 203 applicants from Indonesia, 115 from the Philippines and 50 from Vietnam.

Countries associated with the administration's New Northern Policy also joined the group, with 79 additions from Russia, 21 from Mongolia, five from Kyrgyzstan and two from Azerbaijan. 

Egypt (247) and Mexico (243) had the most new applicants this year. The program also welcomed its first members from Mauritius, Madagascar, Cypress and Georgia.

A group of Korea.net's Honorary Reporters pose in November 2019 at a cooking class in Busan.

Among the incoming group are a number of experienced content creators.

Mourigal Baptiste from France is a reporter for Lucarne Opposée, a French soccer magazine, while Zara Poghosyan from Armenia said she will use her experience as a video producer for Al Jazeera to create video content showcasing Korean culture.

Mélanie Phommaxay from Belgium introduces K-pop choreography on her YouTube channel, which has over 110,000 subscribers, Patricio Encalada from Mexico shares Korea-related content with her 44,290 Instagram followers, and Delima Juni from Indonesia boasts 34,631 Instagram followers. 

KOCIS Director Kim Tae-hoon said, "I hope this year's Honorary Reporter recruits will play an active role in sharing our culture with more people around the world, while broadening global understanding of Korea and Korean culture." 

hlee10@korea.kr