By Cao Thi Ha
Photo and video = Korean Culture and Information Service

Foreign influencers whose content promotes Korea will gather in Seoul this weekend.

The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on Nov. 2 said it will jointly host this year's K-Wave Festival on Nov. 4 with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange at Daloreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea in Seoul's Jung-gu District.

The event will honor and encourage those promoting Korea through articles and videos. The winners will comprise eight outstanding Korea.net Honorary Reporters; eight K-influencer teams (nine people); eight winners of this year's Talk Talk Korea, a global online contest of Korea-related content; and three winning teams (10 people) from the K-Community Challenge, an online contest for Hallyu clubs.

The eight Honorary Reporters this year include Nathalie Fisz from France, who covered areas of common cultural interest of both countries by interviewing Korean adoptees in France and Korean and French artists. 

Among the K-influencer honorees is Franco Gil from Venezuela, who promotes tourism in Korea through videos of Hallyu content like music and dramas and travel within the country. 

Fabian Alejandro from Colombia is among the winners of this year's Talk Talk Korea, as his sensory video that reproduces K-pop since the 1990s was named the top entry. The Mexican team Crisale won the K-Community Challenge in the Joseon pop category.

The latter competition's three winning teams will perform on stage as well as K-pop acts like SECRET NUMBER, LIMELIGHT, KARD and iKON to provide an enriching experience for foreign promotional ambassadors of Korea.

An exhibition at the lobby of Daloreum Theater will display 45 winning entries from this year's Talk Talk Korea and 37 from the contest in previous years.

This year's K-Wave Festival will be livestreamed on the official YouTube channels of Korea.net (www.youtube.com/@GatewayToKorea) and the K-Community Festival (www.youtube.com/@kcommunityfestival).

"We are glad to show the activities of activists for Korea who have shared their passion for Korean culture over a year with people worldwide," KOCIS Director Kim Jangho said. "KOCIS will keep actively supporting the activities of Korean culture promoters." 

shinn11@korea.kr