By Honorary Reporter Eftychia Dovletoglou from Greece

Photo = Eftychia Dovletoglou 

This K-button and certificate confirmed my appointment as a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. (Eftychia Dovletoglou)

This year, I applied to be an Honorary Reporter for Korea.net, and it was a magical year for me after I joined in April.

The lockdown due to the pandemic gave me more free time, and I used it to write articles that grew me wings, learn new things and practice research. I also enjoyed reading stories by other Honorary Reporters and learned from them.

Forming online friendships
In preparing to write articles, I loved to research topics and search for photos. The pictures allowed me to form online friendships. Another important thing was how I maintained contact with the people I interviewed for stories.

Holding interviews
I enjoy talking to inspiring people about their lives and achievements. I held 12 interviews this year, and the compliments I got from those I interviewed after they read the articles drove me to try harder. The interviewees included Korean War veteran from Greece Akrivos Tsolakis, Cypriot soccer player Valentinos Sielis, Greek actors Marilena Cavazi and Simeon Tsakiris, production assistant Franka Mavrides, Korean director Lim Wang-tae and Korean actor Cho Sun-chang.

I also talked to members of my Facebook page and asked them about their travels to and impressions of Korea. I also spoke to ethnic Korean residents of Greece and Cyprus and their lives there. And of course, I enjoyed the camaraderie I formed with fellow Honorary Reporters through our articles.

Receiving recognition
The prizes and gifts I got as rewards for my work motivated me. I received the popularity award from the event "K-healing On Festival 2020."

Old and new goals
I achieved the goals I set as an Honorary Reporter. One was to write an article with more than 12,000 views and over 1,000 likes, and I accomplished these objectives through "'The King: Eternal Monarch': Is it a success or failure?" My new goal is to have an article rank among the top six on Korea.net in the number of views and one that gets 10,000 views.

enny0611@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.