A follow-up article to last week’s top story, an interview with three cast members of a Netflix sitcom set in Korea, topped the Honorary Reporter chart in the third week of August. (Screenshot of Korea.net's Arabic-language section)

By Elias Molina, Lee Jae-eun, Kim Shinhyeong and Joung Haseung

A follow-up article to last week's top story, an interview with three cast members of a Netflix sitcom set in Korea, was the most-read Honorary Reporter story for the third week of August.

Honorary Reporter Alaa Atef Ebada from Egypt's original chat with the "So Not Worth It" cast was posted earlier this month in Arabic, English and Spanish, and the translations of the story in all three languages ranked high on the chart.   

The English-language version topped the list in the first week of August, while those in Arabic and Spanish ranked first and second, respectively, last week.

In this week's top story in Arabic, Ebada collected questions from fans of the sitcom and had the three actors give written answers.

Rounding out the top five were an article in English and three in Spanish. Third to fifth place were Spanish-language articles written by Honorary Reporters from Mexico. Among Korea.net's 3,432 Honorary Reporters from 105 countries, Mexico has the most with 553. 

Sixth to 10th on the list comprised two articles in English, one in Russian, one in Vietnamese and one in Japanese. Six of Korea.net's nine languages were thus evenly dispersed in this week's top 10. 

■ 3 foreign cast members dish on Netflix sitcom 'So Not Worth It': Part 2 (Alaa Atef Ebada from Egypt) in Arabic 

A follow-up interview with the three foreign cast members of "So Not Worth It" was the top Honorary Reporter article of this week. Unlike the English- and Spanish-language articles, this one in Arabic divided the interview into two parts. The first that was posted last week introduced the sitcom and its actors, while the second answered questions asked by fans through Twitter. 

On portraying an international student in Korea, American actor Carson Allen said, "Although I attended school in Korea, I didn't have the chance to have the full exchange student experience because I was working as a model and took a leave of absence," adding, "I felt like my co-stars were friends I would meet in college." 

■ Korean sapling donation drive for Turkey takes off (Sevval Yalcın from Turkey) 

Second place went to "Korean sapling donation drive for Turkey takes off" by Honorary Reporter Sevval Yalcın from Turkey in English. After Korea defeated Turkey in the women's volleyball semifinal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Koreans donated 120,000 saplings to Turkey in the name of Korea's captain Kim Yeon-koung, who also played in the Turkish pro league. The donation drive was for the people of Turkey in the wake of the country's severe wildfires.

Eyup Debik, chairman of the board of the Turkish non-profit Association of Solidarity of Environmental Organizations (CEKUD), said, "We would like to express our appreciation to Koreans who alleviated Turkey's sadness by donating saplings. As a token of our brotherhood, we have decided to establish a Turkey-Korea Friendship Forest. Our friendship will take root with hundreds of thousands of saplings."

■ Choga Seoul: Korean restaurant in Merida, Yucatan, spreads authentic Hansik taste (Yuliana Rosado Kin from Mexico) in Spanish

Honorary Reporter Yuliana Kin from Mexico (left), who is of Korean descent, poses with Oh Jae-koo, owner of the Korean restaurant Choga Seoul in Merida, Mexico. (Yuliana Kin) 

Third place went to a Spanish-language interview by Honorary Reporter from Mexico Yuliana Kin, a Mexican of Korean descent, with Oh Jae-koo, owner of the Korean restaurant Choga Seoul and the Korean grocery Choga Mart in Mexico. 

Opened two years ago in Merida in the Mexican state of Yucatan, the restaurant is now the area's most famous for Korean cuisine. The city is also where 1,033 Korean immigrants to Mexico landed in 1905. 

Oh said, "Our restaurant became famous because we make our own food such as kimchi or tofu." 

He said he set up Choga Mart after demand for Korean ingredients grew among ethnic Korean customers, adding that he wants to set up Merida's first Korean-style barbecue establishment to promote Hansik to locals. 

From left to right are the posters for the three dramas featured in an article by Honorary Reporters Verónica Zuniga Perez and Karla Chavez Camargo from Mexico: "Mr. Sunshine" (2018), "The Hymn of Death" (2018) and "Chicago Typewriter" (2017). (tvN and SBS) 

Dried yellow corvina is a popular gift in Korea. (iclickart) *[Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of the above photo is strictly prohibited under copyright laws and regulations.]

Fifth place went to a Spanish-language article on the variety of dried food in Korea like dried pollack, yellow dried pollack, dried cabbage, dried radish leaves and dried persimmon. Honorary Reporter Ivana Alzaga from Mexico wrote, "Like Korea, Mexico also used dried ingredients to make various dishes or chili sauce." 

She also described the importance of dried ingredients in the Korean diet and their benefits. 

eliasmolina@korea.kr