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| ▲ The 2025 National Brand-Up Exhibition, hosted by Yonhap News Agency and VANK, opens on Feb. 20, 2025, at the underground walkway of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- The 2025 National Brand-Up Exhibition opened on Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, highlighting the importance of digital media diplomacy and correcting distortions of K-culture caused by artificial intelligence (AI).
Co-hosted by the cyber diplomatic organization VANK and Yonhap News Agency under the theme "We Are the Digital Diplomatic Delegation," the event is being held at the underground walkway of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, until the 25th.
The exhibition is supported by the National Heritage Administration, with the National Museum of Korea providing the venue.
The opening ceremony in the afternoon was attended by key figures, including Yonhap News Agency CEO Hwang Dae-il and executive director Kim Jae-hong, VANK director Park Ki-tae and National Hangeul Museum director Kang Jung-won. Also among the distinguished guests were Chae Soo-hee, director of the Overseas Promotion Policy Bureau at the culture ministry, Samsung Publishing Museum director Kim Jong-kyu, as well as Kim Ji-sung, secretary-general of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage, and singer Kim Jang-hoon, a VANK honorary ambassador.
In his opening remarks, Yonhap CEO Hwang Dae-il stated, "The global enthusiasm for K-pop, K-dramas, and K-movies is now expanding across all aspects of Korean culture, but distorted information generated by AI threatens even cultural sovereignty. It is time to let the world know that Korea’s rise as an economic and cultural powerhouse is not a miraculous coincidence but the result of its inherent strength."
He further pledged, "Yonhap News Agency will continue to work with VANK to protect information sovereignty by actively promoting accurate information about Korea and spreading Korean culture worldwide."
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| ▲ Yonhap News Agency CEO Hwang Dae-il delivers the opening speech during the opening ceremony of the 2025 National Brand-Up Exhibition on Feb. 20, 2025, at the underground walkway of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. (Yonhap) |
VANK director Park Ki-tae, in his welcoming speech, emphasized, "Every year, VANK trains about 2,000 civilian diplomats to lead efforts in promoting Korea worldwide. If the youth public diplomacy ambassadors inaugurated today take the lead in presenting Korea’s true image, the nation’s international standing will rise dramatically."
The exhibition highlights how, despite the growing global interest in Korea—with over 200 million Hallyu fans worldwide—Korean heritage, traditions, and achievements are often inaccurately conveyed. In particular, some data collected by generative AI have become channels for spreading distorted information about Korea, posing a threat to both cultural and territorial sovereignty.
The exhibition showcases major cases of misinformation, including AI-generated inaccuracies about Dokdo, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Hanbok, Kimchi, Seokguram Grotto, and Cheomseongdae, and aims to correct them.
The event also honors independence activists who brought Korea’s struggles and aspirations to the world during Japanese colonial rule. Figures such as Homer Hulbert, a staunch advocate for Korean independence, and Hague emissaries Lee Sang-seol, Yi Jun, and Yi Wi-jong, as well as An Jung-geun, Ju Si-gyeong, Shin Chae-ho, and Ahn Chang-ho, are recognized as "ambassadors for Korea," with detailed presentations of their contributions.
The exhibition also features digital platforms where visitors can experience Korea’s cultural heritage, historical figures, and major diplomatic initiatives. It includes exhibitions on Korea’s independence activists, foreign supporters of the independence movement, VANK’s global Korean promotion ambassadors, the 7 million Korean diaspora worldwide, the Global Climate Ambassadors School, the Jikji document, and Dokdo. These exhibits have been recreated in the metaverse on ZEP, Korea’s leading metaverse platform.
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| ▲ Visitors explore examples of digital media diplomacy at the 2025 National Brand-Up Exhibition, held on Feb. 20, 2025, at the underground walkway of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. (Yonhap) |
VANK’s digital diplomatic activities are also introduced, showcasing how the organization connects with global audiences, discovers historical Hallyu stars, and builds digital cultural centers and embassies to promote Korea. Every year, approximately 2,000 young people participate as digital diplomats, engaging in initiatives across history, culture, tourism, diplomacy, and education to directly plan and implement policies that shape Korea’s future.
The exhibition also highlights the role of Yonhap News Agency in safeguarding Korea’s information sovereignty. Yonhap has signed news exchange agreements with 96 news agencies across 81 countries and operates an extensive global news network, leading media diplomacy efforts worldwide.
Singer Kim Jang-hoon, who has attended and actively promoted this event for the past 14 years, recalled, "Twenty years ago, only 30% of international maps labeled the East Sea correctly, but thanks to VANK and the youth public diplomacy ambassadors, we raised that figure to 40%. With Korea’s national brand now stronger than ever due to Hallyu, I urge you to confidently promote our country to the world."
A special photo zone within the exhibition introduces the executive members of the Korean Provisional Government as of October 1919.
Earlier in the morning, the inauguration ceremony for the 12th class of youth public diplomacy ambassadors, jointly selected by VANK and Yonhap News Agency, took place. Seventy-seven middle school, high school, and university students were appointed as public diplomacy ambassadors and will spend the next month correcting distorted representations of Korean history and culture in digital media while proposing effective public diplomacy policies.
visitors explore examples of digital media diplomacy at the 2025 national brand-up exhibition, held on february 20, 2025, at the underground walkway of the national museum of korea in yongsan, seoul. (yonhap)
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