Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Seoul taps overseas students for grassroots global PR campaign
Overseas university students appointed to the inaugural Seoul Global Culture Crew participate in an online launch ceremony, Wednesday. Courtesy of the Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Jhoo Dong-chan
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is shifting its global public relations (PR) strategy away from expatriates and toward digital natives abroad, launching its inaugural Seoul Global Culture Crew initiative to turn overseas college students into cultural ambassadors.
The city held an online kickoff ceremony Wednesday for 13 selected undergraduates from SOAS University of London and Hungary's Eötvös Loránd University, all of whom are majoring in Korean studies. Unlike traditional municipal supporter programs that recruit foreign residents living in Korea, this pilot project taps students to generate localized, peer-to-peer buzz in their home countries.
The student correspondents will operate through October, producing monthly social media campaigns across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. By leveraging local perspectives, the city aims to showcase Seoul's culture, tourism and daily lifestyle trends with authentic regional nuance.
"The Seoul Global Culture Crew is a novel global PR program that introduces Seoul through the eyes of those living abroad," said Kim Tae-hee, director-general of Seoul’s Culture Bureau. "We plan to expand this into a sustainable international network by bringing in more countries."
The initiative has already yielded soft-launch content.
In May, participants produced 12 video projects under the theme "My Favorite Korean Culture." A British student documented a storytelling-driven journey through a Korean food festival in London, while a Hungarian student produced an essay-style feature exploring "jeong" — the uniquely Korean sentiment of deep, emotional attachment and community connection.
For June, the creators are tasked with designing and publishing customized ideal one-day itineraries for traveling in Seoul, with subsequent monthly assignments slated to cover themes like the city's nightlife and contemporary urban trends.
Following the initial rollout, Seoul officials plan to expand recruitment in the second half of the year, actively partnering with additional foreign universities and cultural institutions to build out a permanent, global youth network.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.