The Korea Times appoints students from 34 countries as global supporters

Students selected as honorary ambassadors pose during a kick-off ceremony for The Korea Times Global Supporters at the newspaper's headquarters in Jung District, Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

The Korea Times officially launched the fourth cohort of its Global Supporters program Friday, welcoming 50 students from 34 countries to serve as ambassadors for the English-language daily over the next six months.

More than 150 applicants competed for spots in this year's program, reflecting growing interest in the initiative. The final group represents a wide geographic spectrum, including Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, India, Korea, Russia, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, China, Myanmar, Germany, Australia, Finland, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Canada, Cambodia, Cameroon, Japan, Iran, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, El Salvador, Argentina, Armenia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Belarus, Bangladesh, the United States, Mongolia, Romania and Nepal.

The participants bring diverse levels of experience in Korea. Some have lived in the country for just two months as newly arrived international students, while others have resided here for more than a decade. Korean nationals are also part of the cohort.

Running until August, the six-month initiative aims to strengthen the paper's global engagement by leveraging students' networks and cross-cultural communication skills.

The Korea Times' Global Supporters attend a kick-off ceremony at the newspaper's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

During their term, the supporters will promote and participate in major events organized by The Korea Times, help amplify the newspaper's print and digital content and support outreach efforts for its YouTube channel, Howdy Korea.

Kaneko Kae, a master's student in Korean language education at Seoul National University, said she hopes the program will offer insight into how news articles are produced.

"Through this activity, I want to learn how newspaper articles are created and gain experience by working with people from various countries as part of the Global Supporters," she said.

Bambot Valentine Samgwa, a participant from Cameroon with five years of experience as a journalist, said he was drawn to the program as an opportunity to engage more closely with Korea's media environment.

"It's an honor to be selected as a supporter," he said. "Through the program, I hope to share my experience while also learning how Korean media communicates with its audiences."

Bambot Valentine Samgwa from Cameroon speaks during a kick-off ceremony for The Korea Times Global Supporters at the newspaper's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk