After 20 years in Korea, former ‘Global Talk Show’ star Eva Popiel becomes a Korean citizen

Eva Popiel / Captured from Popiel's social media

British-born broadcaster Eva Popiel, widely known to Korean audiences from the hit talk show “Global Talk Show,” has officially become a Korean citizen after nearly two decades in the country.

On Tuesday, Popiel shared the news on social media, posting several photos from her naturalization certificate ceremony along with the message, "Finally. Thank you!"

The photos show the television personality attending a ceremony where she received her Korean nationality certificate, marking the completion of a long naturalization process. Fans and fellow celebrities flooded her posts with congratulatory messages.

Popiel had previously revealed that she passed her naturalization interview last year after receiving a notification from Korea’s immigration authority under the Ministry of Justice.

Born in 1981 to a British father and a Japanese mother, Popiel originally held dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and Japan but later chose British nationality.

She first came to Korea in 2005 as an international student. A year later, she made her entertainment debut through the variety program “Super Junior’s Full House,” gaining broader recognition after appearing on the popular KBS talk show “Global Talk Show,” also widely known by its Korean title “Misuda.”

The program, which featured foreign national women discussing Korean culture and society, became a major television hit in the late 2000s and helped introduce Popiel to the public.

Popiel married a Korean man two years younger than her in 2010. The couple now has two sons. After years of living in Korea on permanent residency, she had publicly shared that she was preparing for naturalization, drawing attention from fans who had followed her long career in the country.

She currently appears on the SBS sports entertainment show “Kick a Goal,” a popular program where female celebrities compete in amateur soccer leagues.

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.