Korea Times welcomes new cohort of Global Supporters

Newly selected student ambassadors pose for a commemorative photo during a kick-off ceremony for The Korea Times Global Supporters at the newspaper's headquarters in Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Baek Byung-yeul

• Published Sep 1, 2026 2:22 PM KST
• Updated Sep 1, 2026 2:43 PM KST

The Korea Times officially launched the latest cohort of its Global Supporters program on Monday, welcoming 50 students from 41 countries to serve as ambassadors for the English-language daily over the next six months.

The program drew record interest, with 281 applicants from 44 countries competing for spots. Applicants were selected based on their social media activity, self-introductions and motivation.

The group represents a wide geographic spectrum, spanning 41 countries including France, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, China, India, the United States, Vietnam and Russia. Running through February, the supporters will participate in major events hosted by the newspaper, promote its content and create digital material. The Korea Times launched the program in 2021 in an effort to reach out to prospective readers and to engage with existing readership.

During the appointment ceremony held at the newspaper's headquarters in Seoul, Oh Young-jin, president and publisher of The Korea Times, offered a warm welcome to the new members and emphasized long-term engagement.

"We welcome you all to The Korea Times family," Oh said. "This is not just a program that ends in six months. We plan to build a lasting network together, including an alumni event later this year. We hope you enjoy your time with us, and we will fully support your activities."

Participants expressed excitement about using their unique backgrounds to expand the paper's reach.

Qin Shanshan, a Chinese graduate student at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies, shared her plan to connect with audiences back home.

"I applied because I am very interested in Korean culture and society," Qin said. "Since Instagram is not widely accessible in China, I plan to translate my experiences here into Chinese and share them on Chinese social media platforms."

Prior to the launch of the new group, the newspaper held a completion ceremony on the same day for 38 supporters from 27 countries who finished the previous program.