Friends of Korea returns to correct misinformation

Friends of Korea participants attend the kickoff ceremony for its 18th session in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Friends of Korea, a group of Korean and international volunteers dedicated to correcting misinformation about Korea both online and offline, returns for its 18th session.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the initiative aims to identify and respond to false or misleading information about Korea across global platforms.

"With the rise of Korean-related content, misinformation is also growing," a culture ministry official said in a statement ahead of the kickoff ceremony Tuesday. "That's where Friends of Korea steps in — [to] eliminate incorrection information."

French TV personality Fabien Corbineau delivered a speech during the launch ceremony — livestreamed for members overseas, sharing his personal experiences and highlighting the importance of accurately sharing Korean culture with the world.

This session includes 35 participants from 15 countries, including 27 Koreans and eight non-Koreans. The members, many of whom are based abroad in countries such as the United States, France, Germany and Turkey and speak diverse languages, including Persian, Hungarian and Estonian, will monitor online and offline content in their respective regions and languages until the end of July.

The ministry will review their reports and take appropriate action to correct the information.

Since the project was launched in 2013, 670 members made contributions to almost 12,000 corrections.

Most participants begin with a level of knowledge about Korea, including the Korean language, and the culture ministry offers classes to help them develop their expertise.