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| Actor O Yeong-su, left, and dancer Monika, center, pose with Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon in Seoul, Monday, after being appointed honorary ambassadors to promote Korea's performing arts. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism |
By Kim Rahn
Actor O Yeong-su and dancer Monika have been named honorary ambassadors to promote the nation's performing arts.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Monday, gave the honorary positions to O to promote performing arts-centered tourism, and to Monika to promote the 2022 Welcome Daehangno festival, which will be held later this year, in an attempt to better promote Korea's performance shows and relevant festivals as well as the Daehangno neighborhood, a mecca of plays and theater performances in the capital.
O started his acting career by joining the theater company Kwangjang in 1967 and has appeared in more than 200 plays at theaters mostly in the Daehangno area. Although he had been familiar to Korean audiences for numerous supporting roles on TV, the 78-year-old rose to international fame last year for his role in Netflix's megahit series "Squid Game" and won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on TV at the Golden Globe Awards in January.
Monika, the leader of dance crew PROWDMON, participated in dance competition show "Street Woman Fighter" last year, playing a role in raising the stature of dancers who had been underrepresented here previously despite the global popularity of K-pop.
After the appointment ceremony in Seoul, Culture Minister Park Bo-gyoon said the government would seek measures to help more tourists enjoy Korea's performing arts centering in the Daehangno area.
O said, "As tourists to the U.K. watch Shakespeare plays and tourists to the U.S. watch Broadway musicals, I'll try, as an honorary ambassador, to get tourists coming to Korea to seek plays and shows in Daehangno.
Monika said, "It is touching that people say dance has played a big role in Korea's cultural scene. Such an evaluation has been achieved not by individual dancers but by many people who supported us."
The ministry will hold the 2022 Welcome Daehangno festival from Sept. 24 to Oct. 30, presenting 100 plays and performances at theaters as well as street performances.
