A Hallyu Fan Becoming an Honorary Reporter: An Induction Ceremony 2021 Reflection
Last May 20, 2021 was the most awaited day for Korea.net Honorary Reporters and K-influencers, most especially to the first time newly appointed Honorary Reporters like me. Funny how I noted it on my calendar so I could not forget to attend the live streaming of the Induction Ceremony. But to my dismay, I completely lost the time and memorized the wrong time schedule, making me unable to attend on the exact day. Brushing off the worries away, I waited for the replay of the online Induction Ceremony that was uploaded on YouTube and watched it to my heart's content.
I have personally discovered Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS)’s Honorary Reporters Program last 2018. That time, I was not fully aware of how it was to become an HR but I tried to apply anyway. Unfortunately, I was not accepted. On 2019, I reminded myself again to apply but I was not able to. On 2020, I lost my confidence and drive to apply because I thought I could not handle the responsibility and the pandemic was adding stress to my life as well. Then here comes 2021, another year of chances and opportunities despite the pandemic trying to tag along, I was finally accepted to be one of the 3,432 Honorary Reporters among 105 countries. I could not be so proud of myself. I was actually not expecting but thankfully, I proved to myself that I could still do the things I love even with the complexity of the current situation of the world.
While watching the replay of the Induction
Ceremony, it made me feel as if I was one of the participants present in the
venue. How I hoped to be one of those 40 K-influencers and Honorary
Reporters participating in the webinar. I also wished I was one of the 4
invited inductees sitting along with the First Lady of the Republic of
Korea Kim Jung-sook, 2nd Vice Minister of Culture, Sports
and Tourism Kim Jeong-bae, and the Director of
KOCIS Park Jung-Youl.
During the ceremony last May 20, 2021, a mix of 4, 600 Honorary Reporters and K-influencers have been officially appointed. On the congratulatory speech of the first lady of the Korean government, Kim Jung-sook said, “Though we are in different time zones and regions, we are here all of one mind.” Truly, some of the participants in different countries might have been witnessing the event on the morning, evening, or even probably at midnight. Nevertheless, everyone attended with one mind – and that was the passion of loving a foreign country and its culture with boundless interest.
With the ceremony's slogan “Fill in your Korea”, the first lady also explained that, “'Fill in' means both filling and informing about something in a detailed manner. A single line of your article, a single photo you take, and a single scene from your video can and will deliver courage and hope to the world.” With those heartfelt words, it touched my heart and made me realize what it was truly to become an Honorary Reporter. Ending with her message, the first lady emphasized, “As the messengers of hope, you will help the world to communicate and unite.”
I never knew that for almost 12 years of being
a Hallyu fan, I would become a messenger of hope. I finally now have a
voice and a platform to spread my passion, love and interest to the Korean
culture, music, drama, language, and more. I could finally use my words to
emphasize that loving a different country does not scar our loyalty to our own
country and that there is hope to everything we stand for. Becoming an
Honorary Reporter gave me a sense of fulfillment that even if I lack at
something, at least, there's one thing I have achieved in my life, and that is
to become a messenger of hope.
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