South Korea has long been considered a typical country in combining cultural soft power with international diplomacy.
Not only exporting K-Pop, movies or cuisine, Koreans also include idol stars in major regional and global events. This is a way for Korea to optimize the influence of entertainment stars in promoting the national image.
At APEC 2025, South Korea continues to promote this strategy. The 2025 APEC Summit, also known as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, will be held from October 31 to November 1, 2025 in Gyeongju, Gyeongsang-do (Korea).
100 days before the 2025 APEC Summit took place, the Korean Government appointed K-Pop star G-Dragon as the honorary ambassador of the event.
On October 2, the MV featuring G-Dragon (Big Bang) promoting APEC was released. In addition to G-Dragon, there are idol star Jang Won Young (IVE), famous football player Park Ji Sung, director Park Chan Wook, DJ Peggy Gou, chef Anh Sung Jae and even President of Korea Lee Jae Myung.
In addition, singer Solbi was appointed as a promotional ambassador for the exhibition within the framework of the APEC Summit. The exhibition is held at the Expo Cultural Center in Gyeongju Expo Grand Park. It will display works by about 120 artists, including singer Kim Wan Sun and actor Park Ki Woong.
South Korea is expected to bring many unique cultural activities during the APEC, exploiting the Hallyu wave (Korean culture) to promote the national image.
According to KBS, 3 major cultural events invested in at APEC 2025 include Hanbok fashion show, multimedia art program at Bomun tourist area and K-Pop concert.
In particular, Hanbok fashion show will recreate the stage combining 5 traditional Korean elements including costumes, cuisine, home, Hanji paper and Korean.
The K-Pop concert at relic sites located in eastern Gyeongju will feature K-Pop artists and artists from APEC member economies.
Not only at the upcoming APEC Conference, South Korea has repeatedly included famous stars in global promotional events.
In 2021, the President of South Korea appointed BTS as a public diplomatic special mission. In 2022, BTS was appointed as a public relations ambassador for South Korea's efforts in the race to host the 2030 World Expo against Italy and Saudi Arabia.
For many years, Korean stars have been chosen as honorary ambassadors to promote tourism. In 2025, Park Bo Gum will become the honorary ambassador of Korean tourism, leading a global campaign to promote Korean culture and destinations to the world.
On October 1, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of Korea and the Korea External Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) officially appointed actor Ha Ji Won, singer Hwasa and Taemin as ambassadors for the upcoming event "Korea Brand & Entertainment Expo 2025" in New York (USA).
The Korea Federation of SMEs has appointed actor Jung Joon Ho as the ambassador for the 23rd Korea Business Conference.
