Spreading K-Content and Promoting Accurate Information About Korea... Inauguration of the 20th Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group

Expanded to 40 members per intake starting this year

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that on the 10th it will hold an inauguration ceremony for the 20th Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group at the KOCIS Center on the 10th floor of the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, with participants consisting of Korean and foreign nationals aged 18 or older.

The Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group is a civilian public relations corps (supporters) that corrects errors related to Korea found in foreign media and promotes accurate information about Korea. It was launched in 2013 as the Global Error Correction Monitoring Group and has produced a total of 744 members to date. Until now, 35 members were selected for each of two intakes per year, with a total of 70 members active annually. Starting this year, 40 members will be selected for each intake, and a total of 80 members will be active annually.

A total of 154 applicants applied for the 20th Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group, resulting in a competition rate of 3.8 to 1. Forty young people living in eight countries, including Brazil, T?rkiye, and Russia, who have a deep understanding of Korea and excellent foreign language skills, were finally selected (30 Koreans and 10 foreigners).

Daniela, a Brazilian national who will be participating for three consecutive intakes from the 18th to the 20th, said, "Although I live on the opposite side of the globe, through the activities of the Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group I feel that the physical distance from Korea has become smaller," adding, "I want to continue contributing to spreading more accurate information about the Korean culture that I love." Member Baek Jonghyun, who is continuing his activities from the 19th to the 20th intake, said, "Through my previous activities, I realized the importance of correcting errors," and added, "Based on the experience in data analysis and verification that I accumulated in the 19th intake, I will do my best to prevent the spread of incorrect information about Korea."

Cookim, a Korean food content creator with 2.44 million followers on Instagram, will attend the inauguration ceremony as a speaker to share the appeal of Korean cuisine and his tips for content creation, and to cheer on the start of the members' activities.

Over the next approximately five months, the 20th Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group will report incorrect information related to Korea and carry out promotional activities to disseminate accurate information through the Korea Fact-Checking Service operated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In particular, in line with the global popularity of K-content, it plans to diversify its areas of activity so that interest in Korean culture can lead to correct understanding. It will proactively respond to the changing media environment by identifying incorrect information about Korea appearing in generative artificial intelligence (AI) services such as ChatGPT and in over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, and by providing accurate information.

A policy chief at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "As K-content has established itself as a mainstream culture that resonates with people around the world, the importance of accurately promoting Korea has also grown," adding, "The ministry will spare no effort in supporting the Korea Fact-Checking Supporters Group in its efforts to turn 'misunderstanding' about Korea into 'understanding'."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.