The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister CHAE Hwi-young, MCST) hosted the 2025 Korea Culture Grand Festival at the Content Korea Lab Stage on November 8 (Saturday). Held annually since 2020 to strengthen global human networks in the field of Korean cultural content, the festival was broadcast live worldwide through platforms including Korea.net’s official YouTube channel.

The 2025 Korea Culture Grand Festival is an event that honors and encourages foreign promoters who are promoting appreciation of Korean culture across the world. This year’s festival invited and recognized a total of 15 outstanding honorees across three categories (five from each category)—K-influencers, honorary reporters of Korea.net, and winners of the international  content contest Talk Talk Korea.

In the K-Influencer category for 2025, five top participants were honored from among 1,303 creators across 95 countries, including Venezuela’s Franco Xavier Gil Colmenares, who has introduced K-drama and K-pop content using creative editing techniques. In the Korea.net honorary reporter category, five reporters were selected from 1,498 candidates in 101 countries, including Eman Ahmed Mohamed of Egypt, who was commended for in-depth coverage of Korean literature and arts, serving as a cultural bridge between Korea and Egypt by providing in-depth coverage of Korean literature and arts.

For the international content contest Talk Talk Korea 2025, five winners were selected from 76,296 submissions from 108 countries, with Indonesia’s Vina Aulia Zakiah Sodikin winning first place in the special category commemorating the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation. “The Light of Liberation Day,” the winning work of the special category, creatively used the acronym “G.W.A.N.G.B.O.K” to depict Korea’s journey from loss to hope, from silence to voice, and from hardships to strength.

Seventy-nine award-winning works (including 1st to 5th place works across all five categories) of the contest will be showcased at Korean Cultural Centers in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Belgium from November 2025 to March 2026, following a  kick-off exhibition at HiKR Ground from November 4 to 9.

EPEX celebrates global cultural exchange with K-culture fans from around the world Offering awardees the opportunity to experience K-culture firsthand

The festival also featured celebratory performances by Little & Junior K-Tigers and EPEX, the promotional ambassadors for Talk Talk Korea 2025, to congratulate the significant meeting of K-culture fans and K-content creators from around the world.

Following the 2025 Korea Culture Grand Festival, the awardees will be invited to an 8-night, 9-day K-culture experience program. The program will provide a firsthand experience of Korea’s vibrant culture and profound history with an  itinerary that includes visits to landmarks such as N Seoul Tower and the Naksan Fortress Wall (featured in K-Pop Demon Hunters), explorations of Ikseon-dong and Seongsu-dong neighborhoods, and historical tours commemorating the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation (Dongnimmun (Independence Gate) and Seodaemun Prison History Hall).