- On Nov 4, 2023 K-Wave Festival to be held at the National Theater of Korea to showcase the charms of South Korea through its cultural content

- Awards will be given to outstanding foreign creative influeners and excellent entries from the content competition

Foreign influencers and creators who have promoted the charms of South Korea to the world through Korean cultural content gather in Seoul for a grand celebration. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) and the Korean Culture and Information Service (Director KIM Jang Ho, KOCIS) in collaboration with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (President JUNG Kil Hwa, KOFICE) will host the 2023 K-Wave Festival at the Daloreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea on November 4 (Sat). This event will be broadcast live worldwide through the Korea.net[1] and K-Community Festival channel on YouTube[2].

Awarded the “Korea.net Honorary Reporters,” Outstanding “K-Influencers” and Outstanding Works of “Talk Talk Korea 2023” and “K-Community Challenge”

The event will be divided into two parts. In the first part, the “K-Creative Awards” will honor the “Korea.net Honorary Reporters” and outstanding “K-Influencers” who have promoted Korea to the world through articles and videos throughout the year. The event will also award the best works in various categories from the international content competition “Talk Talk Korea 2023” and feature a congratulatory performance.

In the second part, along with the Korean Wave clubs, the event will award the winning teams of the “K-Community Challenge[3],” which aims to connect people through Korean culture. Additionally, the winning teams of the competition, along with mentor artists, will present a performance on stage.

This year's awardees include eight individuals in the Korea.net Outstanding Honorary Reporters category. Nathalie Fisz from France, for instance, conducted interviews with Korean-French adoption organizations and Korean-French artists, exploring common areas of interest between Korean and French cultural industries. In the Outstanding “K-Influencer” category, eight teams were selected, including Franco Gil from Venezuela, who captured the charm of Korean tourism through popular music, dramas, and vlogs of his travels in Korea.

In the “Talk Talk Korea 2023” category, a total of eight individuals will receive awards including Fabian Alejandro from Colombia, who was selected for the best video in the category for his sensitive reproduction of representative K-pop since the 1990s as a tribute to Korean music. In the “K-Community Challenge” category, the winning teams include CRISALE from Mexico for the Chosun Pop category, GANGHAN from Nigeria for the Korean Contemporary Percussion (K-Percussion) category, and fMS TAEMOO from China for the Taekwonmu category. These three teams will showcase their performances.

 There will also be an exhibition showcasing the winning works from previous “Talk Talk Korea” events, as well as a congratulatory performance by a popular K-pop artist.

Furthermore, this year, there will be dazzling visual displays to captivate the audience. In the lobby of the Daloreum Theater, 82 works, including 45 award-winning pieces from “Talk Talk Korea 2023” and 37 past award-winning works, will be exhibited to provide visitors with a rich experience. Additionally, ERIC from the group THE BOYZ, appointed as the “2023 Korean Culture Ambassador,” will participate in the awards ceremony. Popular K-pop artists such as iKON, KARD, LIMELIGHT, and SECRET NUMBER will adorn the stage with celebratory performances.

Director KIM Jang Ho of KOCIS stated, "I am pleased to introduce the achievements of influencers and creators who have shared their passion for Korean culture with people around the world throughout the year. Going forward, KOCIS will actively support the activities of Korean cultural enthusiasts."