GLOBAL GANGNAM

GLOBAL GANGNAM

THE SECOND GOODWILL FESTIVAL FOR THE HONORARY PUBLICITY AMBASSADORS OF GANGNAM-GU

Gangnam-gu (강남구) is one of the twenty-five districts (or gu) that make up the city of Seoul. There are cities (si), counties (gun), districts (gu), towns (eup), townships (myeon), neighborhoods (dong) and villages (ri) in South Korea at the municiple level; above that are the provinces (do), special self-governing provinces (teukbyeol-jachido), a Special City (teukbyeol-si, which is Seoul, the capital), and metropolitan cities (gwangyeok-si).

     I am one of the fortunate students who were conferred the title of Honorary Publicity Ambassadors of Gangnam-gu. This honor is given to its outstanding citizens with a mission of disseminating information about Gangnam as the Center of Business, Entertainment, Tourism, Education, Design and Information Technology. Last May 4, 2011, Bi (Rain) the world famous Korean performer who was included in the 2010 Times 100 most influential people, also received the same designation.  Being a student-ambassador, our aim is to boost the image of this district through personal blogs and essays as well as include its attractions on tours to be conducted whenever there will be visitors from the Philippines and abroad (like our family members, friends and colleagues).

The District Office Building

Beautiful flowers decorate the main entrance of the building

    The said program is an outstanding project of the District Office as it greatly exemplifies how Korea: like a phoenix rose from its own ashes and soar high above the sky reaching its current status as a model country in Asia. It continues to show the world the unique charm and ingenuity of the Korean people that lead them to its economic success, its love for freedom, and its great attachment to its thousand years of history and tradition. Last May 21, 2011, the Goodwill Festival was held and all the HPAG Ambassadors were given a tour on several tourist spots including, Samsung D’light, Marco Polo Observatory and Restaurant at COEX, Samwon Garden – the largest fine dining restaurant in Seoul, The Royal tombs of King Seongjong – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Horim Art Museum and the Media Poles at the Ubiquitous street. The participants also enjoyed a Taekwondo demonstration at Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters.  After that exhilarating tour, the conferment ceremony was held at the District Office led by the District-Mayor Shin Yeon Hee.

striking a pose before the conferment ceremony

     The student ambassadors coming from 14 countries like China, India, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and United States will be attending various forums, performances and exhibitions on call. News articles and features will also be published in the Gangnam News, monthly newspapers and other national publications.