Image from Instagram/@daraxxi
The 2NE1 member’s appointment links her cross-border career with a government office serving Korean communities abroad.
MANILA — Sandara Park, the South Korean singer and actress whose public career began in the Philippines before she rose to wider recognition as a member of 2NE1, has been appointed a 2026 public relations ambassador for South Korea’s Overseas Koreans Agency.
The agency held an appointment ceremony on June 4 at its headquarters in Incheon, South Korea, where Park received her letter of appointment alongside Korean history lecturer Choi Tae-seong. The role is a public outreach post intended to help promote awareness of the agency’s work with Koreans living outside South Korea. It is not a diplomatic appointment.
The Overseas Koreans Agency operates under South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handles programs and services for Korean communities abroad, including public engagement and identity-related initiatives. Its appointment of Park places a widely recognized Korean entertainment figure in a campaign connected to the overseas Korean experience.
Park’s selection carries particular resonance in the Philippines, where she first became a household name. She entered Philippine show business through ABS-CBN’s “Star Circle Quest” in 2004 and later appeared in local television, film and music projects before returning to South Korea. In 2009, she debuted as part of 2NE1, one of the K-pop groups that helped expand Korean pop music’s international reach.
In remarks connected to the appointment, Park referred to her years in the Philippines and said that living abroad helped her better understand the lives of overseas Koreans. She said she hoped to help connect Korean communities abroad with South Korea.
Choi, a well-known history educator in South Korea, was reappointed after previously serving as a public relations ambassador for the agency. South Korean reports said he had led educational sessions meant to broaden awareness of overseas Koreans and their place in Korean history and society.
The ambassadors are expected to participate in public-facing activities promoting the agency’s programs. Park is also expected to appear in agency-related content as part of the campaign.
