South Korea appoints girls’ group NewJeans as ambassadors for tourism

Aiming to enlist the global popularity of K-pop to promote inbound tourism, the South Korean government has appointed the popular girls group NewJeans as honorary ambassadors. The group's members attended an appointment ceremony in Seoul on Thursday.

South Korea's culture, sports and tourism minister said the government hopes to welcome 20 million inbound tourists this year. NewJeans has quickly risen to international fame. In 2023, the group topped the US Billboard albums chart. That same year, it also appeared on NHK's annual New Year's Eve live music show.