Kim Yu-na Named as Goodwill Ambassador

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon presented the letter of appointment to the winner of Olympic figure skating gold medal

Kim Yu-na is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2009 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final Champion, the 2006 World Junior champion and the 2005-2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion. She is also the current record holder for ladies under the ISU Judging System. She has been rated as one of TIME’s 100 world’s most influential people in 2010. And recently, Kim was named to represent Seoul as a Global Goodwill Ambassador.
As the city’s Global Goodwill Ambassador, Kim will be featured in television ads promoting Seoul, to be broadcast worldwide, and will play an active role in promoting Seoul overseas. Korean pop star Rain and famous chef Edward Kwon are also actively doing their part as Global Goodwill Ambassadors of Seoul.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is making every effort to promote the city overseas, and said that the city named Kim Yu-na as a Global Goodwill Ambassador, expecting her to become a big help in the city’s global marketing efforts. Kim is said to have accepted the appointment, because she also felt the importance and necessity of overseas marketing of Seoul to improve the city’s standing in the world and wants to provide support to this cause. She will take part in the shooting of a sports documentary that is set to be aired in the United States in the second half of this year, and will appear in the TV advertisements to be broadcast worldwide starting in August, 2010. At the appointment ceremony, she said, “I am pleased to have the opportunity as a Global Goodwill Ambassador to lend my support to this meaningful cause of promoting Seoul around the world.” She also donated her autographed zip-up jacket to be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charity.
Seoul City gives top priority to shaping Seoul into not only a top tourist attraction, but also into a city where people want to live and invest. Seoul is open to people from all over the world. As a global city, Seoul City runs a global center designed to support foreigners and make their lives in the capital more convenient and comfortable. It has also designated global village zone and the global business zone.
More schools and hospitals for foreigners are planned, and housing support for foreigners is to be drastically expanded, so that they can enjoy living and doing business in Seoul. In addition, Seoul City offers not only a variety of events and festivals for foreign visitors, all year round, but also a convenient public transportation system including dense subway and bus networks, a perfect safety system, and a world-class IT infrastructure.
Whatever your purpose is for visiting Seoul; be it for residence, tourism, or business, you are already a Seoul citizen and Seoul City will do its best to help you fulfill your goals.
As a business hub in Northeast Asia, Seoul will help you carry out your business activities without any difficulties. Seoul is, geographically, a strategic center of the Northeast Asian economy and a city with a pool of the world’s most talented workforce. This provides foreign businesses with great opportunities to conduct their operations to their fullest potential. Its global-oriented and future-driven perspectives on business promotion will make Seoul more dynamic and productive. Seoul City named tourism, digital content, conventions, fashion, design, R&D, finance, distribution, and business services as its growth-driving industries.
Seoul City plans to designate an international financial zone and provide local and foreign financial companies that move into the zone with a variety of support, including various infrastructure and tax exemptions and reductions. Also, It will also build the Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park in the Dongdaemun region to establish the neighborhood as a world-class design and fashion district. We are determined to turn Seoul into a R&D-centered city in which new ideas and future-oriented creativity flourish. Accordingly, Seoul City hopes to create industrial complexes that embrace IT, NT, BT, or other cutting-edge technologies and strategically lure the world’s top-notch companies and research institutes.
Seoul boasts god-blessed natural resources with its beautiful surrounding mountains and river that runs through it, which is quite rare for a big city. In addition, Seoul City is concentrating its efforts on becoming even greener by creating a downtown green axis that will bathe the city with greenery.
The Hangang River region will be converted into an eco-friendly space, as will Namsan Mountain, making them both cleaner and healthier natural spaces. Seoul City will also gradually replace all carbon-fuel-powered public buses with natural-gas-powered ones by 2010. Thanks to its continuous efforts, Seoul City is now enjoying a reputation of being one of the cleanest cities in Asia and making remarkable progress in lowering its air pollution. Buses that run on natural gas, a safe and affordable subway that connects you to every corner of the city, and bikes along the Hangang River will enrich your life in Seoul.
Seoul is well known as a city with a 600 year history, and that it pays particular attention to preserving its rich traditional culture and heritage. Yet, it is a city in which modern culture continues along a dynamic path of development striking the perfect balance with its traditional culture.
As the cradle of hallyu, or the Korean Wave (the popularity of Korean culture in Asia), that refers to the popularity of Korean culture in Asia, Seoul is visited by hundreds of foreigners who want to experience and enjoy Korean dramas, music, and B-Boy performances.
Moreover, Seoul City is full of musical and dance performances and art exhibits at every turn, such as in subway stations, parks, bus stops, and public buildings, which is part of Seoul’s charm and part of life in Seoul.
Moreover, Seoul City is full of musical and dance performances and art exhibits at every turn, such as in subway stations, parks, bus stops, and public buildings, which is part of Seoul’s charm and part of life in Seoul.
Designated as the 2010 World Design Capital, Seoul, which surprised the world with the “Hangang River Miracle,” is geared to awe the world again with “design.” The “- Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park -” is to be developed as a new landmark in Seoul, while the streets of the capital will be redesigned to sit in harmony with one another. Designing Seoul means creating a more comfortable and pleasant Seoul, which translates into Seoul being a high class city. Seoul, a design-driven city, is now rising as the new center of world design. nw

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon presents the letter of appointment to figure skating champion Kim Yuna as a goodwill ambassador for Seoul.