Singer Sung Si-kyung has been appointed a Korea Tourism honorary ambassador — and he’s stepping up to serve as a cultural bridge between Korea and Japan.
On April 11, Sung received his letter of appointment from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization during the 'Shall We Go Today? Korea! Travel Festival' held at Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills Arena. The event was organized to promote the appeal of traveling to Korea for local Japanese audiences, with the appointment taking place on site.
At the ceremony, Sung said, "Just as I’ve done so far, I want to help bring our two countries even closer," adding, "As an ambassador, I want to showcase a deeper side of Korea." The Korea Tourism Organization has set a goal to increase Japanese visitors to Korea from about 3.52 million last year to 4.5 million this year.
Sung has been expanding his influence in Japan with active promotions. He has appeared on multiple Japanese programs, including the Netflix variety show K-foodie meets J-foodie, building direct connections with local audiences.
He’s also boosting mainstream recognition across fields, recently landing his first-ever beauty model deal. On top of that, KBS2’s The Seasons: Sung Si-kyung's Gomaek Namchin — a concert-style music talk show — has drawn major praise. For tapings that seat around 1,000 people, tens of thousands have applied for audience tickets, proving sky-high interest.
The Korea Tourism Organization called Sung "the right person to broadly promote Korea’s charms, thanks to his deep understanding and affection for Korean culture and tourism." Attention is now on how his activities will impact inbound tourism from Japan and beyond.