‘Descendants of the Sun’ Star Song Joong-ki becomes Ambassador of Korean Cuisine

Because of his fame overseas, with Episode 14 of “Descendants of the Sun” logging 2.3 billion views on video platform iQiyi in China, lead actor Song Joong-ki has been tapped to promote Korean food overseas.

His partner in promoting K-Style Hub, Korean food-themed promotion center in Seoul, is no less than South Korea President Park Geun-hye who attended the opening ceremony on Monday, reported Korea Times. The hub, created by the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is found inside the Culture Creation Venture Complex.

Promotion of Korean cuisine is part of Song’s role as ambassador and promotional model of Korean tourism which he will do by starring in TV commercials and print ads. Park lauded Song for being a “real young patriot.” She was quoted as saying that “Despite his hectic schedule on the back of the drama’s popularity, Song has accepted the ambassador role when the nation is promoting tourism and culture.”

The president said she hopes the hub would perform a key role in globalizing Korea’s culinary culture abroad and food tourism in Seoul. “Hands-on experiences are better than a thousand lessons. This will leave a good impression and this will being more interest in our food from not only our children, but from foreign tourists, too,” Korea.net quoted Park.

It is Park’s second official schedule since she returned on Wednesday from an eight-day tour of the U.S. and Mexico. On Friday, Park visited the Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation in North Chungcheong and North Jeolla Provinces.

Besides Song, Park also cited “Descendants of the Sun,” which broke viewership records in South Korea with a 40.9 percent rating for Episode 11. The president cited the drama, aired every Wednesday and Thursday over KBS 2TV, as “an exemplary case of the creative culture and cultural enhancement that shows the effects of the shared growth of the content industry and manufacturing sector.