Korean celebrities appointed CNMI tourism ambassadors

Korean celebrities Park Ji-yoon, left, and Lee Jae-hoon have been appointed by the Marianas Visitors Authority as Northern Mariana Islands tourism ambassadors. (Contributed Photo)

Korean celebrities Park Ji-yoon and Lee Jae-hoon are the latest in a growing list of international personalities who have agreed to serve as tourism ambassadors for the Northern Mariana Islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

The Marianas Visitors Authority recently announced the appointment in Korea, where the two will actively promote the NMI through August 2017.

“We’re extremely pleased to announce our appointment of Park Ji-yoon and Lee Jae-hoon as our newest NMI Tourism Ambassadors,” said MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion. “Both of them have visited the Northern Marianas before and have a massive fan following. We expect to generate a lot of excitement in the market through their participation in the activities of the MVA’s office in Korea.”

Park and Lee will visit the NMI for leisure and business and post their experiences on their social media outlets, work on media tie-up programs, host or provide entertainment at select MVA events, and film video clips and shoot photos for social media and MVA collaterals.

Park is a media personality who started her career as an anchor for KBS and is now a freelance media personality and an entrepreneur. The mother of two recently started her own business, a swimming suit line and a smoothie brand. She also operates a blog and an Instagram with more than 325,000 followers. She appeared in the TV show “Gourmet Road” on channel Y Star and visited Saipan to introduce epicurean culture and food and the Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden.

“Park is a successful role model for women in their 30s and 40s, bringing strong influence and positive public opinion to her new role as our tourism ambassador,” said Concepcion. “She is a successful working mom with enthusiasm and positive energy.”

Lee was a leader of a K-pop group called “Cool.” The group debuted in 1994 and has had a number of hit songs, largely dance music with a summer theme. He is now a solo artist and media personality appearing in TV shows as a panel, entertainer, and MC, and singer. Lee is known as a life stylist who enjoys a variety of leisure activities, sports, traveling, dining, and such.

“Lee knows Saipan. He has a scuba diving instructor’s license and has visited Saipan over 30 times,” said Concepcion. “He also played a major role in filming KBS’ recent “Battle Trip” Saipan episode, giving a lot of input before and during the filming due to his familiarity with the Northern Marianas and his local connections. What a plus to have a tourism ambassador who is so personally familiar with the islands!”

Lee operates an Instagram account with nearly 45,000 followers. (PR)