(LEAD) Actor Kim Woo-bin named honorary ambassador for PyeongChang Winter Olympics

All News 16:21 April 13, 2017

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SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean actor Kim Woo-bin was appointed on Thursday as an honorary ambassador for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The organizing committee for the country's first Winter Olympics said Kim will take part in domestic and international promotional activities to help create buzz around the competition.

In this photo provided by the organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, actor Kim Woo-bin (R) stands next to Lee Hee-beom, head of the organizing committee, after being named an honorary ambassador for PyeongChang on April 13, 2017, in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. Flanking the two are Soohorang (L) and Bandabi, the mascots for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics. (Yonhap)

The 27-year-old model-turned-actor enjoys massive popularity both at home and across Asia. He recently completed an Asian tour covering Macao, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Thailand.

He most recently appeared in the KBS TV soap series "Uncontrollably Fond" with Bae Suzy and the Korean action film "Master" with Lee Byung-hun and Gang Dong-won.

"I've always been interested in sports," Kim said in a statement released by the organizing committee. "I'll try my best to get people interested in the PyeongChang Olympics, with less than a year to go."

Kim joins fellow actor Lee Min-ho as "hallyu" stars on the list of PyeongChang's honorary ambassadors. Others include former Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na and Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin.