People awarded honorary citizenship of Seoul, South Korea are:
People awarded honorary citizenship of Seoul, South Korea are:
Listed by date of award:
| Date | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jackie Chan (7 April 1954–) | Hong Kong movie star [1] |
| 2002 | Guus Hiddink (8 November 1946–) | Dutch football manager [1] |
| 2005 | Christopher R. Hill (10 August 1952–) | United States Ambassador to South Korea (2004–2005) [2] |
| 2006 | Hines Ward (8 March 1976–) | American football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1998-2011) [1] |
| 6 May 2006 | hieromonk Theophanes (Kim) (January 19, 1976–) | Member of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church [3] [4] |
| 2014 | Michael J. Sandel | Author of JUSTICE and professor at Harvard University [1] |
| 2017 | Sidra (Riaz) (November 4, 1990-) | Pakistani AI-Engineer (Ph.D. in Computer Science) |
| 2018 | Thomas Bach | President of the International Olympic Committee [1] |
| 8 February 2018 | Andrzej Duda | President of Poland |
| 12 December 2018 | Rosy Senanayake (5 January 1958–) | Mayor of Colombo [5] |
| 18 July 2019 | Reuven Rivlin (9 September 1939–) | President of Israel [6] |
| 10 August 2019 | Rev. Dr. Bernice King (28 March 1963–) | Youngest Child of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [7] |
| 30 September 2019 | Mihhail Kõlvart | Mayor of Tallinn, Estonia. [8] |
| 13 November 2019 | Alfred Harth | composer, musician and artist [9] |
As of 2019, there are a total of 823 honorary citizens. [1]
Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture.
Demographic features of the population of South Korea include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The common language and especially race are viewed as important elements by South Koreans in terms of identity, more than citizenship.
Naturalization is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the United Nations excludes citizenship that is automatically acquired or is acquired by declaration. Naturalization usually involves an application or a motion and approval by legal authorities. The rules of naturalization vary from country to country but typically include a promise to obey and uphold that country's laws and taking and subscribing to an oath of allegiance, and may specify other requirements such as a minimum legal residency and adequate knowledge of the national dominant language or culture. To counter multiple citizenship, some countries require that applicants for naturalization renounce any other citizenship that they currently hold, but whether this renunciation actually causes loss of original citizenship, as seen by the host country and by the original country, will depend on the laws of the countries involved.
Jay Chang Joon Kim is a Korean-American politician and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California. He was the first Korean American to be elected to the United States Congress.
A working holiday visa is a residence permit allowing travellers to undertake employment in the country issuing the visa to supplement their travel funds. For many young people, holding a working holiday visa enables them to experience living in a foreign country without having to find work sponsorship in advance or going on an expensive university exchange programme.
Super Junior , also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band composed of Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. Han Geng, Kibum and Kangin were originally part of the group before departing in 2011, 2015 and 2019, respectively. The group was formed by the founder of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man in 2005 as a 12-piece group with rotational members but the concept was abandoned after addition of Kyuhyun in 2006. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent contributions in Korean Wave.
Song Il-kook is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his role in the 2006 hit drama series Jumong as the titular character.
Park Jin-young, also known by his stage names J. Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show judge. Park rose to stardom as a singer following the release of his 1994 debut album, Blue City. In 1997, he became the founder of JYP Entertainment, one of the most profitable entertainment agencies in South Korea. As the former head of JYP Entertainment, Park has developed and managed highly successful K-pop artists including Rain, Wonder Girls, 2PM, Miss A, Got7, Day6, Twice, Stray Kids, Itzy, Xdinary Heroes and Nmixx, as well as Mandopop group Boy Story and J-pop group NiziU and Nexz.
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer any change to citizenship or nationality.
Seoul, officially Seoul Special City, and formerly known as Hanseong and Keijō, is the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK), commonly known as South Korea, and the country's most extensive urban center. The broader Seoul Capital Area, encompassing Gyeonggi province and Incheon metropolitan city, emerged as the world's fourth largest metropolitan economy in 2014, trailing only Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles, hosting more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at slightly over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at approximately 9.97 million residents as of 2020. Seoul is the seat of the South Korean government.
Davichi is a South Korean pop duo formed in 2008, consists of Lee Hae-ri and Kang Min-kyung.
The visa policy of South Korea allows citizens of certain countries to enter South Korea without a visa (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization or without a K-ETA at all.
Sung Yong Kim is an American diplomat of Korean descent who has served as the United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy since 2021, and previously from 2014 to 2016. He has also served as the acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from January to June 2021.
Jung Woong-in is a South Korean actor. He is known for his television series Ojakgyo Family, I Can Hear Your Voice and Netflix film Seoul Vibe.
Yang Sung-chul is a South Korean political scientist, politician, and diplomat.
Jung Yoon-seok is a South Korean actor. He won Best Young Actor award in 2009 SBS Drama Awards for his role in Temptation of Wife.
Honorary citizen is an honour bestowed by South Korea's Minister of Justice on foreigners of exceptional merit. It is a symbolic honour; the recipient does not take the Oath of Citizenship and thus does not receive any rights, privileges, or duties typically held by a citizen of South Korea.
Kard is a South Korean co-ed group formed by DSP Media. They are composed of members J.Seph, BM, Somin, and Jiwoo. They officially debuted on July 19, 2017, with their extended play Hola Hola.
Shin Su-ran, also known by her stage names Elena and Baily Shoo and better known by the mononym Suran, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as part of the duo Lodia on July 9, 2014, with the single "I Got a Feeling".
Archbishop Theophanes is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church; he is the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox diocese of Korea of the Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia.
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