Actor Yu Jun-sang named ambassador for National Child Rights Agency

Actor Yu Jun-sang has been appointed goodwill ambassador for the National Child Rights Agency.

The agency held an appointment ceremony Tuesday at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, naming Yu as ambassador and announcing plans to work together on campaigns to raise public awareness of children's rights.

Yu's term runs from Tuesday through Sept. 14, 2028, during which he will promote the agency's key projects and policies and work to deepen public understanding of and attention to children's rights.

Yu, who has appeared in a wide range of productions, serves as director of the SOOM Space Arts Research Institute at Kwangwoon University, where he develops education programs and content blending art, science and space exploration for children and youth. He has long focused on creating environments where children can imagine freely and express their creativity through play and the arts.

The agency said it appointed Yu in recognition of his experience communicating with the public and his sustained interest in children's education, healthy development and well-being.

At the ceremony, Yu received his appointment certificate and took part in the "365 Days of Children's Day" campaign.

The campaign is a public participation initiative aimed at spreading a culture in which the four fundamental rights of children enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child — survival, protection, development and participation — are respected not just on a single designated day but throughout everyday life, all 365 days of the year.

"The more advanced the digital and AI era becomes, the more important it is for children to develop the ability to ask their own questions and think for themselves," Yu said. "I hope children can imagine freely through play and the arts, and create their own stories."

Kim Yu-im, head of the National Child Rights Agency, said children's rights are "not something to remember only on one particular day, but a value that all of us must pay attention to and uphold in our daily lives." She added that the agency would work alongside Yu "to ensure that every child can enjoy a safe and happy everyday life, 365 days a year."