The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism hosted this year’s K-Wave Festival at the theater CKL (Contents Korea Lab) Stage of the tourist information and cultural center HiKR Ground in Seoul’s Jung-gu District on November 8. The festival celebrated the contributions of the top five Honorary Reporters out of a pool of 1,498 reporters from 101 countries, five K-influencers out of  1,303 K-influencers in 95 countries, and five first-place winners in each division of the Talk Talk Korea. One of the recipients of the award was Myrtle Iris Villaraza, a Filipino freelance writer, editor, proofreader, and virtual assistant. 

Villaraza, who holds a bachelor’s degree in communication, was named among the five Best Honorary Reporters for 2025 and given the opportunity to go on a nine-day trip in Korea. “I felt surprised when I was selected as one of the Top 5 Honorary Reporters, but so happy and thankful because after 10 years, I finally had the chance to travel to Korea as a Korea.net Honorary Reporter and represent my country, the Philippines, at the awards ceremony,” she said in an email interview conducted between November 16 and 25.

Villaraza developed an interest in Korea through K-dramas and songs that were popular in the Philippines in the early 2000s. However, it was an opportunity to live and work in Korea from March 2013 to February 2014 that deepened her interest in the country. “I loved its language, food, places, and more, and I made wonderful friends there. Because I felt so happy in Korea, I wanted to maintain my connection with it, get to know it more, and share it with others, especially my fellow Filipinos,” she explained.

Villaraza’s love for the country ultimately led her to join the Honorary Reporters program in 2015, after coming across a Facebook post by Korea Clickers. She was officially inducted into the program in November 2015, one of the 76 Honorary Reporters selected that year, and her first article about making gamjajeon (potato pancakes) was published on the HR platform, which was called the Korea Blog back then, in February 2016.

Over the last 10 years, Myrtle has witnessed significant expansion in the program—membership grew from just 76 reporters in 2015 to 1,498 this year, and the program’s rules, structure, and activities have become more defined, shifting from blog-style posts to a more journalistic approach, and introducing required tasks for certificates. The HR team itself has increased in size, adding managers and coordinators, while offering more varied missions, workshops, and networking events. The article submission process has also evolved—from emailing managers, to publishing on various platforms such as the Korea.net Blog, the Korea Blog on Blogspot, the TalkTalkKorea site, and finally the current Honorary Reporters website.

Along with this journey, Villaraza, too, has grown as an Honorary Reporter. “I have continued to hone my writing and reporting skills over the years. I have also gained more courage and confidence in interacting with other people. Thanks to the HR program, I now have friends from all over the world. I have learned a lot of things, not just about Korea but also about other cultures and countries,” she explained. 

Today, Myrtle Iris Villaraza is widely admired for her exceptional contributions to Korea.net. Her work stands out for its depth, originality, and sincerity. She consistently produces well-researched and thoughtfully written pieces that highlight Korea’s culture, people, and stories with clarity and warmth. Through her interviews, she also brings attention to voices from diverse backgrounds, showing not only her curiosity and empathy but also her strong understanding of Korea’s global appeal. 

Elaborating on the elements she chooses to highlight through her work and the values that guide her, she said, “When choosing topics, I focus on the ones I am genuinely interested in and which I believe can inform and inspire others. At the same time, I carefully consider their timeliness, as well as their relevance to Korea and Korea.net—how they can help promote Korea’s culture and image. Additionally, for me, truthfulness and conscientiousness are very important. As a Korea.net Honorary Reporter, I research, verify, and convey information as carefully as possible. Also, while I am not perfect as a writer and editor, I always try my best to ensure that my articles are well-written and easy to understand for readers.”

Though Villaraza has grown immensely over the years, her experience as a reporter has not been without its challenges. Being in the Philippines not only restricted the topics readily available to her but also limited her chance to attend the Korean cultural events she longed to experience firsthand. For a while, this made her feel that her scope as a Korea.net Honorary Reporter was constrained. However, this also allowed her to widen her scope of storytelling as she shifted to interview articles, proving that meaningful reporting is not confined by geography. 

Over the years, Villaraza has carved a name for herself in the Honorary Reporters’ community, earning respect from her peers. For her, the impact of this journey goes beyond storytelling to form meaningful relationships. “The moments in my HR journey that will always stay with me are my heartwarming interactions with the good people I’ve met—especially my fellow HRs, our managers, the staff members of Korea.net, and everyone I’ve had the privilege of interviewing. In addition to each learning experience and each opportunity to share Korea with people worldwide, I think that my relationships with these wonderful people are what make my journey as an Honorary Reporter truly meaningful,” she elaborated.

One such meaningful interaction was with Director Lee Do-yun of the Netflix show ‘The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call’, which became a defining moment in her journey. “Although I hoped, I never expected that I would be able to interview him. I loved the show a lot, and I wanted to learn more about it and share it with others, so I did my best to learn more about Director Lee and reach out to him. Thankfully, he kindly responded and granted my interview request. I am so grateful that I got to write this interview article because it encouraged me greatly. It reminded me that if we try and work hard despite any doubts, it is possible to achieve our goals and dreams. The article also led me to meet more people whom I’ve become friends with, both in the HR community and beyond.”

Villaraza’s exceptional work as a reporter led her to become one of the Top 5 Honorary Reporters this year and win a cultural trip to Seoul, Paju, and Suwon from November 6 to 14, with the K-Wave Festival taking place on November 8. The trip allowed her to experience and learn more about Korea and also appreciate the country even more. Of her visits to different places, she was profoundly impacted by the Seodaemun Prison History Hall as part of the 80th Anniversary of Liberation Commemorative Tour. “Hearing stories and seeing glimpses of what the Korean people went through when they were under occupation, I felt so sad and was moved to tears. But at the same time, I gained a deeper understanding of Korea’s history. It made me respect and admire the Korean people even more for being relentless in fighting for their country and freedom. Looking at Korea now, I feel so proud of it for how far it has come since overcoming all the hardships it faced in the past,” she shared.

Motivated by her win and the appreciation, Villaraza, who had decided that this year would be her last year in the program, hopes to continue being a part. She also hopes that when people look back at her work, they notice the care and hard work that she put in every article—from finding topics, doing research, and conducting interviews to actually writing the articles and sharing them after publication.

Villaraza also expressed her gratitude to Korea.net readers and her fellow Honorary Reporters for their continued support. “To Korea.net readers, thank you so much for supporting Korea.net and us Honorary Reporters, and for allowing us to continue writing and sharing our love for Korea. 
To my fellow HRs, I am happy and honored to be on this journey with you. I am still amazed and grateful to know how we—people from different backgrounds and nations around the world—have met each other and been part of one community because of Korea. I know we all have our own goals and dreams, and we are all doing our best to achieve them, so I am rooting for all of us. Even if our path may not always be smooth, and even if we may doubt ourselves sometimes when things don’t go our way or when nothing seems to be happening, I hope we choose to keep believing in ourselves and working hard for our dreams. I’m sure that one day, we will look back and see how much we’ve learned and grown as individuals and HRs, and how rewarding our journey has been.”

*This article was written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.