By: Bjorn Schwarzenbach, Student Ambassador, USA Pavilion 2012

On June 20, two U.S. Student Ambassadors were invited to meet Seohyun from Girls’ Generation, a K-Pop group, during her visit to the UN Pavilion. Seohyun currently is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea. Her role involves promoting the Expo theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast” along with the UN Pavilion’s objective of promoting the “safety, protection, and sustainable development of our oceans and coasts”.

Besides promoting the UN Pavilion and its theme, Seohyun also celebrated World Refugees Day with her visit. I thought that it was a great opportunity for the public and Seohyun’s fans to learn about the UN sanctioned day and the overall global situation for refugees. World Refugee Day was sanctioned on December 4, 2025 and falls on June 20 because for many years, African Refugee Day was also celebrated on June 20. The theme for World Refugee Day 2012 is “Refugees have no choice. You do.”

While serving as a Goodwill Ambassador, Seohyun is using the Hallyu Wave (the Korean Wave) to spread her message of environmental protectionism. K-Pop fans around the world that intensely follow Seohyun will learn about the recent event and her message. This is a great situation because of her role in affecting change in the public. Along with the efforts of the entire Expo 2012, ordinary citizens, both Korean and foreigners alike can learn more about how we interact with the ocean through Seohyun.

Prior to Seohyun’s arrival, everyone was excited both inside and outside the UN Pavilion. For the two U.S. Student Ambassadors, this was an amazing opportunity to meet a member of K-Pop’s most popular music groups. There were definitely too many cameras for my liking but, of course, this was a special event for both the K-Pop industry and the Expo. Below is one of the many photos from the day.