Overview
- The National Museum of Korea announced Saturday that BTS leader RM (Kim Nam‑joon) is its first‑ever global ambassador to help promote Korean cultural heritage abroad.
- At a June 19 ceremony museum director You Hong‑june presented RM with a special‑edition reproduction of the 19th‑century Daedongyeojido map to mark the appointment.
- The museum cited RM's long interest in traditional Korean art and his prior donations of 100 million won in both 2021 and 2022 to the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation as reasons for his selection.
- RM will take part in the museum's promotional campaigns and outreach to overseas audiences, and he is also co‑curating a special exhibition of about 200 works from his personal collection at SFMOMA opening in October 2026.
- The appointment shows the museum is using a global pop‑culture figure as a cultural intermediary to raise its international profile and to connect younger, global audiences with Korea's historical collections.