Singer Cho Yong-pil (58) and Korean soccer star Park Ji-seong (27, Manchester United), two major Korean stars, have joined together to support the development of Gyeonggi Province.

What unites this star singer and star soccer player, two major celebrities from completely unrelated fields, is the World Match Racing Tour and the Korea International Boat Show, which will be held at Jeongok Port, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, in June 2008.

On May 13, Gyeonggi Province announced that the two stars had agreed to serve as goodwill ambassadors for the successful hosting of the World Match Racing Tour and the Korea International Boat Show, and will be officially appointed as goodwill ambassadors in a ceremony at Jeongok Port, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province at 10:30 AM on May 25, 2008.

Singer Cho Yong-pil will be visiting Hwaseong the morning after he holds a concert to celebrate his 40-year career as a performer at Olympic Main Stadium in Jamsil, Seoul, on May 24.

Park Ji-seong, who led Manchester United to the championship of the England Premier League in 2007-2008, will return to Korea on May 22, after the final match of the UEFA Champion League with Chelsea is held in Moscow, Russia.

Gyeonggi Province plans to distribute 150 balls that have been autographed by Mr. Park at the ceremony.

Gyeonggi Province chose to appoint these two stars as goodwill ambassadors because both of them grew up in Gyeonggi Province and have long-term interests in the region.

As many are aware, Cho Yong-pil was born at 99 Ssangjeong-ri, Songsan-myeon, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province. Hwaseong was where he was born and raised until he was in his second year of middle school. His wife, who died in 2003, is buried in Hwaseong. Hwaseong is working on its “Culture City” project, which includes the establishment of several cultural sites related to him, such as the tentatively-named Cho Yong-pil Arts Institute, a Music Museum that will be in the house of his birth, and a World Music Festival.

Park Ji-seong was born in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, but moved to Suwon when he was in the second year of primary school. He entered Seryu Elementary School, and began to develop here as a soccer player until he entered Suwon Technical High School in Suwon. He has a special attachment to Gyeonggi Province, and his plan to establish a Park Ji-seong Soccer School in Suwon to foster future soccer players is well known to the public. Park Ji-seong Road and Park Ji-seong Park were established in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

The World Match Racing Tour and the Korea International Boat Show, where the two stars will serve as goodwill ambassadors, are being hosted by Gyeonggi Province.

The Korea Match Cup will be held at Jeongok Port, Hwaseong, and Tando Port, Ansan, between June 11 and June 15, 2008. The Korea International Boat Show will see the participation of 104 world-renowned boat and yacht manufacturers, and 107 investors and buyers. Although the Show is the first event of its kind to be held in Korea, predictions are that the Show will be a huge success as a world-class boat show.

The Korea Match Cup is the Korean match of the World Match Racing Tour, the world’s second-largest yacht racing tour. The match is held on an annual basis in 11 nations including Germany, Portugal, and Brazil, and in yachting circles has higher recognition than Olympic matches. The Korea Match Cup will be participated in by 12 of the world’s top 16 teams, including participants in the American Cup and Olympic medalists from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, which will attract the attention of yacht fans around the world. In particular, as a yacht manufactured by a Korean firm has been selected as the official match boat, the match will provide a golden opportunity for Korean yacht makers to promote their excellent yacht-making skills to the global market.