In traditional hanbok, beside the Mayor of Seoul, Cassandra was one of six global influencers chosen to ring the historic bell and welcome the new year, live on Korean television.
As 2023 turned to 2024, Cassandra Bankson stood inside the Bosingak Belfry in the heart of Seoul, in a custom hanbok, and helped ring the great bronze bell that has marked the Korean new year for centuries. The moment went out live on Korean national television to a watching country.
The Bosingak 제야의 종 bell-ringing is one of Korea's most cherished traditions. For the first time, the city invited a group of global creators to take part alongside the Mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, and local citizen heroes, a signal of how seriously Seoul is courting the world's storytellers. Cassandra, with millions of followers, was the American chosen to be there.
It capped a landmark week in Seoul that also included her Global Creator of the Year award at the SeoulCon APAN Star Awards.
Why the Korean press embraced her
Korea welcomed Cassandra not as a visiting celebrity, but as an American who has genuinely helped grow its beauty economy. For years she has researched and championed Korean products and treatments for a Western audience, always with attention to cultural nuance and humility rather than appropriation. She also co-created a best selling Korean-made sunscreen with the brand Isntree, the Onion Newpair Sunscreen SPF40, known to her audience as the Purple Protector, which sold out soon after it launched. Real contribution to Korean brands, and real respect for the culture, is what made her a natural choice to represent the world in Seoul.
The ceremony aired live on MBC and SBS. The MBC stream alone had well over a hundred thousand people watching in real time as the bell rang.
MBC 끝까지LIVE, the New Year's Eve bell-ringing broadcast. Cassandra appears in the ceremony.
SBS live coverage across Bosingak, Gwanghwamun, and DDP.
Seoul invited six global influencers to wear hanbok and ring in the new year with Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Alongside Cassandra Bankson, the group included:
With Mayor Oh Se-hoon at the New Year's Eve bell-ringing press conference, Seoul.
A first for Seoul's most cherished New Year tradition, and a sign of how the city is welcoming the world's creators.
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