World Youth Day Seoul 2027 organizers on June 29 named South Korea’s public broadcaster as the host broadcaster for the international Catholic gathering.
The WYD Seoul 2027 Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Broadcasting System, or KBS, giving the network responsibility for live coverage, international signal distribution, and broadcast production.
The Catholic Church in Seoul will host World Youth Day in August 2027. The event is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims from around the world for celebrations traditionally led by the pope.
KBS will cover the gathering’s major ceremonies and programs, produce and distribute the international broadcast signal, and help establish and operate an International Broadcasting Center.
Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee, chairman of the WYD Seoul 2027 Foundation, said the agreement would help bring the event to young people worldwide.
“WYD Seoul 2027 will be a place of encounter and communion, where young people from every corner of the world gather in Seoul to share their faith and culture. We are deeply pleased and encouraged to join hands with KBS, Korea’s leading public broadcaster, as we prepare together for this great celebration of young people from around the world,” Bishop Lee said.
He said KBS’ broadcast experience and technology would help carry the event’s message of peace to a wider audience.
“When the universal values that WYD seeks to proclaim are joined with the broadcasting expertise and technology of KBS, we believe that the vivid inspiration of the event, together with a message of peace, will be conveyed in its fullness to young people and viewers throughout the world,” he said.
KBS President Jang-bum Park said the broadcaster sees the role as a public responsibility.
“For KBS, this is both an honor and a responsibility we naturally embrace as Korea’s public broadcaster. As this is a meaningful occasion on which the Holy Father will bring a message of courage and hope to the young people of the world, we will spare no effort in our preparations,” Park said.
Park said KBS would draw on its experience covering Pope Francis’ 2014 visit to South Korea.
“When Pope Francis visited Korea in 2014, KBS served as host broadcaster and ensured seamless coverage of all major events. Drawing fully on that accumulated experience, we will do everything in our power to help make WYD Seoul 2027 a successful event that will long be remembered in the history of major Catholic gatherings,” he said.
The agreement also covers news reporting, promotional campaigns, broadcast production, and international signal distribution. The organizers said both institutions will develop detailed implementation plans in stages.
Recently, the Church in Seoul announced the five patron saints for WYD Seoul 2027: Pope St. John Paul II, founder of World Youth Day; St. Andrew Kim Taegon and companions, martyrs of the early Korean Church; St. Frances Xavier Cabrini; St. Josephine Bakhita; and St. Carlo Acutis.
The Archdiocese of Seoul said the saints were chosen in light of the event’s themes of truth, love, and peace. It said the saints’ lives reflected persecution, migration, suffering, and witness.
World Youth Day was established by Pope St. John Paul II in 1985. Seoul was chosen to host the 2027 edition at the conclusion of World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2023.
