British TV personality Eva Popiel becomes South Korean citizen

Eva Popiel, a British-born entertainer who gained popularity in Korea through KBS’ hit talk show “Global Talk Show” from 2006-2007, has officially become a Korean citizen after nearly two decades in the country.

Popiel shared the news on her Instagram account Tuesday, posting several photos from the ceremony, where she received her naturalization certificate at the Yangju Immigration and Foreign Affairs Office in Gyeonggi Province, with the message “Finally. Thank you!” She reportedly passed the naturalization interview late last year.

Born in 1981 to a British father and a Japanese mother, Popiel was originally a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Japan but later chose to retain British nationality.

In a previous press interview, she said she became interested in Korean culture while studying Chinese at Durham University, where she befriended Korean international students.

Popiel first arrived in Korea in 2005 for her studies and stepped into the entertainment world the next year through the variety show “Super Junior’s Full House.” She rose to wider fame as a member of the original cast of the KBS talk show “Global Talk Show,” which premiered in 2006 and was also known in Korean as “Misuda.”

Featuring foreign female panelists sharing their perspectives on Korean culture and society, the program became a television sensation in the late 2000s and brought Popiel into the public spotlight.

She tied the knot with a Korean man in 2010 and they now raise two sons together. She currently stars on the SBS sports entertainment show “Kick a Goal,” a program in which female celebrities compete in amateur soccer leagues.