Actress Ha Ji-won was appointed the honorary ambassador of the nongovernment organization Operation Smile on Tuesday.

Following the appointment ceremony held at the office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion agency, a partner of Operation Smile, the actress became the second Asian honorary ambassador of the children’s charity after Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan. Ha is the first Asian female to represent the group.

The action blockbuster queen will begin her promotional mission Nov. 15 at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Operation Smile Vietnam.

Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity that performs safe, effective cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries, and delivers postoperative and ongoing medical therapies to children in less-developed countries. The organization is currently operating in 63 countries.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)