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| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-01-12 10:57:13
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) – Actor Lee Jung-jae, the star of Netflix sensation “Squid Game,” has won the Korea Image Stepping Stone Award from the Seoul-based non-profit Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI).
In the awards ceremony that took place Wednesday at InterContinental Seoul Coex, actor Lee gave his acceptance speech online, saying, “Never there is any free lunch in life.” He added, “Everything that happens in our lives counts, and they pile on top of each other to eventually bestow an opportunity to shine.”
The 2023 Korea Image Award, which is presented by the CICI annually, is an award won by figures whose efforts to promote Korea abroad have been widely acknowledged. Actor Lee won the Award for contributing to improving the global image of Korea by winning the Prime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the Netflix-aired smash hit series “Squid Game” and also making a directorial debut with his film “Hunt” this year.
Looking back, the veteran actor, who is currently in the U.S. for filming Disney+’s “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte,” said that as he received the Emmy Award, he “absolutely could not believe this is happening” to him, and “it even felt unreal.” He added, “the Award gave me an awakening that I should make every step of my career with care and thoughtfulness as there will be a greater number of international audiences who will be tracking down the Korean content.”
Former figure skating star Kim Yu-na and teen swimmer Hwang Sung-woo attended the Awards ceremony, winning the Korea Image Cornerstone Award for her incessant contribution to enhancing the global image of Korea and the Korea Image Budding Youth Award for young talents under 20, respectively.
In her acceptance speech, Kim said, “I was so gratified to have formerly won the Korea Image Budding Youth Award in 2008, and now I am standing here to win the Cornerstone Award.” She chose “when I won the gold medal at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics” as the best moment in her figure skating career.
Swimmer Hwang, who set an Asian record in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said, “I am looking to make more record-breaking performances and medals,” adding, “I would like to outgrow myself as an icon of Korean swimmer.”
Along with these three winners, “EURO Fashion House” won the Korea Image Bridge Award as a foreign enterprise that contributed to promoting Korean culture abroad with fashion. The U.K., Italy, France, and EU Ambassadors to South Korea participated in the ceremony to win the Award.
Along with the award winners listed above, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, and the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg also participated in the awards ceremony.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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