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| A scene from Psy's title tune "Daddy" music video. / Courtesy of YG Entertainment |
By Kim Jae-heun
K-pop idol PSY was named the biggest star of the year by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI). He will be presented with its highest honor, the Stepping Stone Award, at the CICI Korea 2016 awards ceremony next month.
The ceremony, organized by Prof. Choi Jung-hwa, recognizes people promoting Korea in any field, including politics, economy and entertainment.
Last year, Korea's leading cosmetics firm, AmorePacific, led by CEO Suh Kyung-bae, received the top prize for its successful innovations in the beauty product industry.
"We award PSY for his contributions in promoting the excellence of Korean culture abroad, which has developed over the years and created a dynamic and diverse culture," CICI said.
PSY won the same prize in 2013 for his mega-hit "Gangnam Style" that sparked the popularity of Korean music the world over.
The singer released his seventh album, "Chiljib PSY-Da," on Dec. 1 with two hit singles, "Napal Baji" (Bellbottoms) and "Daddy." The latter ranked No.1 for three consecutive weeks on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, and its music video hit over 80 million views as of Wednesday.
His humorous and energetic video received rave reviews from global news networks such as ABC, CNN, AP and BBC. Fans from all over the world also made parody movies, dance cover videos and reaction clips on YouTube and through various social networking platforms to share the popularity of the star's new track.
CICI will award the Stepping Stone Bridge Award, the second-highest prize, to Alberto Mondi, Guillaume Patry, Zhang Yuan and Tyler Rasch, cast members of cable channel JTBC's variety show "Non-Summit." The prize is given to non-Koreans promoting Korea to the world.
CICI has been hosting the awards ceremony since 2005. This year's event will be held on Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Harmony Ballroom in the Coex Hotel InterContinental, southern Seoul.
Former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and diplomats from 50 countries, including U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert and Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koro Bessho, will attend.
