Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Montblanc honors BIFF honorary director Kim
Kim Dong-ho, center, this year’s winner of the Montblanc arts patronage award, stands with Montblanc Korea CEO Sylvain Costof, left, and Lutz Bethge, chairman of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Montblanc Korea
By Park Jin-hai
By Park Jin-hai
Kim Dong-ho, founder of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and now the honorary festival director, received the Montblanc arts patronage award on Thursday for his contribution to developing BIFF into Asia's largest film festival.
Kim founded the BIFF and it has grown into one of the most significant film festivals in the region over the past 19 years. He dedicated the past five decades to build the foundation for artists, including working to establish art centers and a foundation for the welfare of artists.
“If Montblanc was a writing instrument to record history, for me movies are the record of peoples’ lives,” said Kim, during the award ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, in Seoul, Thursday.
Lutz Bethge, chairman of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, who visited for the occasion said the award is not just a marketing tool.
“It helps the brand. In the end it shows Montblanc is a luxury brand with soul and a luxury brand with purpose,” he said.
“Why we are lucky is that our customers felt that that is exactly their brand, the brand for cultivated and successful people. It is something this is telling deep from our heart and from our roots. If we open our eyes and minds to arts and culture, we will have ourselves get inspired and more successful,” he added.
Since 1992, the German pen manufacturer has been giving the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award to active patrons of the arts.
Kim, also a special adviser to Korea’s president on cultural prosperity, is one of the 12 winners of this year's award, along with others from China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It is the first time a non-buisiness man has received the award here.
Marking the one year anniversary, Montblanc Korea announced that it will further grow its local presence in the writing instruments and watch markets as the luxury male accessory maker.
It said it will record double-digit growth in writing instrument sales in Korea this year. “Regarding writing instruments, it is really impressive to see the power of the MontBlanc brand in the past one and half year. It is extremely rare for luxury brand to be so dominant in one segment,” said Montblanc Korea CEO Sylvain Costof. “In the past year, we tried to show the full dimension of the brand. Now we will go into more details that overrule the brand.”