Trot Men, Delphine O and 'Baby Shark' win Korea Image Awards
(Clockwise from top left) Jang Min-ho, YoungTak, Lim Young-woong, Kim Hee-jae, Jung Dong-won and Lee Chan-won from TV trot singing competition show “Mr. Trot” on TV Chosun will receive the Korea Image Stepping Stone Award. / Courtesy of CICI
By Dong Sun-hwa
Delphine O will be honored for promoting Korea with her contribution to generation equality. / Courtesy of CICI
Six top trot singers from this year's hottest TV singing competition show “Mr. Trot”, Generation Equality Forum Secretary General Delphine O and animation character “Baby Shark” are winners of the “2021 Korea Image Awards” hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI).
The award ceremony is set to take place at the InterContinental Seoul COEX in southern Seoul on Jan. 14. Opinion leaders, including former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, British Ambassador Simon Smith and French Ambassador Philippe Lefort, will attend the event.
The CICI announced Wednesday that the Korea Image Stepping Stone Award, which recognizes Koreans who have helped spread a positive image of the country, will go to Trot Men. They are the top contestants from cable channel TV Chosun's “Mr. Trot."
“Top-ranker Lim Young-woong, YoungTak, Lee Chan-won, Jang Min-ho, Kim Hee-jae and Jung Dong-won ― a 13-year-old middle school student ― will be honored for bringing solace to people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting trot,” the CICI said.
Delphine O won the Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award, which is presented to those who have been a bridge between Korea and the world. She was born to a French mother and a Korean father.
“Baby Shark” will receive the Korea Image Budding Youth Award. / Courtesy of CICI
“Delphine O, a former member of the French National Assembly and the secretary general of the United Nations Generation Equality Forum, has promoted Korea with her contribution to generation equality,” the CICI said.
Korean content creator Pinkfong's “Baby Shark” will receive the Korea Image Budding Youth Award, which honors “youngsters” who have enhanced Korea's image.
“The Baby Shark video has proven the power and potential of Korean content by becoming the most-viewed video on YouTube (7.03 billion views),” the CICI said.
The winners of the 2020 Korea Image Awards ― launched in 2005 ― were the country's No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom, Billboard's K-pop columnist Jeff Benjamin and jazz singer Na Youn-sun.