Psy awarded highest honor at CICI Korea 2016
Psy, left, speaks after receiving the Stepping Stone Award at a Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) ceremony at the Coex Hotel InterContinental, southern Seoul, Tuesday. Next to Psy is Choi Jung-hwa, head of CICI. / Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-heun
By Kim Jae-heun
The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), headed by Prof. Choi Jung-hwa, held its annual award ceremony “CICI Korea 2016” yesterday at the Coex Hotel InterContinental, southern Seoul, to recognize people who contributed to promoting Korea’s culture abroad over the last year.
The ceremony invited some 700 international and local opinion leaders, including former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jong-deok and Na Kyung-won, chairwoman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.
U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark W. Lippert gave welcoming remarks on behalf of fifty ambassadors at the event to congratulate the awardees of the day.
K-pop idol Psy won the highest honor, the Stepping Stone Award, for promoting the “creativity of hallyu.” It has established a unique K-Culture brand abroad by creating various content based on Korea’s traditional values and sentiment and producing synergy from the convergence of other fields. The rapper’s megahit “Gangnam Style,” which holds the world record as YouTube’s the most watched video, is the classic case of the creativity of hallyu, or the Korean wave, that showed new and dynamic paradigms to experience K-Culture using new media, such as YouTube and other Social Network Service,” CICI’s Choi said.
“I am not a public figure, so receiving such an honorable award like this, sometimes, comes as a burden to me,” said Psy during his acceptance speech at the Harmony Hall in the hotel. “I started to sing because it is what I love to do and I will do it as long as possible. I also see a bright future for K-pop,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Psy won the same prize two years ago. The Samsung GALAXY Smart phone won the award in 2014 and AMOREPACIFIC last year.
The awardees of the “Corea Image Communications Institute (CICI) Korea 2016” pose during a ceremony at the Coex Hotel InterContinental, southern Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Alberto Mondi, Tyler Rasch, Guillaum Patry, Zhang Yuan, President of CICI Choi Jung-hwa, Psy and violinist Clara Jumi Kang. / Courtesy of CICI.
CICI awarded the Stepping Stone Bridge Award, the second-highest prize, to Alberto Mondi, Guillaum Patry, Zhang Yuan and Tyler Rasch, panelists of cable TV JTBC’s variety show “Non-Summit.” The award is given to non-Koreans promoting Korea to the world. The four members are credited for their role in building bridges between Korea and the world by introducing Korean culture abroad with enthusiasm and affection for the country.
“We are very honored and thankful to receive such a big award,” said Rasch. “Through the Non-Summit show, we connected to Koreans and expats in the country and I think that is very meaningful. Thank you for appreciating our role.”
Chinese actress Tang Wei was the prize-winner in 2015.
Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang received the Korea Image Flower Stone Award. The Juilliard graduate debuted with the Hamburg Symphony at the age of five and studied under Dorothy Delay and renowned violinists, including Christoph Poppen and Kim Nam-yun. Kang has been invited to perform with premier orchestras such as the Dresden Kapellsolisten, New Jersey symphony, and her outstanding performances have attracted worldwide classical music lovers.
The violinist played “Paganinianan” by Nathan Milstein, one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, and J.S. Bach’s “Violin Sonata No. 3 Largo” with her superbly sophisticated musical interpretation.
The CICI award ceremony began in 2005 and held its 12th event this year. CICI runs various activities in Korea and overseas and hosts “CICI Korea” and “Culture Communication Forum” to present the true essence of Korean culture that embraces both tradition and modernity.