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| Delphine O, left, the secretary general of the United Nations Generation Equality Forum, received the Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award at the 2021 Korea Image Awards held at InterContinental Seoul COEX, Thursday. Courtesy of Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) |
By Dong Sun-hwa
The protracted COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated gender inequality across the globe, according to Delphine O, the secretary general of the United Nations Generation Equality Forum, who won a prize at the 2021 Korea Image Awards, Thursday.
Born to a French mother and a Korean father, O took home the Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award for promoting Korea with her contributions to generation equality.
During a press conference held at InterContinental Seoul COEX prior to the award ceremony, O pointed out that the global health crisis has triggered a "shadow pandemic" of gender disparities and violence against women, which has gone mostly unnoticed by the public.
"A lot of countries implemented lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus and this has forced women to stay at home and perform additional duties such as taking care of their children who could not go to school," she said. "Data also shows that women made up more than three quarters of job losses in the U.S. as a result of the pandemic."
O, a former member of the French National Assembly, also noted that the pandemic increased domestic violence worldwide by about 30 percent, as women could not leave home as easily and find shelters. In Africa, a greater number of women there have been forced into marriages after their schools closed down.
"Many of them will not be able to return to school even after the pandemic, once they get married and give birth to children," she said.
'Baby Shark' creator, trot singers honored
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| Lee Seung-gyu, left, co-founder of SmartStudy which created the popular animated character "Baby Shark." Courtesy of CICI |
The Korea Image Budding Youth Award ― which honors "youngsters" who have enhanced the country's image ― went to animated character "Baby Shark." Last year, the "Baby Shark" video became the most-viewed video on YouTube, racking up more than 7.03 billion hits.
Lee Seung-gyu, co-founder of "Baby Shark" creator SmartStudy, participated in the press conference and shared his thoughts on the present and future of its smash-hit character.
"The Baby Shark clip garnered more views as more kids stay at home during the pandemic," Lee said. "Characterized by catchy tunes and adorable characters, our video not only blends music and dance but also highlights family. I think all these factors attracted children."
He revealed his company would set its sights on the North American market in 2021.
"We teamed up with an American cable channel to produce a new TV series titled Baby Shark Show," he said. "It will have about 52 episodes and is set to be aired in the U.S. in the first half of this year. Many kids have been curious about the stories behind our sharks ― the forthcoming series will help satisfy their curiosity."
The co-founder also hoped SmartStudy could enrich children's experiences through its creations.
"It would be great if our content could show more diverse and interesting aspects of the world to the children," he said.
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| Trot singers Jang Min-ho, left, and Lee Chan-won, center, attend the Korea Image Awards, Thursday. Courtesy of CICI |
The Korea Image Stepping Stone Award was given to six trot singers from cable channel TV Chosun's "Mr. Trot" ― Lim Young-woong, YoungTak, Lee Chan-won, Jang Min-ho, Kim Hee-jae and Jung Dong-won. They were honored for bringing comfort to people amid the health crisis and promoting trot, which was once thought of as a music genre mostly for the older generation.
"Many people told me that trot has given solace to listeners amid these challenging times," Jang Min-ho said as he accepted the award during the ceremony. "I think we received this award thanks to those who love trot. I like the term 'stepping stone' ― I would strive to become a better stepping stone that can resonate with more listeners."
Only Jang and Lee Chan-won attended the award ceremony, which was hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), a global cultural promotion advocacy group. The institute launched the event in 2005 to recognize those who have played a pivotal role in promoting Korea worldwide.
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| The 2021 Korea Image Awards was held at InterContinental Seoul COEX, Thursday. Courtesy of CICI |
To comply with social distancing guidelines, fewer than 50 people including Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Chang Jae-bok, British Ambassador Simon Smith, French Ambassador Philippe Lefort, German Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel and CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-sik attended the ceremony this year.
