Fencer Oh Sang-uk, chef Edward Lee among winners of Korea Image Awards 2025

Home > Culture > Life & Style

Fencer Oh Sang-uk, chef Edward Lee among winners of Korea Image Awards 2025

Published: 11 Nov. 2024, 01:00

SHIN MIN-HEE
shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr

Table tennis athlete Shin Yu-bin [CICI]

The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) announced the winners of the Korea Image Awards 2025 on Monday.

CICI, established in 2003, is an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that promotes Korean culture abroad and researches Korea’s international image.

The annual Korea Image Awards recognizes individuals or organizations in various fields, like diplomacy, economics, society, culture and journalism, for their contribution to elevating Korea’s image on the world stage. The award ceremony for the 21st edition is set to be held on Jan. 15 next year.

Fencer Oh Sang-uk [CICI]

The Korea Image Stepping Stone Award will be given to fencer Oh Sang-uk, the first Korean to win a gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Oh’s accomplishment has elevated the image of Korea internationally,” the CICI said in a press release. “He has proved the potential of Korean fencing to the world.”

Chef Edward Lee, the runner-up for Netflix’s recent hit “Culinary Class Wars,” will win the Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award.

Lee’s “creative use of local ingredients” in the show has contributed to promoting Korean food to the world, the CICI said, which became the “stepping stone” to introducing the “warmth and deepness of Korean culture.”

Chef Edward Lee [CICI]

Finally, the Korea Image Flowerstone Award will go to the 20-year-old table tennis prodigy Shin Yu-bin, who won two bronze medals at the Olympics this year.

The CICI praised Shin’s impact on Korean table tennis, as well as her popularity among the public. The athlete earned the nickname “Ppiyaki,” a Korean onomatopoeia of a baby bird chirping, similar to the sounds she makes in matches.

This edition of the awards includes a “Special Homage” category, which honors all translators of Korean literature. The CICI described them as “communicating artists” who deliver the ideas and sensibilities of Korea to the international audience, following author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win.

Previous recipients of the Korea Image Awards include Hyundai Motor’s Genesis, actor Lee Jung-jae, figure skating champion Kim Yuna, soprano Sumi Jo and pianist Cho Seong-jin.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]