Cho Yang-ho, chairman of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games Bid Committee and Jasmine Lee, a Filipina migrant, won awards Tuesday for contributing to enhancing the image of Korea abroad at a ceremony hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI).
Among the winners of the Korea Image Awards was “Pororo the Little Penguin,” a popular animation character.
The award ceremony took place at the Grand InterContinental Seoul and was attended by Culture Minister Choe Kwang-sik, former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, and Chairwoman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding (PNBC) Lee Bae-yong.
Cho, also chairman of Hanjin Group, won the Korea Image Stepping Stone Award, which is the equivalent to the grand prize.
“The Stepping Stone Award is given to those who acted as a stepping stone in promoting Korea and making its national image more warm and friendly,” said Choi Jung-wha, president of CICI.
Cho played a significant role in promoting Pyeongchang and making it host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Lee, who is also secretary general of Waterdrop, a charity formed by foreign spouses of Koreans, received the Korea Image Millstone Award, which is given to people who successfully blended into the Korean society and helped it become a better place.
“The Millstone Award is to recognize people who adapted well to our society and contributed to making our country a warmer place. Just as grains mix well after being grinded in the mill, this award is given to those who acted much like the millstone,” Choi said.
Lee has tried to bridge cultural gaps between foreigners and Koreans through appearing on television, helping foreigners at the support center at City Hall, and doing various volunteer and charity work.
Pororo won the Korea Image Sprout Award.
“Usually the award goes to individuals under the age of 20,” Choi said. “This time, an animation character was voted unanimously by both foreigners and Koreans. Sports stars like Park Tae-hwan have received the award previously.”
At the ceremony, the survey on the image of Korea was also announced.
According to the survey, held between Dec. 2011 and Jan. 2012, the first thing that popped into people’s mind when hearing about Korea was “divided country” followed by “Samsung” and “kimchi.”
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