Novelist Lee Dong-ha, pianist Kim Dae-jin, director Kim Do-hun named Korea Arts Academy Award winners

Novelist Lee Dong-ha, pianist Kim Dae-jin and theater director Kim Do-hun have been named this year's recipients of the National Academy of Arts of Korea Award.

The National Academy of Arts of Korea held the ceremony for the 71st National Academy of Arts of Korea Award and the 5th Young Artist Award on Monday at the academy.

Lee, 84, who received the award in the literature category, made his literary debut in 1966 when his short story "War and the Squirrel" was selected for the Seoul Sinmun New Year Literary Contest. Over a career spanning six decades, he has depicted the wounds of national division and war, as well as the lives of those marginalized during Korea's modernization, in a realistic and meticulous prose style. His major works include "The Sky Is Low," "Sand" and "House of Wind."

Kim Dae-jin, 64, who won in the music category, is both a performer of keen interpretive ability and an educator who has trained world-class musicians. After earning bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in piano from the Juilliard School, he served as a professor and president of the Korea National University of Arts, where he mentored internationally acclaimed pianists including Kim Sun-wook, Son Yeol-eum and Moon Ji-young.

Kim Do-hun, 84, who received the theater award, is a leading figure in Korean theater who has long expanded the horizons of humanist and realist drama as the head of theater company Ppuri. Through precise and nuanced direction, he has discovered and nurtured numerous emerging actors, contributing to the broadening of Korean theater.

The National Academy of Arts of Korea Award has been presented annually since 1955 to artists who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Korean art. Spanning four categories — literature, fine arts, music, and theater, film and dance — the award has been given to a total of 236 recipients through this year. Each winner receives a citation, a medal and a cash prize of 50 million won ($36,900).

The Young Artist Award recipients are novelist Choi Eun-young in literature, sculptor Kim Min-ae in fine arts, composer Kim Shin and daegeum player Yu Gyeong-eun in music, theater director Kim Su-jeong in theater, film director Yun Ga-eun in film, and dancer Hong Gyeong-hwa in dance.

Choi Eun-young, 45, graduated from Korea University's department of Korean literature and its graduate school, and made her literary debut in 2013 when her short story "Shoko's Smile" won the Jakka Segye New Writer Award. She has since published her debut collection "Shoko's Smile," followed by "A Person Harmless to Me," "Bright Night" and "Even in the Faintest Light." Her work, which captures the subtle emotional currents between people with great delicacy, has earned wide acclaim from readers and critics alike.

Sculptor Kim Min-ae, 45, explores the relationships among space, environment and the individual through three-dimensional form. She studied sculpture at Seoul National University and the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom, and currently serves as a professor in the sculpture department at Seoul National University. Her practice centers on the contradictions and tensions that arise when institutional spaces and architectural structures intervene in human behavior and perception.

Composer Kim Shin, 32, is a contemporary classical composer who has drawn international attention for his precise fusion of distinctly Korean sensibility with Western classical technique. He studied composition at the Korea National University of Arts and the Royal Academy of Music in the United Kingdom. In 2022, he won first place in the composition category at the Geneva International Music Competition and took the top prize in the orchestral composition category at the George Enescu International Competition.

Daegeum player Yu Gyeong-eun, 41, earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Seoul National University College of Music, and has devoted herself to preserving and advancing Korean traditional music on a deep scholarly and artistic foundation. Recognized as a certified practitioner of Samhyeon Yukgak, Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 44, she has worked to uphold the authenticity of traditional music while expanding the daegeum's musical range through numerous solo recitals and collaborative performances.

Theater director Kim Su-jeong, 43, is the head and resident director of theater company Shinsegae, known for sharp and bold productions that confront subjects society tends to look away from. Works including "Blue Country," "Princesses" and "Lifestyle Landscape" have demonstrated her exceptional ability to render weighty themes through vivid and varied theatrical language.

Director Yun Ga-eun, 44, captures the world through children's eyes with a precise and sensitive gaze. She first drew attention when her short film "Bean Sprout" won the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and has since received critical and audience acclaim for her feature debut "The World of Us," followed by "Our House" and "Rulers of the World."

Dancer Hong Gyeong-hwa, 44, earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in dance from Kyung Hee University, and in 2011 founded the Hong Gyeong-hwa Contemporary Dance Company, for which she has choreographed more than 70 works on stages in Korea and abroad. She has built a distinctive artistic world that combines rigorous scholarly inquiry with creative practice.

The Young Artist Award, established in 2022, is presented to artists aged 45 or under — 40 or under in the music category — who are poised to lead the future of Korean art through outstanding creative work. Spanning literature, fine arts, music, theater, film and dance, the award has been given to a total of 30 recipients through this year. Each winner receives a citation, a medal and a cash prize of 25 million won.