Ko Seok among winners of 2026 Samsung Happiness Award

Ko Seok, director of the Songpa Safety Experience Education Center and a bereaved family member of the 1999 Sea Land Youth Training Center fire, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Samsung Happiness Award in recognition of his decades of dedication to child safety and the protection of young lives.

The Samsung Life Insurance Public Foundation announced Wednesday that Ko had been selected as the winner in the society and safety category of the 2026 Samsung Happiness Award.

Driven by the conviction that no child should ever again fall victim to a preventable accident, Ko co-founded the Korea Children's Safety Foundation in 2000 alongside other families who lost loved ones in the Sea Land fire. Since 2001, he has served as director of the Songpa Safety Experience Education Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul — the country's first comprehensive hands-on safety education facility, established by the district — where he has developed and promoted experiential safety programs for children.

The foundation said it selected Ko in recognition of his efforts to channel personal grief into social responsibility and his sustained contribution to spreading a culture of child safety.

Seo Eun-kuk, a Yonsei University psychology professor widely known as a "happiness psychologist," was named the winner in the research and creativity category. Seo has published more than 100 academic papers and several books through research in social psychology and empirical methods, and is credited with significantly raising public awareness of and interest in the science of happiness.

Social enterprise Otista was named the winner in the integration and inclusion category. The company was recognized for creating an innovative model that offers young people with autism who possess artistic talent professional opportunities as designers, supporting their economic independence and personal growth.

Five young people who have pursued their dreams despite adversity were selected as youth category winners. They are Kwon Young-ju (Soongsil University), who aspires to become a social welfare professional; Jeong Yun-seo (Catholic University of Korea), who hopes to work as a youth policy researcher; An Ye-eun (Seoul Dasom Tourism High School), who aims to become a hotelier by drawing on her multicultural and bilingual background; Lee Yu-bin (Seogwipo Industrial Science High School), who wants to specialize in renewable energy equipment maintenance; and Kim Tae-yang (second year, Wando High School), a weightlifting prospect who has set a national student record.

Winners were chosen from candidates recommended by institutions, organizations and experts across various fields in South Korea, following a three-month selection process that included review by a panel of prominent academics and specialists in each category, as well as on-site assessments.

Each category winner receives a trophy and a cash prize of 50 million won ($37,500), with youth category winners each receiving 10 million won. The award ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Leeum Museum of Art in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.