Hyundai's Genesis gets CICI award

Hyundai Motor's luxury vehicle brand Genesis has won an award for its contribution to raising South Korea's image globally, the Corea Image Communication Institute said Monday. The award will be presented at the Korea Image Award ceremony in Seoul on Jan. 10, 2024.

The Korea Image Stepping Stone Award, awarded to Genesis, recognizes individuals or businesses who played a part in advancing South Korea's image on the global stage.

Swiss architect Mario Botta was named the Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award recipient for being a "bridge" in promoting South Korea's image to the world, designing Korean landmarks such as the Leeum Museum of Art and Kyobo Gangnam Tower.

Meanwhile, the Korea Image Capstone Award goes to Lim Hyung-joo, a Korean operatic pop tenor, for popularizing the genre of "popera" in Korea.

Mafo Laure, a French pansori singer, has been chosen for the Korea Image Flowerstone Award. According to CICI, Laure has played a significant role in elevating the country's image by delivering ancient Korean expressions -- which are challenging even for Koreans -- to foreigners in the form of pansori.

"The theme of this year's award ceremony is 'best comes from innovation.' I am very happy to see that the four awardees who really represent the theme were selected," Choi Jung-hwa, the president of CICI, told The Korea Herald.

"I personally believe K-culture is now a trendsetter. This year marked the 20th anniversary of CICI's establishment and 2024 will be the year when the award ceremony is held for the 20th time. I am very glad for the fact that the Korea Image Awards was able to be held for two decades," she said.

Established in 2003, CICI is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and promoting Korea's image on the global stage. CICI annually hosts the Korea Image Awards, an awards ceremony attended by opinion leaders from various fields including diplomatic envoys and industry leaders in a bid to shed light on the importance of promoting Korea's image domestically and abroad.

Some 500 guests, including CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, JoongAng Media Network chairman and CEO Hong Seok-hyun, and some 50 diplomatic envoys, such as French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux, German Ambassador to Korea Georg Schmidt and Singaporean Ambassador to Korea Eric Teo, are expected to attend the ceremony at InterContinental Seoul Coex next month.