BUSAN — Eight people who contributed to Busan's culture, arts, science and sports will receive the 69th Busan Metropolitan City Culture Awards. The city said it will hold the ceremony at 4 p.m. on the 28th in the main conference room at city hall and present awards in each category.
This year's winners are Cho Young-rae, a professor at Pusan National University, in natural science; Lee Seok-rae, former chairman of the Busan Writers' Association, in literature; Park Sung-wan, professor emeritus at Pusan National University, in performing arts; and Park Soo-cheol, professor emeritus at Dong-A University, in visual arts. In traditional arts, the award goes to Son Sim-sim, a certified instructor for the transmission of traditional performing arts at the Dongnae Yaryu Preservation Society; in sports, to Son Gap-do, a former national wrestling team member; in media and publishing, to Kim Sung-bae, head of Haesung Publishing; and in spatial arts, to Kim Jung-ki, president of Kyungdong Construction.
The city selected the winners from 23 candidates recommended by cultural and arts institutions and groups or nominated through citizen petitions, after a review last month by its cultural cooperation committee. The winners were recognized for contributions including materials engineering research, the development of local literature, music and art, the transmission of traditional arts, raising the profile of sports, expanding publishing culture and advancing architectural culture.
Launched in 1957, the Busan Metropolitan City Culture Awards have produced 434 recipients over 69 editions through this year. The city supports winners' creative and research work and helps them exchange ideas and share results through joint performances, exhibitions and forums.
About 100 people, including the winners, their families and guests, will attend the ceremony, which will feature a string quartet performance by the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra and video presentations on the winners' achievements. "We will build Busan into a city grounded in culture, where citizens enjoy culture in daily life and artists can devote themselves to their creative work," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said.