Culture ministry honors Shin Hae-chul, Yoo Jae-suk and Blackpink with cultural medals

The culture ministry said Thursday it will award cultural medals to the late rock singer Shin Hae-chul, comedian Yoo Jae-suk and all four members of Blackpink, among 36 winners announced for this year's Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards.

The ministry and the Korea Creative Content Agency will hold the 17th edition of the awards ceremony at 6 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Haneul Round Theater of the National Theater in central Seoul. Ten people will receive cultural medals, seven people or teams will receive presidential citations, eight will receive prime ministerial citations and 11 will receive the culture minister's citations.

Shin will be posthumously awarded the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit. The ministry cited his debut as the grand prize winner of a 1988 college song festival and his experimental work with the band N.EX.T, which it said helped bring Korean rock music to a wider public. The Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit will go to musical producer Park Myung-sung, voice actor Park Young-nam, jazz musician Shin Kwan-woong, comedian Yoo Jae-suk and singer Han Young-ae, who marks her 50th year since debuting this year.

Blackpink's Rosé, Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo will each receive the Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit as the group marks its 10th anniversary. The ministry credited the quartet with topping the U.S. Billboard 200 and Britain's Official Albums Chart and with becoming the first pop musicians in the world to pass 100 million YouTube subscribers in February, adding that their solo work has helped spread Korean pop culture overseas.

Presidential citations go to seven recipients, including music director Kang Seung-won, the band Boohwal, the boy band Super Junior, actors Yoo Hae-jin, Ryu Seung-ryong and So Ji-sub, and film director Jang Hang-jun. Prime ministerial citations will be presented to eight, among them radio host Bae Mi-hyang, actors Yoo Seung-mok, Kim Go-eun and Oh Jung-se, director Yoon Ga-eun, musical actor Lee Ja-ram, composer Lee Jae and the sibling duo AKMU.

Eleven people will receive the culture minister's citation, including comedian Kim Shin-young, comedian Kim Won-hoon, choreographer Lee Jung, actors Lim Ji-yeon, Choi Dae-hoon, Park Ji-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho, producer Jang Won-seok, singer Jang Min-ho and the groups Nmixx and Enhypen.

Candidates were nominated through a public call and expert recommendations from April, and the ministry said it weighed each nominee's years of activity, domestic and overseas record, contribution to the industry and public service in making its selections. The ceremony will be hosted by broadcaster Kang Ji-young and actor Hwang In-youp, with congratulatory performances by crossover group La Poem and Han Young-ae, one of this year's medal recipients.

"This year's winners are people who have stood alongside the public for a long time on stage, on television and in film, and have led the development of our popular culture and arts," Culture Minister Choe Hwi-young said. "We will not spare support so that popular culture artists can keep up their creative work with pride."