Late Poets Yoon Dong-joo and Kim Nam-jo to Be Posthumously Awarded the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit

[Financial News] The late poets Yoon Dong-joo and Kim Nam-jo will be posthumously awarded the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the highest class of the Order of Cultural Merit.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 26th, the 2026 Culture and Arts Merit Awards ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. that day at Modu Arts Theater in Seodaemun District, Seoul. A total of 36 people will be honored: 17 with Orders of Cultural Merit, six with Korea Culture and Arts Awards, eight with Today's Young Artist Awards, and five with the Exemplary Parents of Artists Award.
Poet Yoon Dong-joo was recognized for his contribution to the development of Korean literature through poems in Korean that expressed the pain of the nation and a spirit of resistance during the Japanese colonial period. His posthumous collection of poems, “Sky, Wind, and Stars,” was published in 1948.
Poet Kim Nam-jo published a first collection of poems, “Life,” in 1953. For about seven decades, Kim contributed to the development of modern Korean literature, producing 19 collections of poetry and some 1,000 poems.
The Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit will go to five recipients, including cartoonist Lee Hyun-se, poet Yu An-jin, actors Jeon Mu-song and Park Jeong-ja, and the late visual artist Jeong Sang-hwa.
The Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit will go to six recipients: hanbok designer Kim Hye-sun, video director Park Kyung-sam, poet Kim Kwang-gyu, novelist Kim Hong-shin, pianist Seo Gye-suk, and dancer Kim Sook-ja.
The Order of Cultural Merit will go to three recipients, including the late sijo master Lee Yeong-jun, the late dancer Moon Byeong-nam, and master stone artisan Yun Man-geol. The Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit will go to architect Cheon Ui-young.
Six people will receive Korea Culture and Arts Awards: artistic director Jung Guho, novelist Kim Ae-ran, ajaeng player Kim Yeong-gil, theater artistic director Kang Yang-won, installation artist Kim Seung-young, and craft curator Lim Mi-seon. Each recipient will receive a Presidential Commendation and 10 million won in prize money.
Eight people were selected for Today's Young Artist Awards: novelist Ye So-yeon, composer Kim Shin, geomungo player Lee Jae-ha, performance planner Shin Baram, choreographer Jeon Hyuk-jin, visual artist Kim Young-eun, craft artist Park Jong-jin, and architecture curator Jeong Da-young. They will receive an MCST Minister's Commendation and 5 million won each in prize money.
The Exemplary Parents of Artists Award will go to Gi Ju-hyeon, mother of artist Song Won-jun; Yeom Ji-hun, father of dancer Yeom Da-yeon; Lee Myeong-hui, mother of actor Baek Ji-yun; Lee Ui-sun, mother of poet Lee Jeong-rok; and Im Gyeong-sin, mother of visual artist Han Bu-yeol. They will each receive a plaque of appreciation in the minister’s name and a prize worth 4 million won.
MCST Minister Choi Hwi-young said, “The ministry will do its utmost to ensure that artists of today and the future can work in better conditions than they do now.”

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