This story was created in paid partnership with CJ ENM.

Every yr, CJ ENM honors and celebrates “visionaries” who suggest a brand new imaginative and prescient within the leisure trade with their originality and affect. Since 2020, the worldwide IP powerhouse has used information and skilled perception to call creatives excelling of their fields — and on Jan. 7, seven extra unbelievable abilities joined the ranks: KANG FULL, Kim Yong-hoon, Monika, Ryu Seung-Ryong, Song Hye-kyo, UHM JUNG HWA and Stray Kids.

Since their creation, the awards have shed a highlight on a various vary of creators and artists throughout genres and domains, encompassing all the pieces from movie to bop to webtoons. The awards’ key function is to supply steady assist to the figures who boldly present their originality. The 2024 Visionaries supply a powerful indicator of what’s subsequent in Korean leisure. Past Visionary honorees have included music teams BTS and BLACKPINK, who’ve led the worldwide rise of Ok-pop; director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who’s engaged on the second season of the worldwide hit sequence Squid Game; and director Bong Joon-ho, the primary Korean creator to win one of the best image Oscar with Parasite.

Many of the awardees had standout accomplishments in 2023: Director Kim Yong-hoon launched Mask Girl on Netflix, showcasing his distinctive artistic strategy by casting three actresses to characterize totally different sides of a single character. 

Webtoon artist turned screenwriter KANG FULL made his screenplay debut with Moving, a webtoon sequence that proposed a  new style of “K-Superhero,” tailored as a Disney+ authentic final yr. Acclaimed actor Ryu Seung-ryong, who’s starred in hit Korean movies like Extreme Job and Miracle in Cell No. 7, even collaborated with Kang on the work, enjoying a key function in Moving as a present of his extremely variegated talents.

At the ceremony, Ryu expressed, “I would like to extend my thanks to storyteller KANG FULL, who gave me the opportunity to show diverse sides of myself. If I had superpowers, I would like to read and open the hearts of people, as character Hwang Ji-hee did in the series.”

Actor Song Hye-kyo additionally had a stellar yr because the protagonist in Netflix’s The Glory, which was ranked as a prime three most watched sequence in Netflix’s international biannual 2023 engagement report. And UHM JUNG HWA, an actor and singer who made her debut in 1993, gained widespread acclaim this yr for her roles in Doctor Cha and Dancing Queens on the Road — whereas additionally performing her first live performance in 24 years. 

For Uhm, receiving the award held notably particular worth. “On my way here, I looked back on my past memories. I remember hearing disheartening comments when I was working on new music since it’s past my ‘prime.’ This award proves that I was right to keep doing what gives me joy and passion. It gave me the answer to the question, ‘What do I do next?’”

On the music entrance, eight-piece Ok-pop group Stray Kids had been named Visionaries after topping the Billboard 200 chart with all 4 of their albums launched over the previous two years. The self-produced group additionally scored their first Billboard Hot 100 entry with “LALALALA” — elevating the bar for achievable milestones in Ok-pop.

And final, however definitely not least, is dancer Monika, who returned as a choose for season two of Street Woman Fighter after starring within the sequence as a contestant in season one. A pacesetter within the Korean dance scene, Monika always pushes the boundaries of Ok-dance — incomes her a spot because the first-ever choreographer honored as a Visionary.

During the ceremony, world-acclaimed movie director and previous Visionary honoree Park Chan-wook despatched a shock video message congratulating all of the 2024 Visionary Awards recipients, including “I want to especially congratulate dancer Monika, with whom I worked on my short film Life Is But a Dream. I have never witnessed such exploding creativity, diligence, and energy.”

The awards ceremony featured designs that merge previous and future as one with visible motifs from Deoksu Palace’s Dondeokjeon Hall, a historic constructing that acted as a middle of cultural alternate in the course of the Korean Empire. CJ ENM’s 2024 Visionary Awards embody the same ambition: to advertise originality and introduce to the worldwide viewers the following large factor from Korean leisure.