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Miky Lee receives Asian Hall of Fame lifetime achievement medal

South Korean entertainment executive Miky Lee has received the Asian Hall of Fame’s lifetime achievement medal in Los Angeles. The CJ Group vice chair was recognised for more than three decades of work connecting Korean film, television and music with audiences abroad. Her acceptance speech traced the company’s investment in cinema and its international cultural events.

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Miky Lee speaks on stage with her lifetime achievement medal at the Asian Hall of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles honours Lee’s Korean cultural work

Miky Lee, vice chair of South Korea’s CJ Group, received the Centennial Medal of Lifetime Achievement at the Asian Hall of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles. The organisation recognises Asian and Indigenous contributions across several fields. It honoured Lee for more than three decades of work connecting Korean film, music and television with audiences abroad.[1], [2]

Music producer Lee Soo-man, who founded SM Entertainment and now works at A2O Entertainment, presented the medal. In her acceptance speech, Lee looked back at the entertainment businesses she helped build and the opportunities they offered Korean artists. She named collaborators including Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon Ho, Lee Chang-dong and Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk.[1]

DreamWorks investment preceded cinema and television expansion

Lee described CJ’s 1995 investment in DreamWorks as a learning opportunity during the company’s move into culture. In 1998 came CGV, Korea’s first multiplex, followed by expansion into cable television and the creation of production company Studio Dragon. She said Mnet was established to give younger audiences somewhere to discover Korean music.[1]

Korean stories reached audiences through films and live events

Lee was an executive producer of Bong’s Parasite, which won four Academy Awards in 2020 and became the first non-English-language film to win best picture. KCON began in the United States in 2012, while the MAMA Awards originated as the Mnet Video Music Awards in 1999. Lee recalled taking that cultural community to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Tokyo. CJ ENM’s First Light StoryHouse now supports Asian creators through investment and co-production from early development.[1]

References

  1. News sourceVarietyMiky Lee receives Asian Hall of Fame lifetime achievement medal↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceForbesMiky Lee received the Asian Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award in Los Angeles↩