Korea awards top honor to 'KPop Demon Hunters' co-creator Maggie Kang

South Korea on Wednesday celebrated the achievements of its booming creative industries with the 2025 Korea Content Awards, which honor individuals and works that advance the nation’s content ecosystem and its profile overseas.

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, this year’s highest distinction, the Order of Cultural Merit, was given to Maggie Kang, one of the writers and directors behind US animation "KPop Demon Hunters.” The Netflix hit became the most-watched movie in the platform’s history, further accelerating global interest in Korea-related storytelling.

Industry leaders from across Korea’s expanding content sectors are also winning recognition. Park Yeong-seok, CEO of Pan Entertainment, and Yun Hyunjoon, CEO of Studio Slam, received presidential citations for their contributions in overseas business development.

Pan Entertainment has created 68 TV drama productions, the range of which includes “Winter Sonata” (2002) and “When Life Gives You Tangerines” (2025), while Studio Slam is behind hit TV competitions like “Culinary Class Wars” (2024) and “Sing Again” (2020).

Also receiving presidential citations, Kim Hyung-tae of Shift Up and Park Jung-moo of Nexon Korea were honored for their impact on the games industry.

Receiving prime minister’s citations are Teddy Park, chief producer at The Black Label, and Kang Full, the acclaimed cartoonist behind “Light Shop” and “Moving.”

Park was recognized for producing hit songs for artists including Blankpink and Big Bang and for producing songs including "Golden" for “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Kang, meanwhile, was honored for creating influential webtoon intellectual properties and expanding them into on-screen adaptations — most notably “Moving,” which ranked No. 1 worldwide in the TV category on Disney+, helping to further propel webtoons and Korean visual content onto the global stage.

Among the awarded works, comic “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,” animation “King of Kings” and the character Dallimi secured top presidential prizes in their respective categories.

Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young emphasized that global interest in Korean culture has never been higher, crediting the dedication of creators and industry professionals. He pledged continued government support to ensure Korean content maintains its global momentum.