Kim Dong-ho, the chairperson of the Gangneung International Film Festival, is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Malaysia International Film Festival.

Kim and co-recipient Hou Hsiao-hsien, a China-born director, will receive the award at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards 2022 ceremony to be held July 16.

The award is given to members of the international film community with significant contributions to film festivals and the film industry. Kim has been the honorary president of the MIFFest since 2018.

“Without his guidance, I might not have the passion to run this festival until today,” said MIFFest Chairperson Joanne Goh in the announcement of the awardees.

Kim has been part of many other film festivals as an organizer or jury member. One of his biggest achievements is founding and leading the Busan International Film Festival from 1996 to 2010. The annual event has grown into one of the biggest movie festivals in Asia, and the number of films screened at the event nearly doubled to 306 during the period.

Kim has been leading another international film festival, in Korea’s coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, since 2019.

Kim is a recipient of several awards, including France’s Legion of Honor (2014) and Korea’s Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit (2005), which is the second-highest honor here for cultural figures.