Home > Entertainment > K-pop

Entertainment agency, traditional hat and Samyang Foods vice chairman to be recognized at Korea Image Awards

Published: 08 Dec. 2025, 15:42 Updated: 08 Dec. 2025, 18:31

The Black Label executive producter Teddy, left, and CEO Jung Kyoung-in [COREA IMAGE COMMUNICATION INSTITUTE]

Entertainment agency The Black Label; the gat, or traditional Korean hat; and Samyang Foods Vice Chairman Kim Jung-soo were named winners at the 22nd Korea Image Awards hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), the CICI said on Monday.

The awards are given annually to individuals, items or organizations that have promoted Korea's image globally.

The Black Label CEO Jung Kyoung-in and executive producer Teddy, who participated in producing the soundtrack for the Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” will receive the Stepping Stone Award.

“With their sonic innovativeness and [...] awareness, Jung and Teddy conveyed the emotion behind K-content to the world and laid the groundwork for K-pop to become part of mainstream [...] pop culture,” the CICI said.

The Firestone Award will go to the gat, which garnered international attention when it was worn by the fictional boy band, the Saja Boys, in “KPop Demon Hunters.”

A gat, or Korean traditional hat [COREA IMAGE COMMUNICATION INSTITUTE]

Actor Cha In-pyo [COREA IMAGE COMMUNICATION INSTITUTE]

“As a representative icon of K-heritage, the gat has revived [...] tradition and demonstrated the potential for Korean culture’s global spread,” the CICI said.

Actor Cha In-pyo will receive the award on behalf of the gat.

Kim Jung-soo, the vice chairman of Samyang Foods, will receive the Harmony Pebble Award for spearheading the development of Buldak Ramyeon, a line of spicy chicken-flavored instant noodles.

Samyang Foods Vice Chairman Kim Jung-soo [COREA IMAGE COMMUNICATION INSTITUTE]

CICI noted that “the Buldak Ramyeon noodles helped spread Korean spicy food culture and contributed to the global expansion of K-food.”

The awards ceremony will take place at the Westin Josun Seoul in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 15.

Last year's winners included chef Edward Lee from the Netflix original show “Culinary Class Wars” (2024–) and Olympic fencing gold medalist Oh Sang-uk.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI HYE-RI [[email protected]]