Order of Cultural Merit (South Korea)

This article is about the South Korean order. For the Japanese order, see Order of Culture.

The Order of Cultural Merit (Korean: 문화훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the fields of culture and art in the interest of promoting the national culture and national development."^[1]

Order of Cultural Merit
Awarded by  South Korea
Type	Order of merit
Awarded for	Outstanding meritorious services in the fields of culture and art in the interest of promoting the national culture and national development.
Status	Active
Grades	Geumgwan Eungwan Bogwan Okgwan Hwagwan
Precedence
Next (higher)	Grand Order of Mugunghwa
Related	Order of National Foundation Order of Civil Merit Order of Military Merit Order of Service Merit Order of National Security Merit Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Order of Industrial Service Merit Order of Saemaeul Service Merit Order of Sports Merit Order of Science and Technology Merit

Korean name
Hangul	문화훈장
Hanja	文化勳章
Revised Romanization	Munhwa Hunjang
McCune–Reischauer	Munhwa Hunjang

Grades

The Order of Cultural Merit is conferred in five grades.^[2]

Grade	Name	Ribbon
1st	Geumgwan (금관)
2nd	Eungwan (은관)
3rd	Bogwan (보관)
4th	Okgwan (옥관)
5th	Hwagwan (화관)

Recipients

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Geumgwan (Gold Crown), 1st Class

• Myung-whun Chung, 1996^[3]
• Shin Sang-ok, 2006^[4]
• Nam June Paik, 2007^[5]
• Yu Hyun-mok, 2009^[6]
• Park Wan-suh, 2011^[7]
• Youn Yuh-jung, 2021^[8]
• Song Hae, 2022 (posthumous)^[9]
• Lee Jung-jae, 2022^[10]
• Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2022^[10]
• Sumi Jo, 2023^[11]

Eungwan (Silver Crown), 2nd Class

• Martina Deuchler, 1995^[12]
• Kim Duk-soo, 2007^[13][14]
• Lee Mi-ja, 2009^[15]
• Kun-Woo Paik, 2010^[16]
• Lee Soo-man, 2011^[17]
• Shin Young-kyun, 2011^[17]
• Ha Chun-hwa [ko], 2011^[17]
• Kim Ki-duk, 2012^[18]
• Kim Soo-hyun, 2012^[18]
• Kim Ku-lim, 2017^[19]
• Cho Yong-pil, 2013^[20]
• Gu Bong-seo [ko], 2013^[20]
• Ahn Sung-ki, 2013^[20]
• Patti Kim, 2013^[20]
• Park Jung-ran [ko], 2014^[21]
• Song Hae, 2014^[21]
• Choi Bul-am, 2014^[21]
• Lee Soon-jae, 2018^[22]
• Kim Min-ki, 2018^[22]
• Bong Joon-ho, 2019^[23]
• Kim Hye-ja, 2019^[24]
• Yang Hee-eun, 2019^[24]
• Ryu Je-dong, 2020^[25]
• Go Doo-shim, 2020^[26]
• Byun Hee-bong, 2020^[26]
• Yoon Hang-gi, 2020^[26]
• Han Cheol-hee, 2021^[27]
• Lee Jang-hee [ko], 2021^[8]
• Lee Choon-yeon, 2021^[8]
• Park Chan-wook, 2022^[28]
• Kang Soo-yeon, 2022^[28]

Bogwan (Precious Crown), 3rd Class

• Hai-Kyung Suh, 1980
• Yanagi Sōetsu, 1984^[29]
• Park Chan-wook, 2004^[30]
• Park Jeong-ja, 2007^[31]
• Shin Goo, 2010^[32]
• Go Eun-jung, 2010^[32]
• Im Hee-chun [ko], 2010^[32]
• Shin Jung-hyeon, 2011^[17]
• Oh Seung-ryong [ko], 2011^[17]
• Yoo Ho [ko], 2011^[17]
• Lee Ho-jae, 2011^[33]
• Na Moon-hee, 2012^[18]
• Song Chang-sik, 2012^[18]
• Choi Eun-hee, 2014^[21][34]
• Kim Su-il [ko], 2014^[21]
• Myung Kook-hwan [ko], 2014^[21]
• Kadir Topbaş, 2014^[35]
• Kim Young-ok, 2018^[36]
• Im Ha-ryong, 2020^[26]
• Song Jae-ho, 2021^[8]
• Park In-hwan, 2021^[8]
• Noh Hee-gyeong, 2021^[8]
• Song Kang-ho, 2022^[28]
• Park Jin-sook, 2022^[28]
• Huh Young-man, 2022^[28]

Okgwan (Jeweled Crown), 4th Class

• Kang Soo-yeon, 1987
• Moon So-ri, 2002
• Choi Min-sik, 2004^[30] — Choi Min-sik returned the decoration badge in 2006, protesting large cuts in support programs for the arts programs of the Korean government.^[37]
• Lee Byung-hoon, 2006
• Jeon Do-yeon, 2007^[38]
• Anthony Graham Teague, 2008^[39]
• Park Jae-sang (Psy), 2012^[18]
• Lee Jung-jin, 2012^[18]
• Jo Min-su, 2012^[18]
• Song Kang-ho, 2019^[23]

Hwagwan (Flower Crown), 5th Class

• Ji-young Kim, 1998^[40]
• Bae Yong-joon, 2008^[41]
• BTS, 2018:^[A][43] Kim Nam-joon (RM), Kim Seok-jin (Jin), Min Yoon-gi (Suga), Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope), Park Ji-min (Jimin), Kim Tae-hyung (V) and Jeon Jung-kook (Jungkook)^[42]

Class unknown

• Samuel Martin, 1994^[44]

Notes

1. In addition to the group, each member received the award individually.^[42]

References

1. Awards and Decorations Act (11690). March 23, 2013.(in English and Korean) Korea Legislation Research Institute. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
2. 훈장과 포장 [Orders and Medals]. Decorations of the Republic of Korea (in Korean). Ministry of Interior and Safety. 2015. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
3. Askonas Holt, Myung-Whun Chung, biography; retrieved 2011-05-10
4. Jung, Chun-gi (2006-04-12). 신상옥 감독에 금관문화훈장 추서. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-12-28.
5. "Nation honors late video artist Paik Nam-june a year after death," Archived 2011-06-23 at the Wayback Machine Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (ROK). February 1, 2007, retrieved 2011-04-22
6. Lee Hyo-won. "Late Film Director Yu to Get National Order of Culture Merit," Korea Times (ROK). June 29, 2009, retrieved 2011-04-22
7. Jang, Sung-eun. "Beloved Korean Novelist Dies At 80," Wall Street Journal (US). January 26, 2011.
8. Im, Eun-byel (October 28, 2021). "'Minari' star Youn Yuh-jung to receive highest order of cultural merit". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
9. "Yoon posthumously awards top cultural order to TV host Song Hae". Yonhap News Agency. South Korea. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
10. Bae, Hyo-joo (27 December 2022). '오징어게임' 이정재·황동혁 감독, '문화예술 최고' 금관문화훈장 수훈 ['Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, conferred the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit for 'The Best in Culture and Arts']. Newsen (in Korean). South Korea: Newsen Media Company. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
11. Cheon, Seol-hwa (December 21, 2023). 조수미, 신곡 'Love Love' 뮤직비디오 공개 [Jo Sumi reveals music video for her new song "Love Love"]. Star Daily News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
12. Association for Asian Studies (AAS), 1997 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies; retrieved 2011-05-31
13. 문화체육관광부 (2007-03-14). 김덕수, 예인(藝人) 인생 50주년을 맞아 문화훈장 수여. Korea Newswire (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-11-04.
14. "KIM Duk-soo". Fukuoka Prize. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
15. "Lee Mi-ja to Get Culture Medal". The Korea Times. March 23, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
16. "Kun Woo Paik is awarded Order of Merit," Archived 2011-06-23 at the Wayback Machine ICA International Classical Artists (UK). 3 December 2010, citing "Pianist Paik Kun-woo honored," Korea Herald (ROK). 2 November 2010, retrieved 2011-04-22
17. Jung, Chun-ki (November 8, 2011). 신영균.이수만.하춘화씨 은관문화훈장(종합). Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved December 31, 2020.
18. "Psy, director Kim get order of cultural merit". The Korea Herald. November 6, 2012.
19. 소설가 조정래·화가 김구림 '은관 문화훈장'. KBS News (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-11-23.
20. "Veteran entertainers win cultural order". The Korea Herald. November 10, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
21. 송해, 최불암, 박정란 등 6인 문화훈장 수훈 [6 recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit including Song Hae, Choi Bul-am, & Park Jung-ran]. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (in Korean). November 11, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
22. soompi.com. retrieved 2018-10-25
23. "Bong Joon-ho, Song Kang-ho Decorated for Cultural Merit". HanCinema. December 27, 2019.
24. 대중문화예술상 2019년 [2019 Popular Culture and Arts Awards]. Korea Creative Content Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
25. '책의 날' 출판 유공자 시상식… 류제동 교문사 대표 '은관문화훈장'. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 8 October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
26. [종합] 강하늘X공효진 '동백꽃' 3관왕, 김희애·현빈 대통령 표창 (대중문화예술상). Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-10-28.
27. 책의 날, 한철희 ㈜돌베개 대표이사 은관문화훈장 수훈 [Dolbegae CEO Han Cheol-hee, recipient of Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit on Book Day]. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (in Korean). October 7, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
28. "박찬욱 감독·고 강수연 배우, 은관문화훈장 수훈" [Director Park Chan-wook and late actress Kang Soo-yeon received the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit]. Busan Daily (in Korean). 2022-11-24. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
29. 야나기 무네요시 전. 디자인정글 (in Korean). Design Jungle. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
30. "`Old Boy' to Receive Order of Cultural Merit," Han Cinema (ROK). July 25, 2004, retrieved 2011-04-22
31. '빛나는 예술인들' 故 송범, 보아, 유인택… ['Shining Artists' The late Song Beom, BoA, Yoo In-taek...]. Naver News (in Korean). 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
32. 대한민국 대중문화예술상 수상자 [Korea Popular Culture and Arts Award Winners]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). November 17, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2021 – via Naver.
33. 정, 천기 (2011-10-14). 테너 박인수·시인 이근배 등 은관문화훈장. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-06-19.
34. Yoon, Sun-hee (2018-04-16). '영화보다 더 영화같은 삶' 배우 최은희 잠들다. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-12-28.
35. "Kadir Topbaş'a Kore devlet nişanı verildi" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
36. "BTS members receive cultural medals for promoting korean culture". Manila Bulletin. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
37. "'Old Boy' Returns Medal in Screen Quota Protest," Chosun Ilbun (ROK). February 7, 2006.
38. "Culture Ministry to Award Medal to Actress Jeon". Hancinema. June 28, 2007.
39. Chung, Ah-young (20 October 2008). "Professor Brother Anthony Receives Cultural Order". The Korea Times. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
40. "Korean National Ballet, Principal Dancers" Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine Korean National Ballet website. retrieved 2012-11-27
41. Han Sang-hee. "Bae Receives National Order of Culture Merit," Korea Times (ROK). October 19, 2008, retrieved 2011-04-22
42. Kim, Seong-jin (October 24, 2018). "[ARTICLE] "Korea popular Culture and Art Award" BTS the youngest recipient to receive Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit. "We will continue to spread the culture of Korea" - '대중문화예술상' 방탄소년단, 최연소 화관문화훈장 "韓 문화, 세계에 알리겠다"". My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved October 24, 2018.
43. Yoon, Min-sik (October 8, 2018). "BTS to get medal for spreading Korean culture: presidential office". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
44. Martin, Samuel Elmo. ( 1996). Consonant Lenition in Korean and the Macro-Altaic Question, p. 168., p. 168, at Google Books

Bibliography

• Korean Overseas Information Service. (1997) A Handbook of Korea, 6th edition. Seoul, Korea: Seoul International Publishing House. OCLC 16013390

External links