'Rioters, Beasts of the Red Mountain' Content Awards Top Honor

Ministry of Culture and Korea Creative Content Agency Award Fifteen Winning Works

Author Jeong Hoon-young's work 'Rioters, Beasts of the Red Mountain' wins the Grand Prize in the Story category at this year's Korea Content Awards. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency will present awards to fifteen winning works on the 14th at the InterContinental COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. These works were selected from a record-high competition rate of 138:1. They will receive the Grand Prize (Presidential Award - one work), Excellence Awards (Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award - four works), and Merit Awards (KCCA President Award - ten works).

The highest honor-winning 'Rioters, Beasts of the Red Mountain' tells the story of hunters resisting the Japanese army during the late Joseon period. It depicts a fierce battle to protect funds for the independence army alongside young women who studied in Japan. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained, "It unfolds a differentiated story in a compelling way," and "It was unanimously selected for its high potential for intellectual property (IP) expansion into publishing, webtoons, and video."

The Excellence Awards go to author Park Yoon-sun's 'Bukchon', author Lee Na-yeon's 'Choice', author Jo Woon's 'Yoonssi Namjeonggi', and Studio Yosin's 'Jeongisu'. The Merit Awards are given to author Lee Byung-sang's 'Deodeok Jeongseung Han Hyo-soon', author Song Ji-yeon's 'Level 9 Civil Servant Yeomra', author Min Mi-jung's 'Modern Taxi', author Kim Hyun-ji's 'Mudong', author Park Ji-hyu's 'I Built It with Flower Clouds and Wind', author Park Hong-sik's 'Full Disclosure', authors Kim Ye-ji and Baek Eun-sil's 'The Unmistakable Woman Oyeopju', author Choi Won-ho's 'Kiss on Second Base', author Jo Chang-yeol's 'Villain Seungnyangi Hunting', author Kim Jeong-ae's 'Joseon Dancer Chunseok', among others.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KCCA provide opportunities to participate in the 'Content Intellectual Property (IP) Commercialization Market' to help commercialize these works into various content such as dramas, films, novels, and webtoons. Yoon Yang-soo, Director of the Content Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "As K-content gains global attention, it is important to discover excellent stories and support creative activities," adding, "We will spare no support to help creators' imaginations become reality."

Meanwhile, special awards will be given at this ceremony to works that have been successfully adapted into videos. These include Kim Won-seok's 'Doctors Without Borders' (Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award), the original work of the drama 'Descendants of the Sun'; Locus's 'Seven Dwarfs', the original work of the animation 'Red Shoes'; author Jang Yong-min's 'Ultimate Child', based on the novel of the same name; author Kim Bo-hyun's 'Owl Boy', the original work of the film 'Owl'; and author Lee Eun-so's 'Joseon Psychiatrist Yoo Se-pung' (all KCCA Awards), the original work of the drama 'Joseon Psychiatrist Yoo Se-pung'.