South Korean entertainment heavyweight CJ ENM has unveiled the 2023 recipients of its annual Visionary awards, which recognize talent across the Korean film and television landscape for their contributions to “leading trends and spearheading innovations.”
CJ ENM says the 10 Visionary honorees were selected via a process combining opinions from a panel of 60 entertainment “specialists” from within the company and a data analysis conducted by Endeavor Analytics. Endeavor Analytics developed and implemented a proprietary judging methodology, utilizing an array of data resources including celebrity tracking services and social media measurements.
The 2023 honorees range from filmmaker Park Chan-wook, whose latest thriller Decision to Leave is considered an Oscar frontrunner, to Squid Game star Lee Jung Jae, who premiered his directorial debut, Hunt, at Cannes last year. Other recipients include pop star turned actress IU, star of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s acclaimed drama Broker, and leading man Don Lee, star of The Roundup, Korea’s top-grossing film of 2022.
The ten 2023 Visionary honorees, in alphabetical order, are: K-pop group (G)I-DLE, Chung Seo-kyung, Don Lee, IU, Kim Hye-soo, Lee Jin-ju, Lee Jung-jae, Nah Yung-suk, Park Chan-wook and Park Eun-bin.
“As the value and impact of Korean entertainment continue to grow across the globe, tracing the footsteps of the ‘visionaries’ sheds light on the endless possibilities and vision of what comes next,” CJ ENM said in a statement. “Just as visionaries find their originality through adventures and innovations, CJ ENM will continue to pave new ways and produce widely loved IP.”
CJ ENM inaugurated the Visionary awards in 2020. This year’s recipients will be celebrated at an awards show in Seoul later in January.
