Talented people live across the globe. As the world becomes more globalized, international awards, competitions and movies have been created to congratulate people and works that are spectacular in their respective fields. This is a list of Koreans who have marked history in 2019 as the ‘firsts South Koreans’ to be recognized with renown international rewards, public recognition or medals. 

Director Bong Joon Ho and the 2019 Palme d’Or

“Parasite” became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d’OR at Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or is the top film prize in the world. The director Bong Joon Ho became the first Korean to receive such honor. He was able to achieve this through the creation of a dark comedy thriller, “Parasite”. The film has an interesting use of satire and it brings to the viewers a tangible societal problem, the gap between rich and poor. Director Gong Joon Ho is also the director for the well-received movie “Okja”. The movie was released internationally through Netflix. The film uses fantasy while conveying problems in the meat food system. The movie was nominated for the 2017 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’OR is part of the Cannes Film Festival and it is a symbol of marvelous filmmaking of the time. Even though “Okja” did not win the 2017 Palme d’Or Joon Ho’s “Parasite” won, and according to various news outlets the decision was unanimous. 

Actor Ma Dong-seok and the Marvel franchise 

Marvel Studios is a gigantic movie studio under The Walt Disney Studios. The MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of its franchises. Under the cinematic universe, Marvel has created characters that have transcended age, generation and gender gaps. Marvel has given life to the characters outside of its comic books and created superheroes of blood and flesh. Because the actors carry the name and the emblem of the superheroes, casting an actor or actress has become important as it leads to almost instant global stardom. Ma Don Seok (American name Don Lee) is a Korean actor who has become known for his roles in action movies due to his imponent physic. Ma Don-seok immigrated to America in his youth and became a personal trainer. Later he returned to Korea and began his career as an actor. He has been able to gain the attention of both Koreans and international audience after his role in “Train to Busan”. Ma Don Seok is not only able to do action movies, but he has been able to create successful characters in comedy and drama as well. He was casted as Gilgamesh for Marvel’s new movie “The Eternals” along with Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, and more. “The Eternals” will be released in November 2020. 

Actor Song Kang-ho and the Locarno 72 Excellence Award

Song Kang-ho became the first Asian to be awarded the Locarno Film Excellence Award.  The Locarno Film Excellence Award is a yearly recognition of internationally recognized actress/actor(s) whose cinematographic work has contributed to the enrichment of the field, by taking risks and embodying multi-faceted roles. The actor Song Kang Ho has received the award due to his performance in the Cannes Award winning movie “Parasite”. He accepted the award on August 13th during the Locarno 72 in Locarno, Switzerland. The actor has had different roles in his career as a cinematic actor since his debut in 1996. From comedy, in action, thriller, suspense and drama the actor has been able to navigate them all. This has allowed him to be nominated and elected for numerous awards throughout his career. 

BTS and the 2019 billboard awards

BTS became the first Korean boy group to win two Billboard awards. They also became the firsts Korean group to win the “Top Duo/Group” category. They competed against global known groups, Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5, Panic! At The Disco and the duo Dan + Shay. Their second award was Top Social Artists, which they have won for their third consecutive year. They competed against k-pop renowned groups, EXO and GOT7; as well as famous American singer Ariana Grande and English singer Louis Tomlinson. BTS has wowed worldwide with their innovative songs and concepts as well as the hard work and involvement in each of their songs. They also became the first South Korean artists to be appear/ be presenters at the Grammy’s. They present the ‘Best R&B Album’ during the 61st Grammy Awards. 

Diver Kim Su-ji and the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships

Kim Su-ji became the first South Korean to win a medal in the diving division during the FINA World Championships. She won the bronze medal during the 1-meter springboard competition. She made her international debut in the Olympics of 2012. Even though she took the bronze she is the first Korean to win in a diving competition. Korea is not known for its aquatic sports competitions, only swimming gains much attention in the country. Her win may be a prediction of history change and a start of polishing the aquatic sports in Korea. 

Park Ha-eun and the Special Olympics World Games”

The Special Olympic Games 2019 took place in Abu Dhabi. This event is the organized by the International Olympics committee. The games are an important way of creating a connection between sport health, people with intellectual disabilities and society. This way the societal stigma against people with intellectual disabilities can be broken or at least lessened. For the event different global artist are chosen to create a song, much like the Olympics. This year artists Luis Fonsi, Avril Lagne, Assala, and more, joined together to release “Right where I’m supposed to be”. During the global games the thirteen-year-old Park Ha Eun was able to mark history for South Koreans. She was diagnosed with autism and participated in the roller-skating 100-meter race. She won the first ever-gold medal in the Special Olympics World Games with her amazing performance. 

Poet Kim Hye-soon and the 2019 Griffin Poetry Prize

The Griffin Poetry Prize is the most prestigious prize in the poetry realm in Canada. The Griffin Poetry prize was awarded to Korean poet Kim Hye Soon in 2019 in the international category. Kim Hye Soon is the first Korean to receive the honor of winning said prize. She won the price thanks to her piece "Autobiography of Death" which Choi Don Mee translated to English. It is great to see that art has no barriers and that the beauty in words can be translated from one country to another.

[NEWSINSIDE Danitza Trejo Gonzalez]