Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Bong Joon-ho to win APN award

Top Korean actors Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin and noted director Bong Joon-ho will be honored at the Asia-Pacific Producers Network (APN), according to the event's host Jecheon International Music and Film Festival (JIMFF) on Wednesday.

The honorees will be recognized for their contributions to the film industry in the region at the 5th annual Jecheon International Music and Film Festival to be held from August 12 to 14 held in the North Chungcheong Province of Korea.

The APN is an association of 100 film producers from 10 Asia-Pacific countries including Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

The APN announced that starting this year, they will expand the number of awards categories to actor, actress and director. Before, only one actor or actress from the host country received the award.

Lee is considered one of the most successful actors in Korea, having starred in numerous hit dramas and films. His latest works include blockbuster series "IRIS" (KBS, 2009) and his debut Hollywood film "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009).

Son, 28, rose to stardom in Asia with her role in the TV series "Summer Scent" (KBS, 2003). She also played the female lead in the movie "White Night" (2009) and most recently in MBC's "Personal Taste" (2010).

Director Bong Joon-ho is known worldwide for his works including blockbuster hit movies "The Host" (2006) and "Mother" (2009) which won various awards at international film festivals in 2010.

Previous winners of this award includes Cannes award-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon for her role in "Secret Sunshine" (2007) and Japanese actor Kenichi Matsuyama for his role as L in the film "Death Note" (2008). In 2009, Chinese actress Xun Zhou, who starred in "The Night Banquet" (2006), "Painted Skin" (2008) and "Confucius" (2010), was handed the honor.

Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@