Gwangju City Selects 3 Masters of the Year

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Creative Ideas and Skills of Artisans Are the Driving Force for Regional Growth"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 23rd that it awarded the ‘2020 Gwangju Metropolitan City Master Craftsman’ certificates to three Gwangju masters (Myeongjang).

The Gwangju masters selected this year are Lee Suk-ja and Lee Soon from the beauty profession, and Ma Chil-seok from the baking and pastry profession. They were finally selected through document and field evaluations, public opinion collection, and interviews.

Lee Suk-ja (55), CEO of Central Hair Studio in the beauty profession, began her career by winning a gold medal at the Gwangju-Jeonnam regional competition in the 1983 Skills Competition. She achieved excellent results in beauty contests by developing beauty designs incorporating new technologies. She contributed to the development of the beauty industry through skill transfer and volunteer work in the beauty field.

Lee Soon, CEO of Lee Soon Beauty Salon in the beauty profession, possesses the skills to verify and restore the Joseon Dynasty queen’s ceremonial headdress ‘Hwanghu Daerye Daesu (皇后大禮 大首)’ using traditional tools and methods. She opened the Korean Beauty Museum on Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, contributing to the promotion of traditional beauty culture and the training of future generations.

Ma Chil-seok, CEO of Bread Seven Co., Ltd. in the baking and pastry profession, was recognized for his skills by winning the Asian continental championship and placing 4th in the finals at the 2012 French Baking World Cup. He currently supports participants in various competitions and serves as a judge, dedicating himself to nurturing baking and pastry talent through industry-academia cooperation such as work-study systems and apprenticeship school field training.

The selected masters receive a certificate certifying their master status, a plaque, and a technology encouragement fund of 10 million KRW, paid in installments over five years.

The eligibility criteria for applying as a Gwangju master include having worked in the same field or profession for more than 15 years, being registered residents in Gwangju for more than three years, working at a business located in the city for more than three years, and being recognized for significantly contributing to the development of local skilled technology and the improvement of skilled technicians’ status based on relevant technical skills.

Since introducing the ‘Craft Master’ system in 2013, Gwangju City has expanded it to 97 professions across 37 fields since last year and integrated it as the ‘Gwangju Metropolitan City Master Craftsman’ system, selecting 18 masters up to this year.

Yu Jae-yong, a master in the automobile maintenance profession, and Im Jong-cheol, a master in the window installation profession, who were selected as Gwangju Metropolitan City masters in 2019, were also selected as ‘Korea Masters’ in 2020.

Gwangju City is promoting the establishment of the ‘Hall of Gwangju Metropolitan City Masters’ at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center to raise pride among skilled technicians in various industrial fields and improve social awareness of local technicians. It is scheduled to open in May next year.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “In these difficult times due to COVID-19, the creative ideas and skills of excellent skilled personnel are the competitiveness and growth engine of the nation and region. I hope that the ‘Hall of Masters,’ to be established next year, will widely spread the skills and spirit of the masters throughout the local community and serve as an opportunity to boost citizens’ pride.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.