Hyundai Motor Group, University Theater and Musical Festival Awards Ceremony "Total Prize Money of 33 Million Won"

Teams awarded at the '9th Hyundai Motor Group University Theater and Musical Festival Awards Ceremony' are taking a commemorative photo (Photo by Hyundai Motor Company)

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 15th that it held the awards ceremony for the "9th Hyundai Motor Group University Theater and Musical Festival" at Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Itaewon, Seoul.

First launched in 2013, the "Hyundai Motor Group University Theater and Musical Festival Awards Ceremony" is the largest nationwide university performing arts festival, hosted by Hyundai Motor Group and the Korea Performing Producers Association, and supported by 12 cultural and artistic organizations including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Over the past eight years, more than 12,000 university students from 501 university teams nationwide have participated, with a cumulative audience of about 23,000 for the finals and awards ceremonies.

Actors Song Seunghwan, Lee Byunghun, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor Group, Kim Yongje, President of the Korea Performing Producers Association, and other event officials and participants attended the ceremony.

This year’s awards ceremony was held both online and offline in consideration of COVID-19. Only a small group of about 50 people attended the offline ceremony, while the rest, except for the representatives of each winning team, participated online. Additionally, 500 people, including 250 general citizens who applied in advance, were invited as so-called "online viewers."

For two weeks prior, seven finalist works (six plays and one musical) were broadcast live on the festival’s official channels (YouTube, Naver TV) so that anyone could watch. In particular, 38 audience judges appointed were also able to participate in judging the six plays.

A total of 49 teams from 43 universities nationwide competed fiercely in the preliminaries, resulting in 11 final teams (six plays and five musicals) advancing to the finals.

Among them, the play "Haemu" from Baekseok Arts University and the musical from Seokyeong University were selected as the grand prize winners in the play and musical categories respectively, receiving the "Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award" and a prize of 6 million KRW per team at the awards ceremony.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Group awarded a total of 33 million KRW in prize money and certificates across 13 categories (7 group awards and 6 individual awards), including the "Hyundai Motor Group President’s Award" and the "Festival Executive Chairman’s Award," which also included grand prizes.

A Hyundai Motor Group official emphasized, "Through the '9th Hyundai Motor Group University Theater and Musical Festival,' which has established itself as Hyundai Motor Group’s representative cultural and artistic social contribution project, we will continuously support the dreams of young people and contribute to the revitalization of performing arts in Korea."

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