Soo-man Lee, Bang Si-hyuk, Bong Joon-ho, and Mi-kyung Lee Selected for US 'Variety 500'

Movie 'Minari' Also Includes Korean-American Actor Steven Yeun

Lee Soo-man / Photo by SM Entertainment

Lee Soo-man, the Chief Producer of SM Entertainment, and Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, were named in the 'Variety 500' selected by the American pop culture media Variety on the 21st (local time). This is a list of 500 influential leaders who have led the global media industry over the past year. It has been announced annually since 2017.

Lee Soo-man was the only Korean to be nominated for five consecutive years. Variety introduced him as "the founder of SM Entertainment, a leading K-pop label that has produced artists such as Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, Red Velvet, EXO, SuperM, NCT, and aespa, and a key figure in the global music industry." Regarding Chairman Bang, Variety mentioned the American media company Ithaca Holdings, which he acquired last April, explaining that "he brought BTS together with companies representing artists like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the film industry, director Bong Joon-ho was included for the third consecutive year. Variety referred to the Academy Award win of the film Parasite and added that "HBO is planning to produce a series." Lee Mi-kyung, Vice Chairman of CJ who produced Parasite, was also selected for the second consecutive year under the English name 'Miki Lee.' Variety explained that she "is involved in the first K-pop film produced in the U.S. (K-pop: Lost in America) alongside producer Linda Obst." The list also included Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, who starred in the film Minari. Variety introduced him as "the first Asian American actor nominated for Best Actor at the recent Academy Awards."

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