Fifteen Stories Selected for the Korea Content Awards After 163-to-1 Competition

Awards Ceremony at COEX on the 25th, 2,448 Entries Submitted
"Ille," a Reimagining of Traditional Folklore, Wins the Presidential Award

This Year's Award-Winning Works in the Story Category of the Korea Content Awards

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency will hold the "Korea Content Awards Story Category Ceremony" at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on November 25.

This event serves as a platform to discover original stories with the potential to develop into all areas of K-content, including comics and webtoons, performances, animation, dramas, and films. This year, 2,448 entries were submitted, resulting in a competition ratio of 163 to 1.

The panel of 177 judges, including Lee Myunghan, CEO of Egg Is Coming, selected fifteen winning works through a three-stage evaluation process.

The Grand Prize, which is the Presidential Award, will be awarded to writer Lee Yoomi’s "Ille." The story revolves around a human girl who makes a deal with the deity Ille, who governs childcare and illness, and struggles to save her sister. The judges commented, "Based on regional traditional folklore, the work reimagined its characters and world-building, and delivered a highly immersive narrative within a sophisticated story structure."

The Minister’s Award for Excellence will go to four works: "Post-it Lady" by writer Chae Heon, "Bu-gwan-cham-si" by writer Kim Minsu, "Crocodile" by writer Jang Eunjoon, and "Gyeongseong Auctioneer Lee Seunghwa" by writer Jo Jieun.

The Korea Creative Content Agency Director’s Award for Merit will be given to ten works: "Hanyang Modern Girl Parandyeon" by writer Jeong Eunhwa, "Fracture" by writer Choi Youngin, "Interpreter Grace" by writer Gye Kyungbae, "Suddenly" by writer Park Jaehyun, "Vine of Numbers" by writer Choi Jungseok, "The Herbivorous Dinosaur’s Love Method" by writer Jo Eunnal, "Mongsori" by writer Yoon Moonsung, "The Turnaround of Jeonse" by writer Seo Miran, "Ellen" by writer Ko Seohyeong, and "The Heyday of Youngja" by writer Choi Kisuk.

The Grand Prize winner will receive 50 million won, the Excellence Award winners will receive 30 million won each, and the Merit Award winners will receive 15 million won each.

The Ministry and the Korea Creative Content Agency will support the commercialization of the winning works at the "Content Intellectual Property (IP) Market," held at COEX for three days starting November 25. At a public event, the writers will directly explain their creative intentions and engage in Q&A sessions with industry professionals. One-on-one business consultation sessions between writers and participating companies will also be held.

Choi Sunghui, Director-General of Content Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Outstanding original stories are a crucial IP source for K-content that can expand into any field," adding, "We will strive to create an environment where writers can fully unleash their creativity."

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