Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung of CJ Opens the Academy Film Museum She Carefully Prepared

by Lee Jonggil

Published 01 Oct.2021 00:36(KST)

Attending Gala Event with Actors Youn Yuh-jung, Lee Byung-hun, and Kang Dong-won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Mi-kyung, Vice Chairwoman of CJ, celebrated the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in the United States alongside Korean filmmakers such as actors Youn Yuh-jung and Lee Byung-hun.

CJ ENM announced on the 30th of last month that Lee attended the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures gala event held on the 25th of last month (local time) in Los Angeles, California. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest film museum in North America, created to explore film and related culture. It houses 8,000 collected items including costumes, props, production designs, makeup styling, and promotional materials. It also exhibits 12.5 million photographs from the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archive, 250,000 films and videos, 91,000 scripts, 66,500 posters, and 138,000 pieces of production art.

Lee, who also serves as the vice chair of the Academy Museum board, has worked diligently for the successful opening. In particular, in April, she explained the operational policy to the media, promising, "We will provide an invaluable opportunity to understand the bigger picture of film." She added, "No matter where you come from, we will closely connect films that contain your and our lives." The first invited guests were Korean filmmakers. Along with Youn Yuh-jung, the first Korean actor to win an Academy acting award, actors representing Korea such as Lee Byung-hun and Kang Dong-won, director Yoon Je-kyun, who is about to enter Hollywood with a film about K-pop, and director Lee Isaac Chung of 'Minari' attended together.

It is unusual for so many Koreans to attend an event of the largest film institution in the United States, demonstrating the elevated status of Korean cinema. The organization that established the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which hosts the Academy Awards. At last year's Academy Awards, director Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' swept the awards for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and International Feature Film. This year, Youn Yuh-jung won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Soon-ja in the American film 'Minari.'

Meanwhile, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which officially opened at 9 a.m. that day, is not only unveiling exhibits but also holding a retrospective of Hayao Miyazaki. Soon, works by Korean directors such as Bong Joon-ho and Lee Chang-dong will also be showcased.