Vice chairwoman leads arts promotion, talent development and 'artainment' vision

Choi Yun-jung, vice chairwoman of Paradise Group, speaks after receiving the Mecenat Person Award at the 27th Mecenat Awards ceremony on Tuesday. [Paradise Group]
Choi Yun-jung, vice chairwoman of Paradise Group, speaks after receiving the Mecenat Person Award at the 27th Mecenat Awards ceremony on Tuesday. [Paradise Group]

Choi Yun-jung, vice chairwoman of Paradise Group, received the Mecenat Person Award — a commendation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — at the 27th Mecenat Awards, held Tuesday at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Chosun Seoul.

The Mecenat Awards were established in 1999 to recognize companies and business figures for their contributions to cultural and artistic development and to encourage corporate patronage of the arts. The ceremony honors recipients across five categories: the Grand Prize, Cultural Contribution Award, Creative Award, Mecenat Person Award and Arts & Business Award. The Mecenat Person Award is the only honor given to an individual.

Choi has led Paradise Group's cultural and welfare foundations, driving arts promotion, expanded employment of people with disabilities and talent development initiatives. Paradise City currently displays more than 3,000 works of art by domestic and international artists, about 90 percent of which are by Korean artists.

"I believe an important role of mecenat is to stand by creators and connect the value they produce with as many people as possible," Choi said. Choi added that she would continue "creating sustainable opportunities for everyone to discover their potential, develop their abilities and grow together with society."


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