The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will hold a government award ceremony for contributors to the development of the printing culture industry at the "37th Printing Culture Day" commemorative event on the 12th at Hotel PJ Karadium Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul.
"Printing Culture Day" marks Sept. 14, 1447 (the 25th day of the seventh lunar month), when Seokbo Sangjeol, the first Korean metal movable-type book, was printed, and this year is the 37th edition. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism gives awards every year on this day to boost the morale of printing workers and advance the industry.
This year's awardees total 23: one for the Order of Cultural Merit, one presidential citation, one prime minister's citation, and 20 Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism citations.
This year's Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit goes to Park Jin-tae, head of Gyeongseong Munhwasa. Since founding Gyeongseong Munhwasa in 1991, Park has printed about 80 million volumes of publications annually over 33 years despite rapidly changing economic and industrial conditions, leading eco-friendly, high-quality printing and environmental, social and governance (ESG) management through steady technological development and management innovation.
The presidential citation goes to Kim Su-min, head of Suin Document Curator. Kim was recognized for establishing capabilities in small-lot, multi-item printing, including developing a remote maintenance system for extensible markup language (XML) that automatically reflects document editing and revisions in real time and obtaining a patent.
Prime minister's citation recipient Ahn Gyeong-man, head of Gyeongin D&P, as a first-generation printing professional, actively promoted projects to vitalize succession of small printing businesses while obtaining patents for a data-linked enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and trademark registrations, contributing to industrial development.
The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism citations will be awarded to 20 people, including Kang Gu-tae, head of Boseong Injae, and Shin Won-gyun, head of Bohyeon Total Printing, who contributed to the industry through technological development and management innovation such as improving print quality and automating printing.
Vice Minister Kim Young-su of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "Next year, the '2026 World Printing Conference,' which brings together officials from the printing culture industry of each country, will be held in Korea for the first time in 10 years, so we plan to support efforts to elevate the international standing of 'K-Print' as the birthplace of printing and create an opportunity for the industry to make a fresh leap."