Composer Lee Geon-yong, the 4^th President of K-Arts, Is Accorded the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea Award

Composer Lee Geon-yong, who served as the 4th president of the K-Arts from 2002 to 2006, was accorded the 67th National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea Award (NAA Award). Granted by the Ministry of Culture, Sport, and Tourism of the Korean government, the NAA Award is an honor that recognizes an artist of the year who has contributed to the advancement of arts through excellence in creative activities. The prize money is 50 million KRW. The ceremony will be at the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea, on Monday, 5 September.

Composer Lee’s musical accomplishments encompass an array of various genres, such as the lied, cantata, opera, vocal music, chamber music, symphonic music, and instrumental music. Lee has been a trailblazer, especially in creating Korean opera. 

Born in South Pyongan Province in North Korea in 1947, Lee studied music at the Seoul National University and Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He taught in the School of Music in K-Arts from 1993. After then, he served as an art director of the Western music group in the Sejong Center and the Seoul Metropolitan Opera. Lee also won the 1998 Kumho Culture Award in Music, 2007 Order of Cultural Merit, and 2013 Blue Stripes Order of Service Merit.