- Among the approx. 50,000 entries, 661 and 45 winners announced in the painting and video categories, respectively

- “Mask Dance in Front of The Sun, Moon and Five Peaks” by Gu Mi-gyeong awarded the grand prize in the painting category

- Winning works exhibited online on the Monami Mall website

Monami announced on the 1^st the winners of the 46^th Monami MONARTE Children’s Art Contest hosted by Monami and sponsored by the Korean Fine Arts Association.

Approximately 50,000 works entered this event, which was held under the theme of “Proud Korea!” for two months from July 18.

Based on the understanding of the theme, expression, creativity, screen composition, harmony of colors and completeness of the work, etc., the first and second assessments were conducted online, with the third assessment held as a review of the original works. After much consideration, the judges selected 661 and 45 winners for the painting and video categories, respectively.

In the painting category, “Mask Dance in Front of Irworobongdo” by Gu Mi-gyeong was awarded the grand prize. “It was difficult to select a winner because there were so many works themed proud Korea with excellent expression and high quality,” said Shim Jae-gwan from the Korean Fine Arts Association who was the chairperson of the judging panel. For the grand prize winner, Shim noted that the winner was selected unanimously by all judges, with high points given to the freshness of expression to combine two genres―Irworobongdo symbolizing the authority and dignity of the kings in the Joseon Dynasty and Bongsan Mask Dance that satirically criticized aristocracy in the same period―as well as the beautiful harmony of colors and stable composition.

In the video category, “Harmony Between Korean Traditional Food and Beautiful Colors” by Gu Seong-mo won the grand prize. For this category, the participants expressed their ideas in video format in less than 100 seconds. Gu Seong-mo, the grand prize winner, confidently expressed traditional Korean food befitting the theme of “proud Korea” in connection with five traditional colors.

According to Professor Son Ji-hyeon at the Seoul National University of Education, “Gu Seong-mo creatively interpreted the five colors of Bibimbap in relation to modern life and persuasively and effectively expressed his thoughts.

The winners in the painting category from the encouragement prize to the grand prize are presented with a plaque and a certificate along with a Monami Mall coupon as well as MONARTE learning materials. The grand prize winner and the first runner-up also receive scholarships worth KRW 1 million and KRW 500,000, respectively.

In the video category, the second runner-up, first runner-up, and grand prize winners are presented with a plaque and a certificate along with the complete collection of MONARTE learning materials. The grand prize winner and the first runner-up will receive scholarships worth KRW 300,000 and KRW 200,000, respectively. The winning works in the painting and video categories are on display in the “Online Exhibition” on the Monami Mall website.

“We would like to thank the children who participated in the 46^th Monami MONARTE Children’s Art Contest, including their teachers and parents. Inspired by the support of many people, we will continue creating opportunities for children to unleash their artistic talents and creativity to the full,” a Monami official said.

The Monami MONARTE Children’s Art Contest is an art competition boasting of a long tradition where around 470,000 works have entered over the last 10 years. As Monami’s representative social contribution activity participated in by tens of thousands of children each year, the art contest is officially sponsored by the Korean Fine Arts Association.