Miky Lee, the 'Godmother of K-Culture', Receives Asian Hall of Fame Honour

Miky Lee, vice chair of South Korea's CJ Group, has received the Centennial Medal of Lifetime Achievement from the Asian Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. Variety reported the award.

Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, presented the medal. He called Miky Lee the godmother of K-culture, the term used for South Korea's popular culture, from films and music to television, as it reaches audiences abroad.

Her work in film is among the reasons for the honour. Miky Lee was an executive producer on Bong Joon Ho's Parasite. An executive producer usually handles financing and business arrangements rather than the day-to-day filming. Parasite won four Academy Awards in 2020, and it became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture.

Her reach extends beyond the screen. KCON, a Korean culture festival, launched in the United States in 2012. Variety linked her name to that event in its coverage of the award.

The Asian Hall of Fame named her as the Centennial Medal recipient in its Class of 2026 announcement on 30 September 2026. The same announcement named Sophie Chang as recipient of the Humanitarian Service Medal of Honor. The organisation describes itself as a cross-cultural platform that works to advance Asian and Native legacy, early-career achievement and interracial collaboration, according to its website. Lee Soo-man was himself an inductee in the Hall's Class of 2025, as the Asian Hall of Fame has stated in its event materials.

For readers who follow Korean films and music, the evening linked two generations of the industry. One name was tied to the film that took Hollywood's top prize, and the other to the agency behind some of the region's best-known pop groups.