Order of Cultural Merit (South Korea)
South Korean order of merit
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The Order of Cultural Merit (Korean: 문화훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the fields of culture and art in the interest of promoting the national culture and national development."[1]
TypeOrder of merit
Awarded forOutstanding meritorious services in the fields of culture and art in the interest of promoting the national culture and national development.
StatusActive
GradesGeumgwan
Eungwan
Bogwan
Okgwan
Hwagwan
Eungwan
Bogwan
Okgwan
Hwagwan
| Order of Cultural Merit | |
|---|---|
Awarded by  South Korea | |
| Type | Order of merit |
| Awarded for | Outstanding meritorious services in the fields of culture and art in the interest of promoting the national culture and national development. |
| Status | Active |
| Grades | Geumgwan Eungwan Bogwan Okgwan Hwagwan |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Grand Order of Mugunghwa |
| Related | |
Grades
The Order of Cultural Merit is conferred in five grades.[2]
| Grade | Name | Ribbon |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Geumgwan (금관) | _ribbon.PNG) |
| 2nd | Eungwan (은관) | _ribbon.PNG) |
| 3rd | Bogwan (보관) | _ribbon.PNG) |
| 4th | Okgwan (옥관) | _ribbon.PNG) |
| 5th | Hwagwan (화관) | _ribbon.PNG) |
Recipients
Geumgwan (Gold Crown), 1st Class
- Myung-whun Chung, 1996[3]
- Shin Sang-ok, 2006[4]
- Nam June Paik, 2007[5]
- Yu Hyun-mok, 2009[6]
- Park Wan-suh, 2011[7]
- Youn Yuh-jung, 2021[8]
- Kim Uchang, 2022 [9]
- Song Hae, 2022 (posthumous)[10]
- Lee Jung-jae, 2022[11]
- Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2022[11]
- Sumi Jo, 2023[12]
- Lee Soon-jae, 2025 (posthumous)[13]
- Kim Ji-mee, 2025 (posthumous)[14]
- Ahn Sung-ki, 2026 (posthumous)[15]
Eungwan (Silver Crown), 2nd Class
- Martina Deuchler, 1995[16]
- Kim Duk-soo, 2007[17][18]
- Lee Mi-ja, 2009[19]
- Kun-Woo Paik, 2010[20]
- Lee Soo-man, 2011[21]
- Shin Young-kyun, 2011[21]
- Ha Chun-hwa, 2011[21]
- Kim Ki-duk, 2012[22]
- Kim Soo-hyun, 2012[22]
- Kim Ku-lim, 2017[23]
- Cho Yong-pil, 2013[24]
- Gu Bong-seo, 2013[24]
- Ahn Sung-ki, 2013[24]
- Patti Kim, 2013[24]
- Park Jung-ran, 2014[25]
- Song Hae, 2014[25]
- Choi Bul-am, 2014[25]
- Lee Soon-jae, 2018[26]
- Kim Min-ki, 2018[26]
- Bong Joon-ho, 2019[27]
- Kim Hye-ja, 2019[28]
- Yang Hee-eun, 2019[28]
- Ryu Je-dong, 2020[29]
- Go Doo-shim, 2020[30]
- Byun Hee-bong, 2020[30]
- Yoon Hang-gi, 2020[30]
- Han Cheol-hee, 2021[31]
- Lee Jang-hee, 2021[8]
- Lee Choon-yeon, 2021[8]
- Park Chan-wook, 2022[32]
- Kang Soo-yeon, 2022[32]
- Kim Hae-sook, 2025[33]
Bogwan (Precious Crown), 3rd Class
- Hai-Kyung Suh, 1980
- Yanagi Sōetsu, 1984[34]
- Park Chan-wook, 2004[35]
- Park Jeong-ja, 2007[36]
- Shin Goo, 2010[37]
- Go Eun-jung, 2010[37]
- Im Hee-chun, 2010[37]
- Shin Jung-hyeon, 2011[21]
- Oh Seung-ryong, 2011[21]
- Yoo Ho, 2011[21]
- Lee Ho-jae, 2011[38]
- Na Moon-hee, 2012[22]
- Song Chang-sik, 2012[22]
- Choi Eun-hee, 2014[25][39]
- Kim Su-il, 2014[25]
- Myung Kook-hwan, 2014[25]
- Kadir Topbaş, 2014[40]
- Kim Young-ok, 2018[41]
- Im Ha-ryong, 2020[30]
- Song Jae-ho, 2021[8]
- Park In-hwan, 2021[8]
- Noh Hee-gyeong, 2021[8]
- Song Kang-ho, 2022[32]
- Park Jin-sook, 2022[32]
- Huh Young-man, 2022[32]
- Lee Byung-hun, 2025[33]
- Jung Dong-hwan, 2025[33]
Okgwan (Jeweled Crown), 4th Class
- Kang Soo-yeon, 1987
- Moon So-ri, 2002
- Choi Min-sik, 2004[35] — Choi Min-sik returned the decoration badge in 2006, protesting large cuts in support programs for the arts programs of the Korean government.[42]
- Lee Byung-hoon, 2006
- Jeon Do-yeon, 2007[43]
- Anthony Graham Teague, 2008[44]
- Park Jae-sang (Psy), 2012[22]
- Lee Jung-jin, 2012[22]
- Jo Min-su, 2012[22]
- Song Kang-ho, 2019[27]
- Kwon Ji-yong, 2025[33]
- Maggie Kang, 2025[45][46]
Hwagwan (Flower Crown), 5th Class
- Ji-young Kim, 1998[47]
- Bae Yong-joon, 2008[48]
- BTS, 2018:[A][50] Kim Nam-joon (RM), Kim Seok-jin (Jin), Min Yoon-gi (Suga), Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope), Park Ji-min (Jimin), Kim Tae-hyung (V) and Jeon Jung-kook (Jung Kook)[49]
- O Yeong-su, 2019
- Choi Soo-jung, 2024[51]
Class unknown
- Samuel Martin, 1994[52]