(KOCCA)

(Left) S.M Entertainment, Bliss Entertainment

(Left) YG Entertainment, S.M. Entertainment

(Big Hit Entertainment)

The 2016 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards announced the recipients of their prestigious awards on Tuesday.The awards honor those who have made a contribution to contemporary pop culture and the arts, including actors, singers, comedians and models.There are a total of four awards, the President‘s Award, the Prime Minister’s Award, the Cultural Minister‘s Award and the Cultural Merit Award.This year, the President’s Award will be given to “Descendants of the Sun” co-stars Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, singer BoA, writer Kim Eun-sook, blues musician Lee Jung-sun, comedian Uhm Yong-soo and cartoon artist Lee Hyun-jae.The Prime Minister’s Award will be given to Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon, actor Cho Jin-woong and Yoo Ah-in, boy band SHINee, martial arts actor Kim Baek-soo and three others.The Cultural Minister’s Award will be given to boy band BTS, actor Jo Jung-suk, singer Hwang Chi-yeol, musical actor and singer Ock Joo-hyun and five others.The Cultural Merit award will be given to veteran actors Nam Goong-won and Kim Ji-min, veteran comedian Nam Bo-won, veteran trot singer Tae Jin-ah, singer-songwriter and musician Bae Sang-tae and broadcast producer and script writer Im Choong.The award ceremony will take place on Thursday at the National Theater of Korea.By Lee Sang-won (sangdoze@heraldcorp.com)