Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice, Oldboy), Maggie Kang (KPop Demon Hunters), and Lee Byung Hun (Squid Games, No Other Choice) will be honored by the Korean American Leaders in Hollywood at its inaugural KALH Honors celebration in Los Angeles on December 7.
Created in 2020, KALH brings together a cross-section of leaders from film, television, beat and philanthropy to celebrate Korean excellence in global cinema. The group is a creative coalition for those who lead, create and transform culture from within the industry.
“From the exuberant energy and style of KPop Demon Hunters, to the heartbreaking duality of the desperate everyman Man-su in No Other Choice, to the combustive iconography of Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave, Maggie Kang, Lee Byung Hun and Park Chan-wook illuminate the power of art without limits and demonstrate the breadth, diversity and richness of Korean storytelling,” shared Kymber Lim, Founder and Executive Director of KALH. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to recognize each of these phenomenal filmmakers with our inaugural KALH Honors award.”
KALH celebrates Director Park with its Visionary Filmmaker honor, for being “one of cinema’s great auteurs,” who has “written and directed some of the most acclaimed and influential films in contemporary cinema.” KALH touts his work, which spans three decades, for “elevating Korean cinema to global prominence and inspiring a generation of artists and filmmakers from across the globe.”
His most recent feature, Neon’s No Other Choice, won the International Audience Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and the International Audience Award and International Auteur Award for Park at the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival. He was also awarded Best Film Not in the English Language at the 71st BAFTA Film Awards for The Handmaiden, the Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes Festival for Thirst, and the Grand Prix for Oldboy at the 57th Cannes Film Festival.
KALH’s Distinguished Actor honor will be presented to Lee, who is coming off back-to-back hits, Netflix’s Squid Games, and Director Park’s No Other Choice. For his role in the Neon film, he received a Gotham nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance. He is also the recent recipient of the Toronto International Film Festival Special Tribute Award as well as the creator of Distinction Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
For his performance in Inside Men, he won a total of 14 awards, including the Best Actor Prize from the Baeksang Art Awards, Blue Dragon Awards, and Grand Bell Awards. Lee was the first Korean actor to be given the Asian Film Excellence Award at their 15th annual celebration, the first Korean actor to present an Oscar at the Academy Awards, and the first Korean actor to imprint his hand and foot in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
Kang is a Korean-Canadian filmmaker who co-directed and co-wrote the global phenomenon, Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters. For her work on the banger animated film, she will receive the group’s Pioneer Award. Her additional credits include the features The Lego Ninjago Movie, Trolls, Rio 2, and Puss in Boots, to name a few. Up next, Kang is expected to return to write the recently announced Kpop Demon Hunters sequel.
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