World-famous K-pop star Psy has been announced as the winner of the CICI 2016 Image of Korea award, which is normally granted to the celebrity that has had the largest influence on the spread of Korean culture globally.
The award was granted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the image of Korea internationally.
PSY also was named as the recipient of the "Stepping Stone" award, due to his instrumental role in the spread of Korean culture worldwide with his unique music and novel music videos.
The award ceremony will be held on Jan. 12 at 6 P.M. in Seoul.
PSY also won the "Image of Korea" prize in 2013, after his hit "Gangnam Style" went viral worldwide.
This time, PSY was selected as the winner due to his 7th album, "Chiljib PSY-Da," which was released on Dec. 1. The title song, "Daddy," was ranked No. 1 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart for three weeks, while the "Daddy" music video has racked up nearly 90 million views on YouTube only two months after being released.
The CICI 2016 Image of Korea award was also awarded to 29-year-old violinist Clara Jumi Kang.
