KCCLA & KOCCA SET DECEMBER 7 FOR DARI AWARDS

LOS ANGELES, CA (Date) – The Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles (KCCLA) and the Korea Culture & Content Agency (KOCCA) have set Friday December 7th to launch the organization’s DARI Awards ceremony, honoring entertainment executives and companies for outstanding contributions in advancing the culture of Korea within the U.S. market.

Created by KCCLA and KOCCA, the DARI Awards (DARI is Korean for ‘bridge’) will also showcase work produced by event’s recipients.

The 2007 DARI Awards recipients are:

• Freestyle, Freestyle Releasing is a full service theatrical motion picture company that specializes in representing independent companies, major studios, and mini-major studios on a "service deal" basis for the purpose of exhibiting their films in a first class theatrical release. Freestyle Releasing distributed "Dragon War (D-War)" directed by Hyung-rae Shim on September 14th, 2007 to the US, opening in 2,236 theaters.
• LA 18, Founded in 1976, LA 18 is Southern California's No. 1 Asian-language TV station bringing news and entertainment, in 13 languages, to the largest U.S. Asian market - composed of over 2.5 million Asian consumers. LA 18's over-the-air signal covers 6.2 million TV households in the Los Angeles and San Diego television markets. LA 18 is also carried by cable systems, DirecTV and DISH Network in the L.A. DMA.
• Nexon USA, for making outstanding contributions in advancing Korean culture and content within the United States. Nexon is a creator of Korean online gaming and has successfully found a way into the American market. With such popular games as Maple Story, Audition and Kartrider, Nexon has found a powerful market and audience in mainstream America.
• GAMEVIL USA, for heightening the image and representation of Korean creative contents with tremendous success publishing 3D mobile game service in the United States. GAMEVIL is a premier global mobile games publisher headquartered in Los Angeles, USA and Seoul, Korea. Since its founding in 2000, GAMEVIL has earned a reputation as one of the best companies in the mobile games sector by crafting 10 award winners in a diverse portfolio of over 60 games.
In addition to the award ceremony, the evening will also present an overview of the ‘Korean Wave,’ for the attendees. The Korean Wave is the phenomena of Korean-produced film, television and music currently sweeping across Asia.

“We are pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s DARI Awards,” said Daniel Kim, the Managing Director at KOCCA. “Each of our recipients have committed themselves and their companies towards creating bridges between our two cultures, and their outstanding contributions serve to foster appreciation of Korean culture and content”

About KCCLA

Operated by the Korean Government’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Korean Cultural Center (KCCLA) works to broaden understanding of Korea and Korea-U.S. relations through cultural and academic activities. KCCLA sponsors and hosts many different types of activities, including art exhibits, stage performances, film screenings, traditional Korean music and dance events, Korean food festivals, lectures, and sporting events. KCCLA also provides information on Korea – U.S. relations and assists exchange programs between the two countries.

About KOCCA

Fostering the growth of the creative content industries in Korea under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, KOCCA actively promotes Korean companies involved in animation, character licensing, music, comic publishing, Mobile and Internet and Education by serving as a global bridge between Korean culture content providers and international partners. KOCCA is committed to developing and promoting the Korean culture content industry; To build infrastructure for developing creativity and technology for culture content; To foster industry professionals and ensure sustainable development; To develop global partnership to enhance and support industry marketing efforts; To encourage industry investment and strengthen Korea as a global content provider.