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The talked-about hit ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ was rewarded for the power of culture it demonstrated on and off the screen.

The film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’, which showed influential impact inside and outside theaters, won in the Gucci Impact Award category.

At the ‘62nd Baeksang Arts Awards with Gucci’, where the Italian luxury brand Gucci participated as a partner for the fourth consecutive year, the film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ (director Jang Hang-jun) was selected as the winner of the Gucci Impact Award (GUCCI IMPACT AWARD) for this year. Recording a cumulative 16.8 million admissions, it sparked meaningful syndromes and discourse across not only the film industry but also history, culture, and society at large. As a work that proved both popularity and artistry, ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ deepened the significance of the Gucci Impact Award.

Director Jang Hang-jun, who took the stage, said, “Thank you for giving me such a big award. If I ever buy luxury goods in the future, I will buy only Gucci,” drawing laughter on site with his playful remark. He continued, “Thank you for making a bold decision to invest even amid the difficulties facing the Korean film industry,” expressing gratitude to the production team and staff who made ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ together, and to actors Yoo Hae-jin, Park Ji-hoon, Yoo Ji-tae, Jeon Mi-do, and Kim Min.

First established at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards, the ‘Gucci Impact Award’ is given to works that contribute to creating a better tomorrow. Each year a theme is set, and nominees and a winner befitting that theme are selected.

In the inaugural year, the award went to the film ‘Next Sohee’ (director Jung Ju-ri), which portrayed real stories about youth labor issues and social inequality. At the 60th ceremony, adopting ‘Women in Cinema (Women in Cinema)’ as a sub-theme, ‘You and I’ (director Cho Hyun-chul) was chosen among works that depicted the diverse lives and emotions of female characters on screen. Last year, by expanding the Baeksang Arts Awards’ keyword that advocated ‘Sail Toward, Voyage’ into the theme ‘A Voyage Toward Hope’, ‘The Seagull at Morning Sea’ (director Park Yi-woong) took home the trophy.

This year, adding the meaning of ‘Impact’ to the Baeksang Arts Awards’ theme ‘The Stage (The Stage)’, which conveys ‘a stage unique to the Baeksang Arts Awards’, the Gucci Impact Award category adopted ‘The Stage of Impact (The Stage of Impact)’ as its theme.

From April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, Korean feature films released or unveiled domestically were reviewed by the film division jury, and works that broadened audience awareness through powerful cinematic messages and shaped social discourse were selected as nominees. As a result, five films were nominated: ‘Third Year, Second Semester’ (director Lee Ran-hee), ‘People and Meat’ (director Yang Jong-hyun), ‘Master of the World’ (director Yoon Ga-eun), ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’, and ‘Pavane’ (director Lee Jong-pil). ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ was chosen as the final winner.

Set against Cheongnyeongpo in 1457, ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ depicts the life in Yeongwol of a village head who volunteers for exile to revive his village and a young former king who was deposed from the throne and banished. Bringing to the screen for the first time in 569 years the hidden narrative of ‘Joseon’s sixth king Danjong’a story everyone knows but history tried to concealthe film stirred hearts nationwide and set a box-office record of 16.8 million admissions, ranking second in Korean film history. The social phenomena it triggered on and off the screenfrom a theater revival amid the ‘Danjong fever’ and ‘Danjong syndrome’ to tourism to Yeongwolrekindled the power of culture beyond the power of cinema.

Meanwhile, as part of cultural events linked to the ‘Gucci Impact Award’ this year as well, Gucci will hold ‘Rooftop Cinema’ at the Gucci Cheongdam flagship store for two days from May 22 to 23. The lineup will consist of this year’s ‘Gucci Impact Award’ winning work, and Rooftop Cinema will operate by invitation only. On May 29, a gala dinner attended by the recipients will carry forward the significance of the event.