The Chungbuk Science and Technology Innovation Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Chungbuk STII") held the "3rd National K-Story Contest Awards Ceremony" on Friday the 23rd at the Jincheon K-Story Creative Cluster, honoring 12 winning works that creatively utilized Chungbuk’s cultural resources.

Designed to discover talented creators and original story IPs in the web novel and genre fiction fields using Chungbuk’s cultural resources, this year's contest drew more than twice the number of submissions compared to the previous year. The stature of the event was further elevated by expanding the genre fiction category and newly establishing the Korea Creative Content Agency Award.

The Grand Prize was awarded to author Jung Yu-jin, and the Top Excellence Prize went to author Yoon Ji-hyun, while authors Huh Seung-hwa and Lee Sung-hyun received the Excellence Prizes. Including 3 encouragement awards and 5 runner-up selections, a total of 12 works received a combined prize pool of 20 million won.

Notably, author Kang Min-gyu, a runner-up selection currently attending Hongseong High School, drew attention by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with veteran and rookie writers on the list of winners.

Alongside the awards ceremony, the event featured programs aimed at strengthening creators' competencies and supporting the post-commercialization of outstanding story IPs. Following the awards, a special lecture for authors and a 1:1 business matching consultation session for the novel sector were held.

Author Lee Ye-jun (pen name: Bamboo House), an active web novel writer and certified public accountant, shared his real-world creative experiences and box-office success know-how, offering participants new perspectives and creative inspiration.

Subsequently, the "1:1 Business Matching Consultation Session for the Novel Sector"—featuring leading domestic content companies such as Zayak Company Co., Ltd., D&C Media Co., Ltd., and KidariStudio, Inc.—explored avenues for creators to enter platforms, advance into publishing and distribution, and commercialize their IPs.

Shin Hee-man, Head of the Content Promotion Division at Chungbuk STII, stated, "With more than twice as many submissions as last year, we confirmed the high level of interest from creators nationwide. We will continue to support exceptional stories so they can connect with content companies and transition into actual industries and markets."

Meanwhile, Chungbuk STII plans to continuously support the market entry and content expansion of these winning story IPs through follow-up assistance such as e-book publication, registration on Storyum, and copyright registration.

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