Jongcheol Lee, a museum curator, has received the "Young Curator of the Year" award selected by the National Museum of Korea.

This award, now in its third year, is presented to discover and encourage domestic curators under the age of 45 who have contributed to museum operations or show high potential for future development.

Curator Lee planned and supported exhibitions including the 2008 special exhibition "Rainbow Gwangju" at the Gwangju National Museum and the 2009 special exhibitions "Masterpieces of Jeonbuk" and "Yi Gye‑maeng, the Merit Official Who Restored Joseon" at the Jeonju National Museum.

In particular, he made a significant contribution to the opening of the newly constructed museum at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) last year, and this year he drew attention by organizing exhibitions at the JBNU Museum such as "Jangseung: Sharing the Journey of Time" and "Korean Painting: Jeonbuk Today."

Curator Lee said, "Among many excellent and more hardworking curators, I think this is an encouragement to work even harder. Now that the JBNU Museum has opened with excellent facilities, I will make further efforts to ensure it becomes a museum visited by not only university members but also many local residents."

Meanwhile, Curator Lee served as a curator at the Gwangju National Museum and the Jeonju National Museum from 2002, and has worked at the JBNU Museum since 2009. He received the Minister of Culture and Tourism Award in 2006.