Ballet dancer Park Sae-eun received the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French culture ministry, Saturday. Courtesy of Etoile Classic

Ballet dancer Park Sae-eun, the first Asian principal dancer at the Paris Opera, has been honored with the French order of merit.

According to Park's Korean management company Etoile Classic, she has been awarded Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, Saturday.

Park is the first Korean dancer to receive the accolade, which recognizes individuals who have contributed to the development of art and culture.

"I am so grateful and honored to be named a ‘Chevaliere de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,'" she wrote on Instagram.

Born in 1989, Park's journey in ballet began at the age of 10. A graduate of the Korea National University of Arts, she has an impressive array of awards under her belt including Prix de Lausanne in 2007, Varna International Ballet Competition in 2010 and Prix du Cercle Carpeaux in 2013.

Her career with the Korean National Ballet started in 2009 and she joined the Paris Opera in 2011. Park's rise through the ranks at the Paris Opera was swift, moving from Corps de Ballet in 2012 to "Coryphee" in 2013, "Sujet" in 2014 and "Premiere Danseuse" in 2017.

In 2018, Park's talent was recognized when she won the best female dancer prize at the Prix Benois de la Danse for her role in "Diamonds," choreographed by George Balanchine.

Her appointment as "Danseuse Etoile," or principal dancer, came in 2021 after a performance of "Romeo and Juliet."

In this season, Park will perform Clara in Rudolf Nureyev's "The Nutcracker" in December and Kitri in "Don Quixote" in March and April next year.

The Order of Arts and Letters, established by the French Ministry of Culture in 1957, is an honor recognizing significant contributions in the fields of art and culture. It comprises three ranks of Commander (Commandeur), Officer (Officier) and Knight (Chevalier).

Park joins a growing list of Koreans who have received this honor, conductor Chung Myung-whun as Commander in 2011 and director Bong Joon-ho (2016), artist Kim Tschang-Yeul (2017) and filmmaker Kim Jee-woon (2018) at the Officer level and fashion designer Andre Kim (2000) and actor Jeon Do-yeon (2009) as Chevalier.