For which episode did Sang-Jin Kim win an Emmy for animation achievement?

Sang-Jin Kim won an Emmy for animation achievement for the Avatar: The Last Airbender episode “Lake Laogai.”

The honor came at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2007, in the juried category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation. Kim was recognized as an animator for his work on the episode, which is the 17th chapter of the show’s second season, Book Two: Earth.

“Lake Laogai” follows Team Avatar’s investigation into a hidden Dai Li facility beneath Ba Sing Se. The episode is especially important to the season’s political storyline: it reveals the extent of Long Feng’s manipulation and introduces the brainwashed Earth King as part of the city’s controlled public image.

A frequent mix-up involves “City of Walls and Secrets,” another Ba Sing Se episode. That episode received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program, but it was not the episode tied to Kim’s individual animation award. The Emmy was for Kim’s creative contribution, not a general series award presented to the entire production.