‘Harbin’ and ‘Culinary Class Wars’ Take Home Top Honors at 61st Baeksang Arts Awards
The prestigious 61st Baeksang Arts Awards lit up COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam, Seoul on May 5 KST, celebrating the best in Korean film, television, and theater.
This year, the Grand Prize (Daesang) in film went to the acclaimed movie ‘Harbin‘, which captivated nearly 5 million moviegoers. It wasn’t the film’s only win, as it also secured the Best Picture award, solidifying its critical success.
In the television category, Netflix’s original variety show ‘Culinary Class Wars‘ nabbed the Grand Prize, making waves after generating significant buzz and overcoming strong competition.
While ‘Harbin’ took the film Daesang, the Netflix original film ‘Uprising‘ emerged as the most decorated film of the night, snagging three awards: Best New Actor for Jung Sung Il, Best Screenplay for Park Chan Wook & Shin Chul, and Best Artistic Direction for Jo Young Wook.
Other notable film winners included Jo Jung Suk (‘Pilot’) for Best Actor and Jeon Do Yeon (‘Revolver’) for Best Actress. Oh Seung Wook (‘Revolver’) won Best Director, while Yoo Jae Myung (‘Land of Happiness’) and Soo Hyun (‘A Normal Family’) earned Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively.
In the newcomer categories for film, Roh Yoon Seo (‘Hear Me: Our Summer’) won Best New Actress, notably delivering part of her acceptance speech in sign language, touching many hearts. Oh Jung Min (‘House of the Seasons’) received the Best New Director award.
Although it didn’t clinch the TV Grand Prize, Netflix’s ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines‘ became the night’s biggest winner overall, securing an impressive four awards: Best Drama, Best Supporting Actor for Choi Dae Hoon, Best Supporting Actress for Yeom Hye Ran, and Best Screenplay for Im Sang Choon.
tvN’s ‘Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born‘ also shone brightly, picking up two awards: Best Actress for the talented Kim Tae Ri and Best Artistic Direction (Music) for Jang Young Gyu.
MBC’s ‘Doubt‘ matched this with two wins: Best New Actress for Chae Won Bin and Best Director for Song Yeon Hwa.
The coveted Best Actor award in television went to Joo Ji Hoon for his role in ‘The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call’, while Choo Young Woo (‘The Tale of Lady Ok’) was named Best New Actor.
In the variety categories, YouTube program ‘Punghyanggo‘, featuring Yoo Jae Suk, won the Variety Show Award. The Best Male and Female Entertainer awards went to veterans Shin Dong Yup and Lee Soo Ji, respectively.
Director Park Chan Wook, accepting the Screenplay Award for ‘Uprising’, made a point to mention the upcoming June presidential election, emphasizing the importance of good leadership.
Special awards included the Prizm Popularity Award, won by Byun Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon, and the Gucci Impact Award, presented to ‘The Land of Morning Calm‘.