Baeksang Arts Awards Winners and Nominees

My Mister - From the story to the acting, from the cinematography to the soundtrack, My Mister is a work of art that I don't think I can praise enough. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started watching it, but as the story unfolds, it took a place in my heart that very few dramas have taken. It's a drama about human relations and emotions, and while a lot of it has a fairly grim backdrop, it's somehow also one of the most heartwarming drama I've seen. It's not a story I will forget anytime soon. - u/TotoroTheGreat

My Mister won the awards for the Best Drama and Best Screenplay at the 55th Baeksang Awards (2019). Nominations included Best Director, Best Actor (Lee Sun Kyun), Best Actress (IU), Best Supporting Actress (Oh Na-ra) and Best New Actress (Kyon Na-ra).

Mother -  Mother is a suspenseful and beautifully emotional tale of motherhood and growth. The plot involves Soo Jin, a temporary teacher who had no interest in becoming a mother, who realizes that a girl in her class is being abused. Realizing that the girl is in immediate danger, she decides to kidnap her in order to protect her. And so begins a roller-coaster of a journey that takes us through the various motions as Soo Jin meets the many mothers in her life and understands the value of motherhood. For a story about motherhood, this had me at the edge of my seat with all the suspense and thrill that it throws at you. Amazing acting, a gripping and heartwarming story and some great direction and cinematography really makes this drama shine. - u/TotoroTheGreat

Mother won the award for Best Drama and Best New Actress (Heo Yool) at the 54th Baeksang Awards (2018). Nominations included Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Lee Bo Young).

Misaeng: This drama won awards for Best Actor, Best Director, Best New Actor, and was nominated for Best Drama for the 2015 awards. This drama focuses on the journey of four interns as they struggle to adjust to the grueling work environment of the large trading company they are employed at. This drama was worth watching because I found myself invested in all the characters, and I really felt their emotions as the story progressed. It is a classic "root for the underdog" story, but is also realistic and relatable. This drama deserved all the recognition it received.  - u/eal8

When the Camellia Blooms: In 2020, this drama received the Grand Prize/Daesang as well as awards for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. It was also nominated for Best Drama and Best Director. When the Camellia Blooms is a romantic-comedy about a single-mother running a restaurant-bar in a small town. As a fan of crime dramas, I also enjoyed the crime side-plot. This drama is worth watching because it was funny, relatable, heartwarming, and also stirred my emotions. It also presents the lesson of the importance of asking for support and the value of building a strong community.  - u/eal8

My Lovely Sam Soon - I can't think of another drama this endearing, funny, upbeat, and all around lovable. Spunky baker meets haughty restauranteur, sparks ensue. Lots of sparks. And lots of precise, well crafted dialogue and character arcs, too. My Lovely Sam Soon won the television Daesang / Grand Prize and the award for Best Screenplay. It also earned a nomination for Best Drama, too. Director Kim Yoon-cheol also got a nod. And last but certainly not least, lead actress Kim Sun-a was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of the unforgettably, hilariously brash titular character. - u/amnesiafakedating

I Hear Your Voice - Lee Bo Young so deserved the Best Actress award she won for her portrayal of Jang Hye-sung, who grows into a stubborn, egotistical, selfish woman, but who is visited with both tragedy and romance that impel her to grow and transcend. This operatic drama checks off all the makjang boxes, yet it's also cathartic and profound. Behold the power of love and redemption. Nominations for Best Actor for Lee Jong Suk, Best Director for Jo Soo-won, and for Best Drama. - u/amnesiafakedating

Secret Garden - Hyun Bin won the Daesang / Grand Prize for his definitive portrayal of the tsundere megalord of all romantic male leads of all time, space and beyond. This drama is a makjang hoot and a half, and it's chock full of wonderful performances and outlandish moments. And Hyun Bin's hateable, seductive, wounded chaebol snob is an enduring triumph. - u/amnesiafakedating

Don't Dare to Dream / Jealousy Incarnate - Jo Jung Suk's acting in this thing is steel melting temperature hot. And he's funny as hell. And he was most deservedly nominated for Best Actor. He portrays a flawed, egotistical man, formed by a Confucian society and living an internal hell over having violated his core values in order to pursue his professional ambitions. While the subtext of this drama is how modernization weakens social and family ties, it's also a hilarious romantic comedy, in which complex, surprising characters compete, backstab, create frenemyships, and fall in love. No shade on Gong Yoo, who won the year's Best Actor award for Goblin, but Gong Yoo has done better work in more interesting projects than Goblin, which was a very popular drama that year. In comparison, Jo Jung Suk's character gave him more interesting places to go, and he went all the way. If I could reassign the Baeksang awards according to my own opinions of artistic merit, I would give the top award to Jo Jung Suk. - u/amnesiafakedating

Hot Stove League - This drama is about a baseball team "Dreams" that is at the last rank for the past 2-3 years. The new manager is passionate about bringing this team to the top again. The drama deals with the conflicts within the team and the people involved in managing the team. Namgoong Min, Park Eun-Bin and Jo Byung-Gyu along with Oh Jung-Se were all fabulous in their roles. The drama won the Best Drama Award at Baeksang Art Awards.  - u/Fatooz

Goblin - Kim Eun-Sook won the Daesang award and Gon Yoo won the Best Actor Award at Baeksang Art Awards for this drama. The drama is a fantasy romance, the bromance is amazing in this drama and so is the second couple. Plot wise it's an engaging drama and the cinematography and soundtrack is also fabulous of the drama. - u/Fatooz

Descendants of the Sun - The drama won the Daesang award at Baeksang Art Awards. It's a nice light-hearted rom-com along with some amazing characters. The chemistry between both the couples is off the charts. Plot wise it's decent.  - u/Fatooz

My Love From The Star - Jun Ji-Hyun won the Daesang award for this drama for her iconic role of Cheon Song-Yi. The drama is a classic drama with a stellar cast. The chemistry between the leads is fabulous and the plot is also interesting. - u/Fatooz

The Red Sleeve - Based on a true story, this drama is about Yi San (Lee Jun-Ho) who has had a tragic life as a crown prince and meets a young court maid (Lee Se-Young) and later a court lady who promises to be by his side and always saves him from tough situations. He falls for this courageous, smart and strong court lady and it’s all about the hardships they go through in order to complete their love. This drama got multiple nominations at Baeksang including Best Actor/Actress, Best Drama, Best Screenplay and so on with Lee Jun-Ho taking the award home for Best Actor for his exceptional performance as Yi San, depicting his character so beautifully that you’ll fall hard for him as an actor! - u/Fatooz

Twenty-Five Twenty-One - Na Hee-Do (Kim Tae-Ri) is a cheerful and bubbly girl next door who aspires to be a fencer and her role model is the popular Ko Yu-Rim (Bona). She works hard and always has someone cheering on her, Baek Yi-Jin (Nam Joo-Hyuk) who is her main support. It’s a coming of age drama about Na Hee-Do’s youth, her hardships, her relationships and her beautiful memories. This drama also received many nominations at Baeksang including Best Drama, Best Screenplay, Best New Actor, Best Actress and so on. Kim Tae-Ri took home the award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Na Hee-Do which received a lot of praises since she depicts the very essence of the struggles and cheerfulness beautifully. - u/Fatooz

Yumi's Cells - Kim Yumi is an ordinary girl and currently crushing on one of her coworkers, the drama focuses on her cells and what goes inside her head that eventually directs her actions. The drama was nominated for its animation at the Baeksang awards and it truly deserved that nomination. Probably the only KDrama I've watched with live animation and those cells really are the highlight of the drama. - u/Fatooz

Flower of Evil - Baek Hee-Seung lives an ordinary life with his small family including his wife and his daughter until one day he meets someone from his past uncovering a series of truths. The drama was nominated for categories like best drama, best director, best actor and so on taking home the best director award. Lee Joon-Gi was mind blowing in the character he played and Moon Chae-Won also exceptionally delivered her role. It was a great romantic thriller that manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. - u/Fatooz

18 Again - This drama is about a couple who got married a bit early out of love and after so many years are in a failed marriage with each other on the verge of getting divorced. However life gives the ML a chance to go back to his 18 year old body. Lee Do-Hyun won the best new actor award for his beautiful performance of a guy who looks like an 18-year old but it actually a 37-year old man. The drama is a slice of life with minimal romance and I just loved how wholesome it was. Lee Do-Hyun truly deserved that award. - u/Fatooz