Yoo Ah-in, Jeon Jong-seo, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim So-yeon
The 57th annual Baeksang Arts Awards commenced on May 13 this year, and the stars of film and TV gathered together to celebrate the best of the entertainment industry. Just like last year, no spectators were present and the ceremony enacted social distancing measures to keep attendees safe.
Unlike the end-of-the-year ceremonies by the Big Three (KBS, MBC, SBS), the Baeksang Awards select nominees across all the TV networks and the winners tend to be a little less predictable.
Lee Jun-ik, Yoo Jae-suk
The Daesang went to Yoo Jae-suk and director Lee Jun-ik this year, for TV and film respectively. This is actually Yoo Jae-suk’s second Baeksang Daesang and I know he probably has more awards than he knows what to do with, but he’s one of my favorite variety presences and it’s nice to see his hard work be recognized officially. When he accepted his award, he reflected on his career, “These days I’m known more as a TV host and emcee, but when I debuted in 1991 it was as a comedian. In the future, I’ll concentrate more on bringing the laughter as befits my job and I’ll work to bring laughter into people’s lives.”
Director Lee netted the film Daesang for The Book of Fish, a sageuk about an exiled scholar and a fisherman set in the 19th century. During his acceptance speech, he acknowledged veteran director Lee Chun-yeon (Addicted, Hwang Jin Yi, and Arahan). Lee Chun-yeon was a major figure in Chungmuro and the Korean film industry has been mourning his recent, sudden passing.
Co-hosts Shin Dong-yup, Suzy
In TV, Beyond Evil beat out very heavy competition to win best drama. (It was up against It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Flower of Evil, My Unfamiliar Family, and Extracurricular.) The drama’s leading man Shin Ha-kyun went on to win best actor, and the thriller also picked up an award for its writing. Ultimately, Beyond Evil and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay tied for most awards in the TV section, with three each.
Kim So-yeon took home best actress for her role in the mega-hit Penthouse. As she accepted her award, she teared up as she thanked the show’s writer and PD; she also shared that they were working hard on filming Penthouse 3 (the third season premieres next month). She closed by giving a shoutout to her husband, “To my beloved Lee Sang-woo and my family, you are my strength and I want share this great honor with you.”
In the supporting actor category, Oh Jung-se racked up a second consecutive Baeksang win for his work in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. Yeom Hye-ran snagged best supporting actress for The Uncanny Counter and apart from both prizes being well-deserved, I loved seeing this mini When the Camellia Blooms reunion.
Park Jung-min, Kim Sun-young, Yeom Hye-ran, Oh Jung-se
Last year, Parasite dominated all the awards, but this year there was no one work that conquered the categories in the same way. Deliver Us from Evil had the most nominations, six, but only picked up one award (Park Jung-min, for best supporting actor). Best picture went to Samjin Company English Class, a plucky underdog story filled with memorable characters.
Voice of Silence scooped two awards, one for director Hong Eui-jung and best actor for Yoo Ah-in. The relative newcomer Jeon Jong-seo won best actress for The Call a thriller about two women who connect over a time slip by telephone. She was absolutely terrifying and I loved it. It’s hard to believe Jeon’s only been in two movies so far, (her debut was in Burning, with Yoo Ah-in and Steven Yeun) but I can’t wait to see her in more projects.
Sartorially speaking…I think the less said about this year’s fashion, the better. It was monochromatic even by Korean award show standards, but I expect the pandemic might mean subdued fashions for a while longer. Luckily for our eyes, there were still some beautiful fashion choices out there.
And the winners are…
57th Baeksang Award winners
WINNERS LIST:
FILM SECTION
Daesang: Lee Jun-ik (The Book of Fish)
Best Picture: Samjin Company English Class (Lee Jong-pil)
Director: Hong Eui-jung (Voice of Silence)
Top Excellence, Actor: Yoo Ah-in (Voice of Silence)
Top Excellence, Actress: Jeon Jong-seo (The Call)
Supporting Actor: Park Jung-min (Deliver Us from Evil)
Supporting Actress: Kim Sun-young (Three Sisters)
New Actor: Hong Kyung (Innocence)
New Actress: Choi Jung-woon (Moving On)
New Director: Yoon Dan-bi (Moving On)
Screenplay: The Day I Died: Unclosed Case (Park Ji-wan)
Art Award: Space Sweepers (Jung Sung-jin, Jung Chul-min, VFX)
TV SECTION
Daesang: Yoo Jae-suk
Best Drama: Beyond Evil (Shim Na-yeon)
Variety Program: Hangout With Yoo
Educational Program: Archive Project–Modern Korea 2
Directing: Kim Chul-kyu (Flower of Evil)
Top Excellence, Actor: Shin Ha-kyun (Beyond Evil)
Top Excellence, Actress: Kim So-yeon (Penthouse)
Supporting Actor: Oh Jung-se (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)
Supporting Actress: Yeom Hye-ran (The Uncanny Counter)
New Actor: Lee Do-hyun (Eighteen Again)
New Actress: Park Joo-hyun (Extracurricular)
Variety, Male Performer: Lee Seung-gi (Master in the House, Busted 3)
Variety, Female Performer: Jang Do-yeon (I Live Alone, Don’t Be the First One)
Scriptwriting: Kim Soo-jin (Beyond Evil)
Technical Art Award: Jo Sang-kyung (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)
TikTok Popularity Award, Actor: Kim Sun-ho (Start-Up)
TikTok Popularity Award, Actress: Seo Ye-ji (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)
Kim So-yeon
Jung Il-woo, Yuri
Kim Soo-hyun
Eom Ji-won
Park Ha-sun
Lee Jung-jae
Lee Jun-ki, Kim Ji-hoon
Kim So-hyun
Lee Do-hyun
Kim Sun-ho