Award shows have always been part of the entertainment industry. There are multiple awarding bodies in South Korea, and one of the most prestigious awards shows that recognizes excellence in film, television, and theatre is the annual Baeksang Arts Awards!
A little trivia about the Baeksang Arts Awards. It was first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key Young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspaper, and has the pen name “Baeksang.” It was established to develop Korean popular culture and art and enhance the morale of artists.
The 58th Baeksang Arts Awards ceremony will be held on May 6, 2022, at KINTEX, Ilsanseo-gu, Gyeonggi Province and will be hosted by Shin Dong Yup, Suzy, and Park Bo Gum. The award show will mark Park Bo Gum’s first activity after his mandatory military service!
Television Category
Now let’s get to know all the nominees for the Television category of the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards! All works released between April 12, 2021, and March 31, 2022, were eligible for nominations.
Best Drama
- Netflix military “D.P.”
- tvN slice of life “Twenty Five Twenty One
- Netflix thriller “Squid Game”
- MBC historical “The Red Sleeve”
- wavve black comedy-drama “Political Fever”
The hidden gem among the list is wavve black comedy “Political Fever,” now available on KOCOWA. The drama stars Kim Sung Ryoung, Bae Hae Sun, and Lee Hak Joo. It is a black comedy political drama about an Olympic gold medalist who was appointed as minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is facing a kidnapping incident of her husband, a liberal political commentator!
Best Director
- Yoon Sung Ho of “Political Fever”
- Lee Na Jung of tvN melodrama “Mine”
- Jung Ji In of “The Red Sleeve”
- Han Jun Hee of “D.P.”
- Hwang Dong Hyuk of “Squid Game.”
Best Entertainment Program
- SBS sports variety “Shooting Stars“
- Netflix reality dating show “Single’s Inferno”
- MNET dance reality show “Street Woman Fighter”
- tvN entertainment variety “You Quiz on the Block”
- TVING dating reality program “Transit Love”
One of the Best Entertainment Program nominees is “Shooting Stars” which is available for streaming on KOCOWA! It is a sports variety program led by Lee Su Geun, Bae Seong Jae, and Han Hye Jin about female soccer teams composed of celebrities and Korea’s legendary players working together to present fun and inspiration for women’s soccer on the soccer field!
Best Educational Show
- EBS “Great Minds“
- SBS “Story of the Day When You Bite Your Tail” season 3
- KBS “Docu Insight: National Representative“
- Channel A “My Golden Kids“
- KBS “Kiss the Universe.”
Best Actor
- Kim Nam Gil of SBS psychological thriller “Through the Darkness”
- Lee Jung Jae of “Squid Game”
- Lee Jun Ho of “The Red Sleeve”
- Im Si Wan of wavve “Tracer”
- Jung Hae In of “D.P.”
Kim Nam Gil’s performance as Song Ha Young is one of my favorites! The SBS crime drama “Through the Darkness,” available on KOCOWA, is known for being a well-written crime drama based on the 2018 non-fiction book of the same title and co-written by Korea’s first criminal profiler. “Through the Darkness” is a 12-episode series about the story of criminal behavioral analysts who attempt to understand serial killers by reading their darkest minds.
Best Actress
- Kim Tae Ri of “Twenty Five Twenty One”
- Kim Hye Soo of “Juvenile Justice”
- Park Eun Bin of “The King’s Affection”
- Lee Se Young of “The Red Sleeve”
- Han So Hee of “My Name”
Best Supporting Actor
- Lee Deok Hwa of “The Red Sleeve”
- Lee Hak Joo of wavve black comedy “Political Fever“
- Lee Hyun Wook of “Mine”
- Cho Hyun-Chul of “D.P.”
- Heo Sung Tae of “Squid Game”
Best Supporting Actress
- Kang Mal Geum of “Thirty-Nine”
- Kim Shin Rok of “Hellbound”
- Kim Joo Ryoung of “Squid Game”
- Ok Ja Yeon of “Mine”
- Jang Hye Jin of “The Red Sleeve”
Best New Actor
- Koo Kyo Hwan of “D.P.”
- Shin Seung Ho of “D.P.“
- Yoo In Soo of “All of Us Are Dead”
- Choi Hyun Wook of “Twenty-Five Twenty-One”
- Tang Jun Sang of “Racket Boys“
Best New Actress
- Kim Hye Jun of JTBC mystery thriller “Inspector Koo“
- Lee Yeon of “Juvenile Justice“
- Lee Yoo Mi of “All of Us Are Dead”
- Jung Ho Yeon of “Squid Game“
- Cho Yi Hyun of “All of Us Are Dead“
Best Male Variety Performer
- Kim Gu Ra
- Moon Se Yoon
- Lee Yong Jin
- Jo Se Ho
- Key
KOCOWA is full of entertaining variety shows. Kim Gu Ra is currently in the MBC Variety show “Radio Star“. To those who don’t know what kind of show it is. It is a talk show where guests and hosts talk openly and intimately about their lives, pasts, and work. The stars also give impromptu performances and show off their hidden talents! Kim Gu Ra, Yoon Jong Shin, and Kim Gook Jin have been hosts for nearly a decade. And did you know that this talk show has been airing since 2007?
KOCOWA also has Moon Se Yoon’s KBS travel variety show “2 Days and 1 Night!” and the MBC variety show “Home Alone,” where Key is a fixed member. The former is a travel variety show where the cast members take various trips throughout South Korea while performing missions at a certain point of the day to earn rewards. The latter is a reality show that observes the everyday lives of Korea’s most beloved celebrities who chose to live alone. The show invites the viewers to their homes, enabling them to closely observe their lives.
Best Female Variety Performer
- Song Eun I
- Lee Mi Joo
- Lee Eun Ji
- Joo Hyun Young
- Hong Jin Kyung
Song Eun I’s MBC variety “The Manager” and MBC variety “How Do You Play,” where Lee Mi Joo is a semi-fixed member, are also available on KOCOWA!
“The Manager” is a popular MBC entertainment program that observes and reveals every little detail of the stars’ lives, narrated by the managers who work closely with them. Once the information is disclosed, professional meddlers from different fields are invited to discuss the stars’ daily lives. “How Do You Play” is an MBC variety show focused on Yu Jae Seok. It was started to find out what Yu Jae Seok would be doing during his days off. Subsequently, the show showcases Yoo taking on various projects and secondary roles.
Best Screenplay
- Kim Min Seok of “Juvenile Justice“
- Kim Hong Ki, Park Nu Ri, Choi Sung Jin, Yoon Sung Ho of “Political Fever“
- Baek Mi Kyung of “Mine“
- Lee Na Eun of “Our Beloved Summer“
- Hwang Dong Hyuk of “Squid Game“
Technical Award
- Kwon Tae Eun (Music) of “The King of Mask Singer“
- Kim Hwa Young (Cinematography) of “The Red Sleeve”
- Eom Young Shik, Kim Da Hee (Animation) of “Yumi’s Cells”
- Jung Jae Il (Music) of “Squid Game”
- Chae Kyung Sun (Art direction) of “Squid Game”
One of my favorite singing competitions is MBC “The King of Mask Singer.” It is an MBC music competition program where contestants wear masks to hide their identity. Each competition lasts for two episodes. All contestants are given detailed masks and gloves to wear to conceal their identity, thus removing popularity, career, and age factors that could lead to prejudiced voting.
The 58th Baeksang Arts Awards shared the presenter’s lineup, including the former winners of last year’s awards. Grand Prize winner Yu Jae Seok of “How Do You Play,” Best Actress Kim So Yeon of “The Penthouse,” Best Male Variety Performer Lee Seung Gi of “Master In The House,” Best Female Variety Performer Jang Do Yeon of “Home Alone” and a lot more are coming as presenters on the award show!
We can’t deny that almost every nominee deserves to win the awards, so we can’t help but root for everyone! Those who haven’t watched the nominated dramas can catch up by watching the nominated K-Dramas and variety programs on KOCOWA!
