Korea’s drama awards marked by joint wins, mourning and muted ratings

From divided honors to tributes for the late Lee Soon-jae, the 2025 drama awards season reflects the state of Korean TV drama

Uhm Ji-won (left) and Ahn Jae-wook give an acceptance speech after receiving the grand prize during the KBS Drama Awards held in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s terrestrial broadcasters wrapped up the year with their annual drama awards ceremonies, events defined less by competitive clarity than by an unusually high volume of joint honors, as well as a shared atmosphere of mourning for the death of Lee Soon-jae -- a veteran actor credited with shaping Korea's screen acting tradition.

KBS staged its year-end drama awards on Wednesday, where actors Ahn Jae-wook and Uhm Ji-won shared the grand prize for their performances in "For Eagle Brothers," which logged peak viewership of 21.9 percent during its broadcast, according to Nielsen Korea’s household-level daily terrestrial TV ratings.

Uhm’s acceptance speech went viral online, as the actor broke down in tears -- at times nearly screaming -- while referencing a tribute video dedicated to Lee that aired during the ceremony. Lee, whose career spanned decades and defined multiple eras of Korean television, died in November at 91. He had received the grand prize at last year’s ceremony for his role in "Dog Knows Everything."

Musical actor Kai (sixth from left) and the cast members from Lee Soon-jae's final drama "Dog Knows Everything" take the stage during the KBS Drama Awards held Wednesday in Yeouido, Seoul. (Yonhap)

Throughout the night, nearly every major award recipient referenced Lee, offering personal tributes to the late actor. A special stage featured musical actor Kai, who performed "My Way" in mourning for Lee's passing, while cast members from Lee’s final drama, "Dog Knows Everything," also appeared alongside Ari, the dog who played Sophie in the series, for a farewell segment.

Lee Je-hoon poses for a photo with his trophy after receiving the grand prize at the SBS Drama Awards held in Sangnam-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

SBS also held its year-end drama awards on Wednesday, with Lee Je-hoon winning the grand prize for his lead role in the third season of the network’s popular franchise "Taxi Driver." The win marked a solo victory for Lee after his 2023 grand prize was jointly awarded with Kim Tae-ri for "Revenant" and in his role in the second season of "Taxi Driver."

"Taxi Driver" Season 3 also took home the drama of the year honor, selected through online audience voting. The revenge-for-hire series ranked among SBS' strongest performers of the year, reaching a peak viewership rating of 14 percent, according to Nielsen Korea’s household-level daily terrestrial TV ratings.

Recipients of the rookie award at the 2025 SBS Drama Awards (SBS)

Meanwhile, the ceremony itself was marked by confusion due to the sheer number of honorees. SBS divided major acting categories -- including excellence in acting, outstanding acting and best supporting actor and actress -- into four subcategories, despite only 10 eligible titles being registered. As a result, 25 individuals received awards across those categories, including multiple joint winners, with the excellence in acting category alone producing eight recipients.

In the excellence in acting category for a miniseries in the human and fantasy genre, Yook Sung-jae and Kim Ji-yeon were recognized for "The Haunted Palace," while the miniseries romantic comedy award was jointly given to Choi Woo-shik and Jung So-min for "Would You Marry Me?"

The miniseries melodrama category went to Lee Jun-hyuk and Han Ji-min for "Love Scout," while the miniseries genre and action honors were awarded to Park Hyung-sik for "Buried Hearts" and Go Hyun-jung for "Queen Mantis."

A viral moment also emerged at SBS' year-end awards when, during the rookie award announcement, four actors initially remained seated, mistaking the announcement of four winners in a single category for a nominees list.

SBS also used the event as a promotional platform, unveiling teaser previews for eight upcoming series slated for 2026. Highlights included "Wicked World," starring Lim Ji-yeon and Heo Nam-jun; "Manager Kim," featuring So Ji-sub; and the second season of "Good Partner," led by Jang Na-ra and Kim Hye-yoon.

Seo Kang-joon gives an acceptance speech after receiving the grand prize at the MBC Drama Awards held in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

MBC held its drama awards ceremony on Tuesday. With the broadcaster recording the lowest performance among the three main terrestrial broadcasters for drama viewership, the awards were less a glamorous celebration than an occasion to reflect on the current state of MBC’s drama lineup.

In 2025, MBC failed to produce a project that crossed the double-digit viewership threshold. Double-digit viewership is a benchmark widely seen within Korea’s broadcast industry as the minimum indicator of success.

"Undercover High School" ranked as MBC’s highest-rated drama of the year, peaking with a viewership of 8.3 percent, followed by the historical series "Moon River," starring Kim Se-jeong, at 6.8 percent. Jung Kyung-ho’s "Oh My Ghost Clients" followed with a peak rating of 5.6 percent.

During the awards, Seo Kang-joon won the grand prize for his performance in "Undercover High School." The series also claimed drama of the year, while Jin Ki-joo received the excellence in acting award for a miniseries, completing a triple crown for the production. The action comedy centered on a National Intelligence Service agent infiltrating a high school to recover a lost treasure.

Lee Soon-jae was posthumously honored with a lifetime achievement award at the ceremony, recognizing his contributions to MBC, where he appeared in 38 productions over the course of his career.

MBC also debuted teaser footage from its 2026 slate, including a first look at "Perfect Crown," one of the year’s most anticipated series, starring Lee Ji-eun and Byun Woo-seok.

Lee Ji-eun (left) and Byeon Woo-seok present the drama of the year award at the MBC Drama Awards held in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. (MBC)

Despite the celebratory framing, the three broadcasters' drama awards broadcast all suffered from low ratings, each drawing below 5 percent, according to Nielsen Korea’s household-level daily terrestrial TV ratings. The ceremonies were split into multiple segments -- each measured separately -- with SBS averaging 4.1 percent, KBS about 5 percent and MBC 2.6 percent nationwide.