Song Hye-kyo won the grand prize at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards held Wednesday night at Incheon’s Paradise City.
Launched by Sports Chosun last year, the Blue Dragon Series Awards is Korea’s first award ceremony that honors excellent works among original dramas and variety shows on over-the-top streaming platforms. This year, the ceremony took place on July 19, with Jun Hyun-moo and Girls’ Generation’s Im Yoon-ah returning as hosts.
The second edition recognized content released between May 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023 on OTT platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Wavve, Kakao, Coupang Play, and TVING. It also introduced new awards, including Daesang (Grand Prize), OST Popularity Award, and Why Not Award, which is given to an artist or work that inspires a unique change in streaming services.
The first grand prize trophy, now the highest award any actor or series can receive, went to Song Hye-kyo for her performance in the Netflix series “The Glory.” Her co-star Lim Ji-yeon also won Best Supporting Actress.
However, “The Glory” failed to take home the Best Drama award as Disney+ series “Big Bet” (aka “Casino”) emerged as the winner, beating other nominees “Bargain” (TVING), “Narco-Saints” (Netflix), and “Weak Hero Class 1” (Wavve).
Last year, Netflix’s “D.P.”, which is returning for a second season this month, was recognized as Best Drama.
Meanwhile, Ha Jung-woo (“Narco-Saints”) and Bae Suzy (“Anna”) bagged the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, while “Big Bet” star Lee Dong-hwi won Best Supporting Actor.
Here is the complete list of the Blue Dragon Series Awards 2023 winners and nominees for the drama-specific categories:
Grand Prize: Song Hye-kyo (“The Glory”)
Best Drama
- The Glory
- Bargain
- Narco-Saints
- Weak Hero Class 1
- Big Bet (Disney+) – WINNER
Best Actor
- Jin Seon-gyu (“Bargain”)
- Ha Jung-woo (“Narco-Saints”) – WINNER
- D.O. (“Bad Prosecutor”)
- Choi Min-shik (“Big Bet”)
- Lee Sung-min (“Shadow Detective”)
Best Actress
- Jeon Yeo-bin (“Glitch”)
- Song Hye-gyo (“The Glory”)
- Jung Ryeo-won (“May It Please the Court”)
- Bae Suzy (“Anna”) – WINNER
- Kim Seo-hyung (“Recipe for Farewell”)
Best Supporting Actor
- Park Sung-hoon (“The Glory”)
- Chang Ryul (“Bargain”)
- Jo Woo-jin (“Narco-Saints”)
- Kim Jun-han (“Anna”)
- Lee Dong-hwi (“Big Bet”) – WINNER
Best Supporting Actress
- Lim Ji-yeon (“The Glory”) – WINNER
- Lee Elijah (“Bait”)
- Jung Eun-chae (“Anna”)
- Kim Joo-ryung (“Big Bet”)
- Kyung Soo-jin (“Shadow Detective”)
Best Rookie Actor
- Kim Ki-hae (“Duty After School”)
- Moon Sang-min (“Duty After School”)
- ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo (“Island”)
- Park Ji-hoon (“Weak Hero Class 1”) – WINNER
- Bae In-hyuk (“Cheer Up”)
Best Rookie Actress
- Shin Ye-eun (“Revenge of Others”) – WINNER
- Cha Joo-young (“The Glory”)
- Kwon Eun-bin (“Duty After School”)
- Han Ji-hyun (“Cheer Up”)
- EXID’s Hani (“Hit the Spot”)
OST Popularity Award: DKZ’s Jaechan’s “Our Season”
Why Not Award: Choi Hyun-wook (“Weak Hero Class 1”)