K-Loka
The Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 Just Wrapped Up—And The Internet Had A Lot To Say
Published on May 7, 2025
The Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 just wrapped up, but we're still on a high about it.
ICYDK, Baeksang is often tagged as South Korea's Oscars. The annual event brings together the most esteemed and seasoned actors and actresses across generations, allowing fans to hype up their faves and to also see the celebs interact with one another (or what we call: crumbs.)
Each year, the Baeksang Arts Awards showcases standout works from South Korea's film and television industries, celebrating the talent and dedication of every production team involved.
In 2024, Disney+'s supernatural K-drama, Moving, won the Grand Prize a.k.a. Daesang. With its mind-boggling plot, star-studded cast, and moving storyline, Moving was undeniably Daesang-worthy as K-drama stans have called it.
But this year, fans were quite confused with the outcome of the awards shows. But before we dive into the fan reactions, we're listing down the awardees of the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards held on May 5, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea.
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DRAMA
Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 Winners
There was a strong list of nominees for the Baeksang Arts Awards 2025. Buzz-worthy K-dramas like, When Life Gives You Tangerines, Lovely Runner, Trauma Code: Heroes On Call, Jeongnyeon: A Star Is Born, Doubt, and more were included in the rich list of Baeksang nominees. From the get-go, fans already knew that the competition would be tough.
Each one of the series has its own charm and impact on the viewers. While a number of fans were cheering for the tear-jerking When Life Gives You Tangerines, or for Lovely Runner which has still remained popular even a year after its airing, or the 8-episode Trauma Code that blew our minds—Baeksang awarded the grand prize to the hit reality series, Culinary Class Wars from Netflix.
Culinary Class Wars might not have been the usual K-drama we simp for, but it definitely stirred the public's interest and discourse. Featuring a total of 100 chefs with various cooking skills, the reality show opened eyes and hearts to the struggles and triumphs of South Korea's food industry. Following the show's success on Netflix, South Korea saw a surge in restaurant reservations and visits. With that, the show was also deemed to have contributed to the country's tourism.
Following Culinary Class Wars, is the critically acclaimed When Life Gives You Tangerines. Telling stories of women from three different generations in South Korea, the show has garnered global attention and praise. And it's not just because of its star-studded cast that included IU, Park Bo Gum, Kim Seon Ho, and more. When Lilfe Gives You Tangerines speaks to everyone struggling and fighting for a comfortable life.
Many would say that it's Ju Ji Hoon's year, because obviously, the guy is everywhere. He starred in consecutive shows, namely, Love Your Enemy, Lightshop Keeper, and Trauma Code. And for his latest work, the seasoned actor won his first Baeksang Best Actor award!
Kim Tae Ri, on the other hand, bagged her second (!) Best Actress award from Baeksang. As we all know, Tae Ri has been sweeping our hearts in every one of her works. And yes, we still can't forget how much we loved her character, Na Hee Do, in Twenty-Five Twenty-One, where she won her first Baeksang Best Actress award.
For the Best New Actor and Actress awards, Choo Young Woo got the award for his role in Tale of Lady Ok, and Chae Won Bin for her stellar performance in the psychological thriller series, Doubt.
Despite it not having an award for the drama, Lovely Runner cast Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon were awarded the PRIZM Popularity Award, which was finalized through fan voting.
Below is the full list of winners for drama category at the Baeksang Arts Awards 2025:
Grand Prize: Netflix's Culinary Class Wars Best Drama: Netflix's When Life Gives You Tangerines Best Actor: Ju Ji Hoon for The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Best Actress: Kim Tae Ri for Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born Best Variety Show: DdeunDdeun's Punghyanggo Best Educational Show: SBS's Special-Hakjeon Best Male Entertainer: Shin Dong Yup Best Female Entertainer: Lee Soo Ji Best Director: Song Yeon Hwa for Doubt Best Supporting Actor: Choi Dae Hoon for When Life Gives You Tangerines Best Supporting Actress: Yeom Hye Ran for When Life Gives You Tangerines Best Screenplay: Im Sang Choon for When Life Gives You Tangerines Best New Actor: Choo Young Woo for The Tale of Lady Ok Best New Actress: Chae Won Bin for Doubt Best Technical Direction: Jang Yeong Gyu for Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born Prizm Popularity Award: Byeon Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon of Lovely Runner
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FILM
Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 Winners
South Korean films are always on another level—plus, they really do their best to thrive. From filming to promoting it through numerous live events, the film industry is not one to back down in Korea. A healthy mix of action, comedy, and even coming-of-age films took the top spots in this year's Baeksang.
Historical crime and action film, Harbin, bagged several awards with its cinematographer, Hong Kyung Pyo getting the Daesang for film category. Although Harbin's lead star, Hyun Bin, fell short for the Best Actor award this year, the film was hailed as the Best Film.
Meanwhile, the internet still applauded Jo Jung Suk for getting his well-deserved win, though, even he was surprised when he was called to the stage, LOL! And of course, Jeon Do Yeon never fails to show us an exhilarating performance, especially with her action thriller film, Revolver.
20th Century Girl star Roh Yoon Seo marked her first Best New Actress win for Baeksang, and we can't wait for the world to recognize her talent more. Yoon Seo won for her role in Hear Me: Our Summer.
The Glory and Unmasked actor Jung Sung Il also debuted in the Baeksang scene by getting the Best New Actor for film, for his role in Uprising.
Here's the full list of winners for film at the Baeksang Arts Awards 2025:Grand Prize: Hong Kyung Pyo (cinematography of Harbin) Best Film: Harbin Best Actor: Jo Jung Suk for Pilot Best Actress: Jeon Do Yeon for Revolver Best Director: Oh Seung Wook for Revolver Best Supporting Actor: Yoo Jae Myung Land of Happiness Best Supporting Actress: Claudia Kim for A Normal Family Best Scenario: Shin Chul, Park Chan Wook for Uprising Best New Director: Oh Jung Min for House of the Seasons Best New Actor: Jung Sung Il for Uprising Best New Actress: Roh Yoon Seo for Hear Me: Our Summer Best Technical Direction: Jo Young Wook for Uprising Gucci Impact Award: The Land of Morning Calm
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Baeksang Arts Awards 2025
The Internet Reacts To Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 Winners
As we've mentioned, the competition for this year's Baeksang Arts Awards was tough. In the Best Actress category alone, no one could have expected the turn of events—because all the nominees are equally talented.
The roster of nominees for Best Actress included Go Mi Si, Kim Tae Ri, Kim Hye Yoon, IU, and Jang Nara. Girl, those are all our actress faves! Go Min Si, for one, had us on the edge of our seats with her first role as a psycho-killer in The Frog. Kim Hye Yoon warmed our hearts with her Im Sol portrayal in Lovely Runner. And of course, the ever-so-amazing Jang Nara has empowered us to embrace the strength of a woman in Good Partner.
However, mixed reactions were aired towards Tae Ri's win over IU, who played different characters from different generations in When Life Gives You Tangerines. With the moving and widespread success of When Life Gives You Tangerines, IU was expected to win the Best Actress award, according to fans.
Others would argue that awards are not about the clout or the hype it has garnered. It really lies deep into the actress's range—which fans have been pointing out regarding Tae Ri's portrayal in Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. Relatively, the women-centric K-drama wasn't as buzz-worthy as other dramas during its time. But it was the story and the performance that drove it to its success in Baeksang.
Some fans have been discussing Tae Ri and IU's talents and how it's actually hard to choose between the two. While others are reeling over the fact that IU didn't get an award for her role in When Life Gives You Tangerines, a fan noted, "Honestly I couldn't have chosen between the two of them. They were both beautiful performances from two phenomenal actors."
On one hand, fans are also defending Culinary Class Wars' win, saying that it's not just a cooking show on Netflix. An online citizen commented on X, "Culinary Class Wars lifted an entire industry that was struggling and hyped Korea's culinary scene globally, why doesn't it deserve a Daesang over your fav?"
Amid all the wins and losses, there are solid fans who are feeling like they've won gold because of Baeksang. Lovely Runner trends online because of Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon's sweet reunion at the awards show. Not to mention that both of them got the Popularity Award.
Fans got a glimpse of the two actors' close friendship as videos of them laughing together while seated side by side quickly made the rounds online. The official Baeksang Arts Awards Instagram account also shared a two-shot of the former co-stars, which racked up over 225,000 likes in less than 24 hours. Lovely Runner fans—fondly known as Subeoms—were absolutely thrilled!
The heated debate on this year's Baeksang Arts Awards continues. Some are clamoring for IU to get more international projects, while others are still confused about the Daesang criteria. Nonetheless, fans will continue to support and to believe in their faves—no matter how much awards they get, or they lose.
Until the next Baeksang, chingus!
Kate runs on caffeine and K-drama cliffhangers. She also thrives on plot twists—on screen, on the page, and, of course, in the group chat.