Despite leading the Queen of Tears phenomenon, Kim Soo Hyun walked away with only the Popularity Award at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards, leaving fans of the hit tvN drama visibly frustrated.
On May 7th, Kim Soo Hyun received the PRIZM Popularity Award alongside IVE’s Ahn Yujin at the ceremony. However, the Best Actor in the TV category went to Namkoong Min for his role in MBC’s My Dearest.
While Namkoong Min’s victory is understandable, given his outstanding performance that revitalized MBC’s drama lineup, fans couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Kim Soo Hyun only took home the Popularity Award despite Queen of Tears being considered one of the year’s top shows.
As a matter of fact, Queen of Tears, which achieved a peak rating of 24.9% (according to Nielsen Korea), shattered tvN’s previous record, leaving a significant impact on the industry. Previous to the ceremony, online communities had predicted Kim Soo Hyun would win the Grand Prize in the TV category. However, when Disney Plus’s Moving was called out, many were left puzzled that the Queen of Tears star didn’t receive more recognition.
However, the timing of the Baeksang Arts Awards was less favorable for Queen of Tears. The awards consider works released between April 1st, 2023, and March 31st, 2024, while the show premiered on March 9th and concluded in April. With only four weeks for evaluation, the series did not receive the full recognition it deserved. Many believe that if the series had aired just a month earlier, either Kim Soo Hyun or Queen of Tears would have taken home the Grand Prize.
Meanwhile, the Baeksang Arts Awards remains the only comprehensive awards show covering TV, film, and theater in South Korea. After conducting a preliminary survey among 60 industry evaluators, experts from various fields were selected to serve as final judges, ensuring a rigorous and fair selection process.
>> Winners of the 2024 Baeksang Arts Awards: Kim Go Eun, Lee Hanee, Namkoong Min, ‘Moving’ and More
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