The 2025 International Streaming Festival Global OTT Awards took place on the afternoon of the 24th at the Outdoor Theater of the Busan Cinema Center.
Hosted by actor Joo Jong Hyuk and announcer Lee Hye Sung, the awards featured 14 competitive categories and 4 special invitation categories.
Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines won the prestigious Best Creative award, regarded as the grand prize of the festival. Judges praised the drama for its lyrical storytelling, seamlessly blending the four seasons of Jeju Island with modern historical events and strong performances from the cast. The series received the most nominations, with a total of six major categories, and ultimately won three awards, including Best Screenwriter for Lim Sang Choon and Best Supporting Actress for Yeom Hye Ran. Yeom’s victory marked a remarkable achievement, having also won Best Supporting Actress at the 2024 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.
In other notable wins, Disney Plus’s Nine Puzzles, PTS Plus’s The Outlaw Doctor, and TVING’s World of Street Woman Fighter claimed the Best OTT Original, Best Asia Content, and Best Reality and Variety awards, respectively.
The Best Director award went to Xiao feng Yao for Northward from iQIYI. The series, which explores the growth of contemporary Chinese youth against the backdrop of the Grand Canal’s transformation over two decades, received critical acclaim after its screening at the festival.
Kentaro Sakaguchi from Coupang Play’s What Comes After Love won the Best Lead Actor (Male) award, with his heartfelt acceptance speech in Korean earning widespread applause from his fans.
In a highly competitive category, Park Eun Bin won the Best Lead Actress (Female) award for her passionate performance in Disney Plus’s Hyper Knife. The actress expressed her deep affection for the work and promised to continue exploring new and exciting roles in the future.
Oh Jung Se of JTBC’s Good Boy claimed the Best Supporting Actor award for his chilling portrayal of a pure yet villainous character, earning high praise from the international judging panel.
The Best New Actor (Male) and Best New Actress (Female) awards were presented to Kang Yoo Seok from TVING’s Resident Playbook, Jung Soo Bin from U Plus Mobile TV’s Friendly Rivalry and Suri Lin from Netflix’s Born for the Spotlight.
In the technical categories, YOUKU’s I Am Nobody won the Best Digital VFX Work award, and the Best Music award went to Ado’s song “Elfe” from TBS’s Who Saw the Peacock Dance in the Jungle.
Lee Su Hyun from Coupang Play’s Family Matters and Pengyuan Shi from iQIYI’s A Life for a Life were honored with Rising Star awards, receiving encouragement for their promising futures.
The prestigious People’s Choice Award, determined by audience voting through the global fandom platform MyOnePick, was awarded to Bai Jingting from YOUKU’s The First Frost and Bai Lu from iQIYI’s Northward, both of whom have massive international fanbases. A large group of Bai Jingting’s fans attended the ceremony, highlighting his global popularity.
The 2025 International Streaming Festival, which began on the 22nd, is Korea’s only international streaming event. Originally an affiliated event of the Busan International Film Festival, it has now expanded as an independent festival. The festival will run until August 25th at the Busan Cinema Center and Paradise Hotel. For more information, visit the official website and follow the event on social media.
>> ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’: Real Figures Behind Gwan Sik and Aesoon, Titles Across Borders
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