The winners of the Seoul Drama Awards 2025 have been announced, with Ju Ji Hoon and IU taking home the top acting prizes.
Netflix dramas The Trauma Center and When Life Gives You Tangerines shared the K-Drama Best Drama honor. From those shows came the acting winners: Ju Ji Hoon for The Trauma Center and IU for When Life Gives You Tangerines.
The jury praised IU’s performance as Ae Sun in the Netflix hit, noting: “The camera following Ae Sun (IU) and Gwan Shik (Park Bo Gum) is as restrained and delicate as a watercolor. Within that frame, IU conveyed emotional depth that transcended simple romance.”
In the international competition, Kate Blanchett (Disclaimer) and Kim Min Ha (Pachinko season 2) were named co-winners of Best Actress. For Kim, who plays Sun Ja, it marked the first lead actress award of her career. Judges commended her ability to communicate a spectrum of emotions with “even the simplest glance — combining softness, strength, boldness, and subtlety in equal measure.”
From 276 entries across 50 countries, awards were handed out to seven dramas and 16 individuals in the international competition, K-Drama, and international invitation categories.
Other major winners included:
Golden Bird Prize: Ben Stiller, Severance Season 2 (Apple TV+, U.S.)
International Competition
- Grand Prize: Netflix’s Adolescence (U.K.)
- Best Single Drama: CJ ENM’s The Son (Korea)
- Best Miniseries: Apple TV+’s Pachinko Season 2 (U.S.)
- Best Long Series: AY Yapim’s The Good & The Bad (Türkiye)
- Best Director: Hirokazu Koreeda (Asura) and Philip Barantini (Adolescence)
- Best Screenwriter: Dan Erickson (Severance Season 2)
- Best Actor: Owen Cooper, Adolescence
- Best Actress: Kate Blanchett, Disclaimer / Kim Min Ha, Pachinko Season 2
K-Drama Category
- Best Drama: Netflix’s The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, When Life Gives You Tangerines
- Best Actor: Ju Ji Hoon, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call
- Best Actress: IU, When Life Gives You Tangerines
- Best Original Soundtrack: Young Tak’s “Unknown Life” (For Eagle Brothers)
Asia Star Awards
- Kim Sun Ho (The Tyrant), Jisoo (Newtopia) — Korea
- Kentaro Sakaguchi (Beyond Goodbye) — Japan
- Bai Yu (Bank on Me) — China
- Film Rachanun Mahawan (Pluto) — Thailand
- Daniel Padilla (Incognito) — Philippines
- Anna Jobling (Dear Love) — Malaysia
>> ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’: Real Figures Behind Gwan Sik and Aesoon, Titles Across Borders
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