It's almost the year-end, which means the awarding night marathon is arriving soon. Ever since I was into Korean content, I always watched the year-end awards of the 3 main broadcasting stations, which are KBS, MBC, and SBS. As I keep watching all of the awards shows, I get to see the progress of how the Korean entertainment industry grew. Also, it was fascinating to see the stars to be gathered in one place and how their work is assessed. It’s also a place to celebrate their hard work with fellow teammates. I just love it. With my 8 years of experience, I got to kinda guess the winners and it was a fun thing to do during the year end.
Let’s review the most memorable acceptance speech in 2022.
Lee Joon (KBS Drama Awards 2022)
Source: KBS Drama via Soompi
“I remember that I used to walk a long distance because I had no money with Jung Yonghwa when I was young. I am satisfied and happy that today, Jung Yonghwa could become the host and I got this big award as well. I used to be an idol singer, participated in variety shows and nowadays I got to shoot some dramas and movies. But actually, I am very scared. Actually, I declined ‘Bloody Heart’’s proposal three times before because I was not confident (to do well). That time, Kang Hana (his co-star) said that she would join if I joined, giving that kind of nuance. I feel I became a great actor and it gave me a lot of confidence to do well during the shooting. On the set, Kang Hana treated me like her child, she took care of me and kept assuring me that it would be okay. And I think I could finished the shooting thanks to her. Yoon Sungeun PD also took care of me. I also learned a lot from my co-stars, Actor Heo Sungtae and Actress Park Jihyun. In the past, when I was an idol singer and took part in variety shows, people surround me said, “How come someone like you do acting”. That time I thought, “Oh, I shouldn’t do that”. But in the end, I ignored them. I wanted to say, “You have done well” while ignoring that kind of saying. As I shoot some dramas, I think a lot about the production staff more than the actors. For the actors, we were separated into a few scenes, while the staff had to be there from the first scene to the last scene. Because of that, I feel sorry for them. This award should’ve been given to them. I am not sure if I should receive this. I just want to say thank you and I respect all of you. Thank you to my fans. Thanks to you I could become a better person. Happy New Year, everyone.”
I’ve been supporting Lee Joon since he starred in ‘Bloody Heart’ this year. I am sure that he will get an award this year. Not only because the drama was outstanding among the other historical dramas, but I can see how much Lee Joon’s acting improved. A little TMI, my bias in MBLAQ was Lee Joon. And that’s why I am really happy for him because he really worked hard for this role. I know it wasn’t easy to act as a king.
Kang Haneul (KBS Drama Awards 2022)
From the “Top Excellence Award” speech
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| Source: KBS Official Twitter |
“Hello, I’m a Junior (actor) Kang Haneul. I (came up) with Do Kyungsoo again. (Laugh) I’m sorry. I was given this undeserved award. Thank you so much for the award. I’m so thankful, but I think I’m not even better than the other nominees. I’ll receive this award for Yoo Jaeheon (his character name in the drama ‘Curtain Call’). (He mentioned the drama staff and his team.) Becoming an actor might look like it’s nothing, but I think that there is one thing, when acting as a character, I could act more like the character other than myself. I’ll take this award as a reminder to be like that. I’ll give this award to Yoo Jaeheon and before becoming a good actor, I’ll become a good person first. Thank you.”
Kang Haneul won 2 awards from the 2022 KBS Drama Awards. He won the Popularity Award and Top Excellence Award, both with Do Kyungsoo. It was like a deja-vu hahaha. Kang Haneul felt like he was not as popular as Do Kyungsoo, so he was surprised that he won the ‘Popularity Award’. The drama ‘Curtain Call’ itself is not as good as expected, even though it was a star-studded drama. With those cast, the drama could do better, in my personal opinion. Well, what I’m impressed with is the fact that Kang Haneul is very humble. Technically he is a senior to Do Kyungsoo as an actor. However, he felt that he shouldn’t receive the same awards as Do Kyungsoo. Not only one, but two! The character Hwang Yongsik in ‘When the Camellia Blooms’ left a great and strong impression, which made Yoo Jaeheon's character became less impactful than the previous one. It was too bad, but still, Kang Haneul is qualified to receive both awards.
Lee Seunggi (KBS Drama Awards 2022)
Source: KBS Official Twitter
“Thank you. First of all, I’m very nervous. I think this year is the most difficult year in my entire life. I feel grateful and sorry as well for receiving this award. I thought that the ‘Law Cafe’ team would go back empty-handed, but maybe this award includes their hard work as well. In the past, I thought that the Grand Prize was something that was far away and I’ve never dreamt of having it. Also, I believe that the grand prize has several meanings. This year, the Grand Prize given is not for the personal achievement of one actor, but it is for all the hard work of ‘Law Cafe’ staff and actors. The director once said that the drama generated the most from KBS, so he told me to have confidence. I think this award was given to me as a representative. Actually, I’ve been thinking for hundred times whether I should come to this event or should I just ask for the understanding to be absent. As you might know, I have some personal issues, so I didn’t feel good coming to this party and laughing. But, I also couldn’t come here expressionless as it is not proper as well. I’ve been changing my mind several times. The only reason why I choose to come here is that I believe that a drama is made of a team’s hard work and my personal problem shouldn’t let the staff and other actors’ hard work go in vain and unappreciated. In addition to that, thank you for giving me this big award and I feel sorry that I have to receive it. Ö (He thanked the director, writer, staff, and other actors) I told myself, that if I received an award, I should say my acceptance speech short. But sitting down and seeing my fellow, senior and junior actors, it made me feel touched. Currently, I think that our country’s (media) content, movies, music, and entertainment, has reached out to the world out there. And I know that it happened because of the hard work of my fellow, senior, and junior actors right here. That’s why, I affirmed that, for my juniors who will sit here next year, the other next year, 10 years later, 20 years later, I should not pass the act of fighting and letting go of many things to claim my rights, something like this (issue). I received energy thanks to all of your support. I’ll be working hard as an actor in the future and thank you for supporting our drama. Since this prize is given to me as a representative of ‘Law Cafe’, I will treat you all tonight without any limit. Thank you.”
In my personal opinion, his latest KBS2 drama, ‘Law Cafe’ wasn’t as good as his previous projects. The drama doesn’t have high ratings, so I didn’t expect that Lee Seunggi would get the Grand Prize. 2022 was a hard year for Lee Seunggi because of the disputes with his previous management company. His hard work for the past decade went in vain (even though the company paid him some sum of money, but it was not the exact number, so Lee Seunggi donated that “unlucky” money instead).
In his acceptance speech, he was really emotional and it made me feel sorry for what happened to him. It must be very tough for him. I am not a big fan of Lee Seunggi, but I’ve seen him ever since he was in Two Days and One Night, so he was like a boy-next-door actor to me. May you have a great day ahead. This too shall pass! Fighting!
P.S: I wonder what they ate for the after-party dinner (?) lol.
Heo Junho (SBS Drama Awards 2022)
Source: SBS Now Twitter
“Hello, I’m Heo Junho. Nice to meet you. First of all, thank you to Father in Heaven for this Glory is Yours. Tonight, He blessed me with this miracle. Thank you to my wife who always prays for me every day and my family. My J Story family, thank you, I will greet you later on. My ‘Why Her’ family, I will treat you guys. While working for ‘Why Her’, from the character Choi Taewook, I learned about favoritism and shattered life. I realize that I am also a helpless human being, so I could not be separated from favoritism. But, I should not let the favoritism lead to a shattered life. So, I will be a lovely person to all of you, to viewers, to the staff, to my family. I will not disappoint actor for you. Thank you so much for giving me this award. Thank you.”
Heo Junho is a senior actor and he might not be as well known as any other senior actor, but his presence in every drama he starred in is firm. He received the ‘Top Excellence Award for Actor in Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama’ through the drama, ‘Why Her’. He was the villain in the drama, but his acting was so real, so I think that’s the reason why he received it. Unlike his character, he was a devoted Christian and very gentle in real life. Look at how he treated his teammates!
Lee Jongsuk (MBC Drama Awards 2022)
Source: Hiziumstudio Twitter
“I was almost died (because too nervous) until the result announced. First of all, thank you very much. 6 years ago, when I was in my 20s, I first saw the (trophy) awards. In my 20s, I didn’t understand the meaning of these awards. After I reached my 30s, through my comeback project, I got to greet you after a long time and received lots of love and I was given this big prize, I felt a big responsibility and more careful, which is very different from when I was in my 20s. Also, I have many people that I am grateful for. First of all, it’s been a long time since I acted (he just came back from the army) and this is my first time acting in a (specific) genre drama, I fear a lot. I wanted to thank the director ‘Oh Chunghwan’, whom I got lots of help and could rely on, from the moment I chose this project until I finished filming the drama. And I think I received lots of help from the staff more than any time before. Thank you to the director and staff. Also, for 8 months we really worked hard to live like a prisoner in the prison, so to my fellow prisoner actors and the ones who worked hard outside the prison, Yoona, Gyeongwon, and other actors as well, thank you so much. ... (He thanked his managers and management team) Also, thank you to my family and I’m sorry that I always became the first priority. Ever since last night, my mother told me to practice the acceptance speech since I’m bad at it. But, Mom, I think I’m fine, so you can be relaxed for now. Also, after I finished my military duty, I had lots of concern, fear, and trouble, but I have someone who helped me to become a better person and to have a more positive mind. At this time, I wanted to say something to that person. Thank you for always being a great person and I wanted to say that for a long time, I liked and respected you. Whenever I saw that friend, it made me think that I should’ve worked harder and become a good person. It would be nice if I treated you better, if I am a good person and I think I reflected a lot. I will try harder to become a better person and this big award that was given to me will become my source of strength to live my life. I will work harder as a good actor in the future. Happy New Year to the viewers and thank you.”
Big applause for the drama ‘Big Mouth’, it was the most highlighted drama from MBC in 2022. I really love this drama especially the cast because personally, I am a big fan of Yoona and Lee Jongsuk. When the news about them will have a project together, I have a big anticipation. It’s because Lee Jongsuk used to be Yoona’s fanboy and they will act as a married couple. I’m so thrilled! I guessed that Lee Jongsuk would get one of the big prizes, but I was quite surprised that he was the one who got the Grand Prize. I was thinking that Kim Heesun from the drama ‘Tomorrow’ would get the prize because she is a veteran in the industry and her acting was very good (though I dislike that pink hair, even though it still looks good on her). The most memorable part of Lee Jongsuk’s acceptance speech was the part where he confessed that he was in a relationship with IU (indirectly). I am really supporting the couple! May you guys have a beautiful relationship! Lee Jongsuk is really cool!
Choi Sooyoung (MBC Drama Awards 2022)
Source: Twitter
“To be honest, I knew that I was the nominee when I had my rehearsal earlier. So, my acceptance speech might be not so short. Anyway, thank you for giving me this award and letting me have an important role tonight. Yoona, it’s time for you to cry now. (Yoona acting as if she is crying). The drama ‘Fan Letter Please’ has growth, cure, healing, and many more good messages inside. Unfortunately, the airing schedule overlapped with ‘Reborn Rich’, which many people might not watched, but today I could share the good news with the people who made this drama together which I think is a great event. To director Jung Sanghoe, who worked hard to make this good drama regardless of the length of the episode, and writer Park Taeyang, it was an honor to be part of this project and also, to be just there and matched well with the story, actor Yoon Park, thank you. As this year marks my 15th debut anniversary, I worked as a Girls Generation (member) and filmed ‘Fan Letter Please’, spending the hottest summer ever. Suddenly, the very hot summer passed, and it became cold. I think there were some painful and sad things that happened. To people who felt this winter incredibly freezing and painful, I wanted to send a fan letter to say you’ve done well this year and you’ve worked hard and it will be okay. You’ve worked hard and happy new year. Thank you.”
Besides Yoona, the other member of the Girls Generation who is good at acting is probably Sooyoung. She is stacking up her cinematography slowly and steadily. She used to be acting as a supporting character, but recently she nailed it to become a lead character. I haven’t finished watching the ‘Fan Letter Please’, but in some of the episodes that I’ve watched, I liked the drama. It was a short drama with only 4 episodes, but like she said, the drama was packed with great messages. Her acting is getting firmer than before. And I believe the turning point of her acting career would be ‘Run On’. After that drama, she kept on working on various dramas and worked together with top-notch actors. She really deserved this award. I am impressed with her speech which has both wit and seriousness. 15 years of experience in this industry was truly not easy. You’ve done really well, Sooyoung. I’m a proud SONE. Congrats!
This year, there were lots of good K-dramas. Even though the OTT platform’s drama has gained more attention than the main 3 broadcasting stations, I still find joy in watching those dramas. I am so excited to see who will get nominated for this year-end drama award. I might focus on MBC and SBS this year.
So, who is your favorite drama this year? Also, share your prediction of who will get the grand prize this year!
See you soon on my next post!
