The 2021 Seoul Drama Awards, aka the Seoul International Drama Awards, were held on October 21 at 5:05 PM KST. The prestigious awards ceremony was hosted by ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo and Park Eun Bin at MBC’s public hall.
The winners of the Seoul Drama Awards 2021 came from more than 11 countries, showcasing the sheer amount of incredible talent created across borders. The international awards were held without an audience, through a live stream. Many known K-dramas and actors won major awards at the events.
Seoul Drama Awards 2021: Complete winners’ list
The 2021 Seoul Drama Awards’ winners are judged and screened by a reputed panel of judges ranging from producers, directors, heads of content at major companies such as WarnerMedia, professors, film critics, and more.
The Seoul Drama Awards are divided into three broad categories - International Competition, International Invitation, and Outstanding Korean Drama.
K-drama Missing Child swept three awards - the Grand Prize, Best Director for Yo Jong Won, and Best Actor for Park Hyuk Kwon.
The Excellent Korean Drama went to crime-thriller Vincenzo, with Outstanding Korean Drama going to Start-Up, Taxi Driver, and Kairos. Song Joong Ki and Bae Suzy took home awards for Outstanding Korean Actor and Actress respectively for their award-winning shows.
Here’s the complete list of awards for the Seoul Drama Awards 2021:
Grand Prize: Missing Child (South Korea)
TV Movie Golden Prize: Frederica Montseny, the woman who speaks - Spain
TV Movie Silver Bird Prize: This House is Mine - Germany
Mini-series Golden Prize: The Investigation - Denmark
Mini-series Silver Bird Prize: The Bad Kids - China
Serial Drama Golden Prize: The Penthouse - South Korea
Serial Drama Silver Bird Prize: Go Ahead - China
Short-Form Golden Prize: Passengers - Russia
Short-Form Silver Bird Prize: Delete Me - Norway
Below are the winners in the Individual category of the Seoul Drama Awards 2021:
Best Actor: Park Hyuk Kwon - Missing Child (South Korea)
Best Actress: Elle Fanning - The Great (U.S.A)
Best Director: Jo Yong Won - Missing Child (South Korea)
Best Screenwriter: Russell T Davies - It’s a Sin (UK)
Jury’s Special Size (Recommended by the jury and selected by the organizing committee) (3): Bonus Vacation (Malaysia), Atlantic Crossing (Norway), and The Pit S4 (Turkey)
The Seoul Drama Awards was "created to overcome" cultural differences across borders and spread knowledge of incredibly crafted dramas that represent their own cultures. As such, in the International Invitation category, awards go to dramas that have been loved by global fans and the most popular actor or actress.
International Drama Awards (2): I Told Sunset About You (Thailand) and Signal (Japan)
Asian Star Prize (5): Marcus Chang (Taiwan), Sakaguchi Kentaro (Japan), ‘PP’ Krit Amnuaydechkorn (Thailand) and Amanda Manopo (Indonesia)
In the Outstanding Korean Drama category for Seoul Drama Awards 2021, the criteria for choosing K-dramas was selecting dramas that were exported to 15 or more countries or recorded exports valuing more than three million dollars.
Excellent Korean Drama: Vincenzo
Outstanding Korean Dramas (3): Start-Up, Taxi Driver, Kairos
Outstanding Korean Actor: Song Joong Ki for Vincenzo
Outstanding Korean Actress: Bae Suzy for Start-Up
Outstanding Korean Drama OST: Okay by Young Tak (Revolutionary Sisters)
Here are some reactions from the fans:
Meanwhile, amidst controversy, Kim Seon Ho's character Han Ji Pyeong from Start-Up received the Character of the Year Award at the Seoul Drama Awards 2021.
In other news, Bae Suzy has been confirmed to act in the star-studded eight-part series, Anna.