Kakao Entertainment (Co-CEOs Ko Jung-hee and Jang Yoon-jung) swept a total of six awards across the television, film, and theater categories at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards!
From the Netflix series ‘Eunjung and Sangyeon’ taking home two trophies to the incredible wins by actors Yoo Hae-jin, Hyun Bin, and Park Bo-young, as well as the play ‘Prima Facie,’ Kakao Entertainment has once again proven its unrivaled competitiveness in the media industry.
The Netflix series ‘Eunjung and Sangyeon’ (Directed by Cho Young-min, Written by Song Hye-jin) was recognized for its outstanding quality, winning both Best Drama and Best Screenplay in the television category. This is a huge milestone for Kakao Entertainment, as it marks the second consecutive year they’ve won both awards, following the success of the Netflix series ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ last year.
‘Eunjung and Sangyeon’ tells the story of two friends, Eunjung and Sangyeon, whose lives are intricately intertwined through moments of love, admiration, jealousy, and hate. The series earned praise as a well-made production thanks to a dense script capturing the evolving friendship over time, delicate and sensory direction, and powerful performances by Kim Go-eun, Park Ji-hyun, and Kim Gun-woo. Its intense grip on global audiences led it to rank 5th in the Netflix Global Top 10 (Non-English) series shortly after its release last September.
Upon winning Best Drama, Director Cho Young-min shared, “I’ve been given a truly great award. I’m grateful to the writer for the wonderful script and the actors for their amazing performances. While it wasn’t an easy project, I thank Netflix for choosing it and the Kakao Entertainment family for their unwavering support. Since this award was made possible by the staff who worked with me, I consider us to be receiving it together.” Jang Se-jung, Head of Video Business at Kakao Entertainment, added, “I felt once again that making a great drama with great people is a wonderful thing. I’m grateful to the director for the most delicate, warm, and deep direction, and especially to actress Kim Go-eun for choosing this script. Because there are viewers who love warm, understated stories, I hope more stories like this can be created in the future.”
Writer Song Hye-jin, who won Best Screenplay, expressed her gratitude, saying, “There were so many people I was thankful for while working on ‘Eunjung and Sangyeon,’ and I’m grateful for this opportunity to thank them. Thank you to the viewers, the director who turned a script with many gaps and difficult expressions into a beautiful drama, the wonderful actors, and all the staff. Eunjung’s profession in her 30s is a planning producer, and I also have a producer I’ve worked with for over 10 years. I share this award with PD Choi Kyung-sook. Thank you.”
Kakao Entertainment’s actors also stole the spotlight in major categories. Yoo Hae-jin (VAST Entertainment) won the Grand Prize in the Film category, praised for delivering both laughter and emotion through his signature pacing and lively acting in ‘The Man Living with the King.’ Meanwhile, Hyun Bin (VAST Entertainment) won Best Actor in the Television category for his impressive portrayal of desire for wealth and power in the Disney+ original series ‘Made in Korea.’ Park Bo-young (BH Entertainment) took home Best Actress in the Television category for her multi-dimensional performance in the tvN drama ‘Unknown Seoul,’ where she was praised for precisely depicting two different lives.
The play ‘Prima Facie,’ planned and produced by Kakao Entertainment’s Show Note, also celebrated a win as actress Kim Shin-rok took home the Best Actress award in the Theater category. In her acceptance speech, Kim Shin-rok said, “I want to share this honor with Show Note, the creative team, and the fellow actors who made this work possible.”
Kakao Entertainment continues to gain popularity domestically and internationally this year with a diverse lineup, including ‘Monthly Boyfriend,’ ‘Shining,’ and ‘The 21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife.’ The company plans to release various well-made works by the end of the year, including the Netflix series ‘Wonderfuls’ (releasing on the 15th), ‘The Boy in the Last Row,’ ‘Field Mouse,’ and the Netflix film ‘Cross 2.’
