Blue Dragon Series Awards 2023 Winners: K-Drama Series And Stars Win Big

The annual Blue Dragon Series Awards returned for its second year and awarded a new batch of exceptional shows produced by streaming services in South Korea.

The Blue Dragon Series Awards, organized by Sports Chosun, is an annual awards ceremony that honors and celebrates excellence in streaming television and over-the-top (OTT) media service in South Korea.

It was launched in South Korea in 2022 as the first award ceremony for shows on streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, seezn, Apple TV+, WATCHA, wavve, Kakao TV, Coupang Play and TVING.

This year, the star-studded awards ceremony took place at Incheon's Paradise City Wednesday. It was hosted by South Korean TV presenter Jun Hyun-moo and Girls' Generation member YoonA.

The award-giving body introduced new awards this year, including a daesang (grand prize), OST Popularity Award, and Why Not Award.

The Why Not Award is given to artists or works that inspired change in streaming services through their unique ideas.

South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, 41, took home the Blue Dragon Series Awards' first-ever daesang for her performance in the hit drama series "The Glory," while her co-star Lim Ji-yeon won the best supporting actress award.

"Big Bet," a 2022 South Korean series that revolves around a legendary figure in the casino world in the Philippines, took home the best drama award, while its actor Lee Dong-hwi won the best supporting actor trophy in the drama category.

Ha Jung-woo of "Narco-Saints" and Bae Suzy of "Anna" were named best actor and best actress, respectively.

This year's best rookie actor and best rookie actress awards were given to Park Ji-hoon and Shin Ye-eun for their performance in "Weak Hero Class 1" and "Revenge of Others," respectively.

Meanwhile, the OST Popularity Award was given to DKZ's Jaechan for "Our Season," and the Why Not Award was presented to Choi Hyun-wook of "Weak Hero Class 1."

In the variety category, "Siren: Survive the Island," a reality competition series that features participants competing in various challenges on a remote island, took home the best variety program award.

Yoo Jae-suk of "PLAYou Level Up" was awarded best male entertainer, while Joo Hyun-young was awarded best female entertainer.

"Bloody Game 2's" Dex, more popularly known as Jin-young of "Single's Inferno," took home the best rookie male entertainer award, while Kim Ah-young of "SNL Korea" was awarded best rookie female entertainer.

Meanwhile, the TIRTIR Popularity Award was presented to K-pop idols Cha Eun-woo of ASTRO and Jaechan of DKZ, actor and entertainer Lee Kwang-soo, and volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung.