2012 SBS Drama Awards

by javabeans

MBC’s over, KBS is to come (on this site, I mean; the actual awards were held concurrently with this one), so now we turn to the 2012 SBS Drama Awards.

Y’know, I was a little surprised when I came to the SBS show, having expected more titles in the winners roster. Because while MBC can always be counted on to give out ridiculous awards that you don’t agree with, SBS and KBS tend to distribute the prizes a bit more. (That’s not to say I love their process more, because every station uses these end-of-year ceremonies as a politicking tool. It’s just that they are a certain kind of predictable.) But then I took a look at the dramas up for grabs, and realized that SBS must’ve had a pretty dry year too.

In case you’re confused at how the shows are broken down into the various categories (by length, scale, production plans), SBS has three: the miniseries, the drama special, and the weekend/serial.

Miniseries from the past year: King of Dramas, Faith, The Chaser, Fashion King, History of the Salaryman. Drama specials: The Great Seer, To the Beautiful You, Ghost, Rooftop Prince, Take Care of Us Captain. (Wow, I’d forgotten all about Captain. Probably for good cause.) And the weekend serials: My Love Madame Butterfly, Tasty Life, When Tomorrow Comes, Five Fingers, A Gentleman’s Dignity, Dumb Mom, Live in Style.

So… yeah. Kinda slim pickins this round, huh?

Even so, I’m super happy for The Chaser for taking home a hefty haul of trophies, since it’s a smart, well-written drama that was anchored by one of those actors who is always amazing but doesn’t always get the crazy fandom love, Sohn Hyun-joo. It wasn’t a drama I recapped this year, sadly, though I would have liked to. But my choice was quite literally to not sleep, or to not recap. I made my choice and I can’t say I regret it.

(On a side note, there’s a curious thing that happens with The Chaser: Every time I want to call it underrated and underappreciated, I have to remind myself that it wasn’t, actually—the show was highly praised at the time of its airing and broke 20% ratings and got an extension (which had to be negated for other reasons). With those numbers it was more watched than Nice Guy and closer to Gaksital. So while it may enjoy a quieter fanbase overseas, I’d say it got the recognition it deserved at the time of its broadcast, and again with these awards.)

WINNERS LIST

Daesang: Sohn Hyun-joo (The Chaser)
Top Excellence Award, Miniseries, Actress: Jung Ryeo-won (History of the Salaryman, King of Dramas)
Top Excellence Award, Miniseries, Actor: Lee Min-ho (Faith)
Top Excellence Award, Drama Special, Actress: Han Ji-min (Rooftop Prince)
Top Excellence Award, Drama Special, Actor: So Ji-sub (Ghost)
Top Excellence Award, Weekend/Serial Drama, Actress: Kim Haneul (A Gentleman’s Dignity)
Top Excellence Award, Weekend/Serial Drama, Actor: Jang Dong-gun (A Gentleman’s Dignity)

Excellence Award, Miniseries, Actress: Kim Sung-ryung (The Chaser)
Excellence Award, Miniseries, Actor: Kim Sang-joong (The Chaser)
Excellence Award, Drama Special, Actress: Jung Yumi (Rooftop Prince)
Excellence Award, Drama Special, Actor: Park Yoochun (Rooftop Prince)
Excellence Award, Weekend/Serial Drama, Actress: Shin Eun-kyung (Still You)
Excellence Award, Weekend/Serial Drama, Actor: Kim Su-ro (A Gentleman’s Dignity)

Special Acting Award, Miniseries: Lee Deok-hwa (History of the Salaryman),
Jang Shin-young (Chaser)
Special Acting Award, Drama Special: Kwak Do-won (Ghost), Lee Jin (The Great Seer)
Special Acting Award, Weekend/Serial Drama: Kim Min-jong (A Gentleman’s Dignity),
Lee Jong-hyuk (A Gentleman’s Dignity), Kim Jung-nan (A Gentleman’s Dignity)

Producer’s Award: Park Geun-hyung (The Chaser), Chae Shi-ra (Five Fingers)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Kim Eun-sook, scriptwriter (A Gentleman’s Dignity)
Best Couple: Kim Min-jong and Yoon Jin-yi (A Gentleman’s Dignity);
Park Yoochun and Han Ji-min (Rooftop Prince)
Audience Popularity Award: Park Yoochun (Rooftop Prince), Kim Haneul (A Gentleman’s Dignity)

Top 10 Stars:
Park Yoochun (Rooftop Prince), Han Ji-min (Rooftop Prince), Jang Dong-gun (A Gentleman’s Dignity), Kim Haneul (A Gentleman’s Dignity), So Ji-sub (Ghost), Shin Eun-kyung (Still You), Sohn Hyun-joo (The Chaser), Jung Ryeo-won (King of Dramas, History of the Salaryman), Lee Min-ho (Faith), Chae Shi-ra (Five Fingers)

New Star Award:
Min-ho (To the Beautiful You), Sulli (To the Beautiful You), Lee Hyun-woo (To the Beautiful You), Go Jun-hee (The Chaser), Park Hyo-joo (The Chaser), Lee Jong-hyun (A Gentleman’s Dignity), Yoon Jin-yi (A Gentleman’s Dignity), Kwon Yuri (Fashion King), Park Se-young (Faith), Jung Eun-woo (Bride of the Sun, Five Fingers)

Aww, yay for Sohn Hyun-joo! I always think of him as Mr. Cow Eyes because of his amazingly expressive eyes (and a line in Sol Pharmacy likened them to those of a placid cow), even though he can actually be just as convincing in creepy or dark roles as he is being meek or cuddly. I feel like this Daesang is as much a lifetime achievement for him as it is for The Chaser… although he certainly earned it in this show.

Not really an exciting gown on its own, but Han Ji-min is working the part well as a winner of one of the night’s bigger prizes. Her acting award (Top Excellence) was a cut above the Excellence Awards given to her co-stars, Yoochun and Jung Yumi, which I think is fair. Yoochun’s doing more dramatic work in I Miss You, which got him a statue last night for MBC, even though his hilarious comic antics with his posse of Joseon minions were probably the best thing about Rooftop. The two also picked up a Best Couple win, which was selected by online vote.

Lee Dong-wook and Jung Ryeo-won were the MCs for the event, and are lookin’ sharp. I’m so glad for Jung Ryeo-won that she got an award, although I think I’d prefer it if the station distinguished which role she was being awarded for (Salaryman or King of Dramas). I know, she was great in both, but it feels more careless to just lump ’em in together and say, “Eh it doesn’t matter which one as long as she gets one.”

I love that black-and-white gown on her with the touch of gold… although I’m sad that she had to ruin the effect of her fabulous red-carpet look by changing into gramma’s 1980s Dynasty-inspired evening gown to accept her award.

Lee Min-ho, really? Okay, so you’ll probably know very well by now that I have great love for Lee Min-ho, but Faith was the drama that made me fall a little bit out of love with him, so I have a bit of raised eyebrow at his Top Excellence. Well, he did propel City Hunter to great heights for SBS, so they’ll definitely want to keep him on their side. I can’t say that he really earned that award for Faith, except maybe by default considering the small number of miniseries on that list. No, not even by default, considering that Kim Myung-min and Lee Beom-soo had miniseries too. Sigh. Well, we’ll always have his Faith hair to look back on. Which I really miss.

Bad Daddy’s back! Kim Sang-joong will never not be scary to me, but in an awesome way. His crooked politician role in The Chaser was a fantastic opposition for the dogged hero, and he took home an Excellence Award for it.

So did his co-star Kim Sung-ryung, who played his wife in The Chaser and served as a catalyst for the conflict in the show. I love how she looks in this dusty rose number, which is the very definition of casual chic. The waves in her hair complement the elegance of the overall style.

Another The Chaser win, this time going to Jang Shin-young as the trusted campaign secretary in the presidential race. It took her a while to get that career on a roll but she’s been picking more interesting roles lately, and hopefully continues on her upward trajectory of the past couple years. The dress… is a safe black number in a sea of safe dresses. I think she has the confidence to pull off something way more interesting.

Hm, but is this too interesting? Don’t get me wrong; I really love what Go Jun-hee’s wearing. It’s so cute and fresh and has pockets in the skirt! The shoes are flirty and fun! She looks comfy and stylish! It’s just… I think she came to the wrong party. Perchance she took a wrong turn at the yacht club, but figured she’d stay to pick up an award (for new star, another hashmark under The Chaser’s tally).

More love for The Chaser. Are we sensing a bit of a pattern here? Park Hyo-joo has been around way too long to qualify as a New Star (she debuted a decade ago), but if the trophy says so it must be true? And we all know that most of these categories are just word games to ensure that they give out enough awards to the cast of their big winners. Her dress is kinda shiny and constricting-looking (don’t breathe too hard!), but it’s a pretty champagne color.

Chae Shi-ra had two big roles this year, but Queen Dowager In-soo was a cable show so this appearance is all about Five Fingers, the weekend melodrama about pianos. I’m sure it was much more interesting than that description, what with all its family secrets and antagonistic rivalries and makjang twists. She’s stately and commanding, as I always expect her to be.

Ji Chang-wook was the rival in Five Fingers, which didn’t really get a lot of mentions here, which may be why most of its cast isn’t around. I love him. I really want him to pick better dramas.

So Ji-sub and Kwak Do-won, lookin’ sharp, both got awards for Ghost. Man, it really looks like the only people who showed up were the ones getting something out of the deal. Should we draft a new law of dramaland, whereby the best (as in most interesting) awards shows are the ones that have the highest percentage of NON-winners at its red carpet?

Pretty lady, pretty dress, kind of boring. Lee Jin’s (The Great Seer) dress is that exact shade of tan that makes you look nude at a quick glance, which is a lot less exciting in practice than that sounds. It all kind of washes out into the same hue.

Lee Hyun-woo (To the Beautiful You), man is he growing up nicely. And this, my friends, is our consolation during the two years Yoo Seung-ho will be away in the army. Lee Hyun-woo is basically that other teen-to-young-adult actor who is charismatic and talented enough to carry a drama; it’s pretty much a two-person category, and it’s allllll his. Choose wisely, young one.

Here’s idol-turned-actor Minho of To the Beautiful You, whose name I always read as Shiny Minho. I guess there are worse ways to misread idol group names…

Sulli rounds out the trio of To the Beautiful You’s young leads, dressed like she’s ready for a luau. Very fresh and sweet, though her dress in particular reminds me that it’s freezing in Seoul these days.

Park Se-young was one busy lady, with not one, not two, but three costume changes of the night. She was also at the KBS Drama Awards (did she magic herself over?) wearing a long white number, probably to support her current KBS drama School 2013. But it’s the SBS award show where she had a dance performance and an award awaiting her (for Faith), and somehow she made it all work. Maybe she’s stumbled across the fourth dimension too? The royal blue is by far my favorite of her choices, and befitting the calm, regal queen she played in the drama.

Park Geun-hyung, aka everybody’s scary dad, got a producer’s award for The Chaser. I love his crisp, perfectly fitted tux; he’s looking dapper and dignified.

Yuri is the sole nod SBS gave to its catastrophe of a drama, Fashion King, with her New Star Award. Perhaps it’s odd that her three co-stars were ignored (Yoo Ah-in, Lee Je-hoon, Shin Se-kyung), given that they’ve all earned budding reputations as strong actors… but maybe they’d rather just expunge this one from their records and move on to bigger and better things. Her dress is pretty. She’s pretty. I’m not really feeling anything for most of these dresses, though.

Cute camaraderie for a few of the stars of A Gentleman’s Dignity, which was the big winner of the night. Urg. I get why, and I don’t necessarily disagree with its awards… although that drama just annoyed me and seemed pointless, so it feels strange to be lauded as one of the best of the year. Oh well. Here we have Kim Su-ro with two of the Best Couple winners, Kim Min-jong and Meahri. Um, she has a name. It is… Yoon Jin-yi, and I will probably have to learn it now. I do think Yoon Jin-yi has been doing quite well in the fashion department at the red carpets this year, looking polished and put-together, but still youthful and fresh.

Here’s their Gentleman’s Dignity co-star Lee Jong-hyuk, who thankfully has rid himself of that strange llama hair he was sporting all drama long. (Love him, hated that hair.)

Not to be confused with yet another Gentleman’s Dignity co-star, Lee Jong-hyun, idol boy of CN Blue and New Star Award recipient.

Their co-star Kim Haneul wasn’t on the red carpet, but she did show up to pick up her Top Excellence Award. Jang Dong-gun was also given one, but since he’s shooting overseas his buddy Kim Su-ro picked up his statue on his behalf.

Another star absent from the red carpet was Jung Yumi, who did show up to get an award for Rooftop Prince. I don’t know why certain stars opt to skip the red carpet, but it’s too bad we don’t get the bevy of detailed photos of her gown, which looks quite pretty.

Shin Eun-kyung is rocking this tux. I’m not watching her daily drama Still You, which got her an award here, but if I know her she’s probably rocking that role as well.

I always thought Park Shi-eun (Beloved You, I Must Have Loved, Just Like Today) could have had a bigger career, but she’s gone the daily-weekend-family drama route in recent years. I think she looks good, but again, not feeling the dress choice. It’s flattering and safe and sort of fades into the pile of other black-gowned ladies.

…and then, there’s Nancy Lang. I don’t quite know who she is, exactly, other than that her profile is listed as pop artist and that she crops up in the news fairly regularly, usually under criticism for some silly thing or another. Here she is taking a splat on the red carpet, and I was all set to be impressed with photogs for getting the moment so clearly captured on camera, only to find that it was a “fall performance,” planned and deliberate. I don’t really get it. Is this part of her “art,” or is she just an attention seeker? I don’t know. We may never know.

Via My Daily

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