2018 Blue Dragon Awards

73 November 23, 2018December 31, 2018

by stroopwafel

Kim Yoon-seok, Han Ji-min

It’s that time of year again — awards season! The 39th Blue Dragon Awards took place on November 23 in Seoul and it was a glamorous and star-studded affair. Kim Hye-soo returned to host for the second year running, with Yoo Yeon-seok as her co-host.

Competition was stiff, but the critically acclaimed film 1987 managed to scoop the Best Picture prize. 1987 is based on the real-life events of the June Democratic Uprising, which saw mass protests break out against the country against the power of the authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan. The movement successfully forced the government to make concessions that brought about democratic changes to the country. The veteran actor Kim Yoon-seok won Best Actor for his portrayal of a police commissioner. The film also won in the Best Lighting category.

The night’s other big winner was Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds. The fantasy film centers around a firefighter who dies and is guided through the underworld by three grim reapers. Kim Hyang-gi is just 18 but she already boasts an impressive filmography and a Blue Dragon Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the youngest grim reaper. (How cute was her reaction to winning?!) The film also won Best Technical Effects and the Box Office Audience Award, which is a popularity award.

Song Kang-ho, Kim Yoon-seok

Han Ji-min won Best Actress for her portrayal of an ex-convict whose life is changed by a little girl. The other nominees in the category were Kim Tae-ri, Kim Hee-ae, Esom, and Park Bo-young.

The late Kim Joo-hyuk won Best Supporting Actor for his last film role in Believer. He won out against Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Dong-wook, Joo Ji-hoon, and Steven Yeun. Nam Joo-hyuk won New Actor for his role in the historical film The Great Battle and Kim Da-mi won New Actress for her lead role in the thriller The Witch.

Kim Hyang-gi picked up her second award of the night as she won the Popularity Award along with Joo Ji-hoon, Jin Seo-yeon, Kim Young-kwang. See below for the full list of winners.

Kim Dong-wook, Kim Hyang-gi, Joo Ji-hoon

WINNERS LIST

Best Picture: 1987
Best Director: Yoon Jong-bin (The Spy Gone North)
Best Actor: Kim Yoon-seok (1987)
Best Actress: Han Ji-min (Miss Baek)
Supporting Actor: Kim Joo-hyuk (Believer)
Supporting Actress: Kim Hyang-gi (Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds)
New Actor: Nam Joo-hyuk (The Great Battle)
New Actress: Kim Da-mi (The Witch)
New Director: Jeon Go-woon (Microhabitat)

Lighting: 1987, Kim Woo-hyung, Kim Seung-kyu
Editing: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, Kim Hyung-joo, Jung Bum-shik, Yang Dong-yup
Music: Believer, Dalparan
Art Direction: The Spy Gone North, Park Il-hyun
Technical Effects: Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds, Jin Jong-hyun
Screenplay: Dark Figure of Crime, Kwak Kyung-taek, Kim Tae-kyun
Short Film Award: New Record, Heo Ji-eun, Lee Kyung-ho
Box Office Audience Award: Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds
Popularity Award: Jin Seo-yeon, Joo Ji-hoon, Kim Hyang-gi, Kim Young-kwang

MCs Kim Hye-soo and Yoo Yeon-seok

Kim Yoon-seok

Han Ji-min

Jin Seo-yeon, Kim Joo-hyuk

Kim Hyang-gi

Nam Joo-hyuk

Kim Da-mi

Kim Young-kwang, Joo Ji-hoon, Kim Yoon-seok, Han Ji-min, Kim Hyang-gi, Jin Seo-yeon, Kim Da-mi, Nam Joo-hyuk

Kim Young-kwang, Park Bo-young

Esom

Kim So-hyun

Joo Ji-hoon

Kang Hanna

Lee Joo-young

Wie Ha-joon

Kim Dong-wook

Yoo Ah-in

Via SBS, Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun

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1 suk

November 23, 2018 at 8:11 PM

Kim So-hyun and Nam Joo-hyuk look so good! Congratulations to all the winners!

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2 mary

November 23, 2018 at 8:11 PM

The awards post are back! Thank you, @stroopwafel <3 I don't watch K-movies so it's just a Spot the Colors game for me. .__.

Kim So-hyun looks gorgeous in blue and Joo Ji-hoon looks... eye-catching in that pink.

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3 Amy

November 23, 2018 at 8:16 PM

Congrats to all the winners. It came as a little surprise that Nam joo hyuk won the rookie award. Kim Hyangi is really impressive though.

I think names are little mixed up under the pics.

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4 sph_7

November 23, 2018 at 8:21 PM

The funniest comment I saw today was “Does that mean we don’t have to endure Nam joo hyuk dramas anymore?” 😂

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HANI

November 25, 2018 at 6:19 PM

What? Nooo.....
What if I had to watch him alongside Ha Jung Woo....
drama pls take him back~

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5 Taraa

November 23, 2018 at 8:42 PM

Comment was deleted

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blnmom

November 23, 2018 at 9:09 PM

Yes, lots of white dresses, but the guy in the pink tux makes up for it!

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HANI

November 25, 2018 at 6:20 PM

lmao
I guess Joo Ji Hoon predicted that his fellow actors will wear a lot of white so he takes one for the team with his shiny pink suit~
so shiny~
so cotton candy pink~
lol

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Lia

November 25, 2018 at 8:00 AM

Kim Sohyun just gets prettier and prettier every passing day. That dress is the best for the night.

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immawish

November 25, 2018 at 10:04 AM

Kim Sohyun and Son Yejin as sisters or mother/daughter(?) is my wishlist I would never give up on

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mary

November 25, 2018 at 12:41 PM

She played a younger version of her in The Last Princess. I love (and wish there was more).

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immawish

November 29, 2018 at 4:41 AM

ooh! That's why I do remember they crossed path but I don't remember when, The Last Princess it is then

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Bae

November 26, 2018 at 6:41 AM

Son Ye Jin said she doesn't want to do mother roles with a grown up child so it'll have to be sisters. I'm all for it.

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6 Rai’s Ramyun

November 23, 2018 at 8:59 PM

Kim dong-wood??? I guess it’s a typo...but The irony, he does look stiff like wood in the pic...no offense...🙃

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outofthisworld 不愧是我 🏍

November 23, 2018 at 9:18 PM

He's solid.

Although I didn't watched him in his latest drama - The Guest, I can safely vouch for his acting. He's far from wooden. Can't say anything about the pic - I never like all these awards red carpet pics anyway.

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growingbeautifully

November 24, 2018 at 12:34 AM

Solid wood! 😂 Poor Kim Dong Wook. He was fantastic in The Guest. I should try and watch other works with him in it.

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Rai’s Ramyun

November 24, 2018 at 10:07 PM

Agree with you 100%. regarding 'The Guest'..He was fantastic in 'Along with the gods: The last 49 days' too...He pulled off the comedic timing and emotional rollercoaster together perfectly in the movie.

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HANI

November 25, 2018 at 6:22 PM

Agreed. He was/is a solid actor for years.
Definitely good in AWTG

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7 Rai’s Ramyun

November 23, 2018 at 9:02 PM

What?? Nothing for Ha jung-woo???🙁

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kiara

November 24, 2018 at 7:24 AM

My absolute film bias amazeballs of an actor! I think it was obvious that Kim Yoon-seok would win for "1987" though over anything "Along with the Gods."

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8 Mimi

November 23, 2018 at 10:16 PM

What a boring red carpet for years.

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9 Nessa (Bebe) 🌹

November 23, 2018 at 10:27 PM

I am surprised that I actually like many of the white dresses this time ‘round despite them being—well— white... and ‘bridal-like’ 😅😅 My fave white dresses are Kim Hye Soo’s (She’s always looking like a BOSS in ALL the award shows she attends) and Han Ji Min’s ☺️☺️ My favourite COLOUR of the night goes to Kim So Hyun’s royal blue dress (I also like the sinched waist detailing), but my favourite STYLE of dress goes to Kang Ha Na 😍😍

Honourable mention: Joo Ji Hoon’s bubble gum pink frosting suit 🤣🤣🤣

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10 hjw

November 23, 2018 at 10:32 PM

So nothing at all for Burning? It is almost as if Korean award shows make an effort to be as laughable as possible.

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kanzcech

November 24, 2018 at 3:01 AM

probably because of its actors' controversies in real life.

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I Will Goryeo You

November 24, 2018 at 9:16 AM

BDA people are not that childish like those Knets, you know. BURNING was excluded from the nomination for the award’s best picture and best director as Lee Chang Dong has been boycotting and refused attending the awards ceremony since 2002. However, both Lee Chang Dong and the film producer, Finecut, respect the efforts and rights of the actors and film crews to be selected as the nominees in other categories.

Chosun Ilbo, a conservative South Korean newspaper which hosts the awards, has run into frequent conflicts with Lee when he served as the minister of culture, sports and tourism under a liberal government led by the late president Roh Moo Hyun in 2003. Regardless, actresses Moon Sori (Oasis, 2002) and Jeon Do Yeon (Secret Sunshine, 2007) who starred in Lee’s films were nominated for the awards and attended previous festivals.

“The film is excluded as Lee strongly expressed through direct and indirect routes that he will not attend the awards ceremony,” the awards’ organizers said in a past press release. “But we nominated his actors and film crews based on a decision that the awards could not curtail the actor’s rights to their reward regardless of the director and the producer’s political judgment.” https://yooahinsikseekland.wordpress.com/2018/11/01/yoo-ah-in-is-nominated-for-best-actor-in-the-39th-blue-dragon-film-awards-2018-burning-gets-4-nods/

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kanzcech

November 25, 2018 at 3:32 AM

Thank you for the explanation. I didn't know Director Lee Chang Dong boycotting BDA. You learned something new right? I only know about the actors' controversies because I read them on media. Anyway Burning movie was already in Cannes and that is some achievement to have!

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zhenhai

November 24, 2018 at 5:24 PM

The two things, I swear, have nothing to do with each other. And the actor is believed to be liberal feminist, but was cyber-bullied by the Internet's radical feminists from Megalia, Womad. However, yellow media in Korea are mis-writing these facts.

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I Will Goryeo You

November 24, 2018 at 10:05 PM

All the "controversies" that Korean netizens kept fanning are so dumb and unnecessary. It all caused by the misunderstandings and prejudices. The three of them are super talented and well-behaved. Two actors already has big names, and I can see that the new actress will be the future's big name too. Both Blue Dragon Awards and Baeksang Art Awards know it.

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kiara

November 24, 2018 at 7:14 AM

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kiara

November 24, 2018 at 7:15 AM

Ha I was thinking about the same thing too. Lee Chang-dong was not part of any controversies to be shut out like that, even for a nomination.

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zhenhai

November 24, 2018 at 5:31 PM

You'are wrong. Director Lee Chang-dong has been boycotting Blue Dragon Awards since 2002 because of his political stance. So Awards decided to exclude his films from Best Film & Best Director nominations.

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kiara

November 24, 2018 at 9:16 PM

I didn't know about 2002. Beside that he has been away from films for over 8yrs or so.

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sph_7

November 24, 2018 at 8:48 AM

I’ve seen Burning but IMO it didn’t match up to the winners in each of these categories.

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I Will Goryeo You

November 24, 2018 at 9:15 AM

BURNING was excluded from the nomination for the award’s best picture and best director as Lee Chang Dong has been boycotting and refused attending the awards ceremony since 2002. However, both Lee Chang Dong and the film producer, Finecut, respect the efforts and rights of the actors and film crews to be selected as the nominees in other categories.

https://yooahinsikseekland.wordpress.com/2018/11/01/yoo-ah-in-is-nominated-for-best-actor-in-the-39th-blue-dragon-film-awards-2018-burning-gets-4-nods/

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I Will Goryeo You

November 24, 2018 at 9:18 AM

Most Korean award shows are laughable though. That's a fact.

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11 tonal

November 23, 2018 at 10:32 PM

This might start a war in the comments section/in the minds of people reading this or it may cause someone to see red, but to shake things up a bit I would like to politely request that the actress categories be put above the actor categories. I think it would be nice to have something different to look at even if it is a differently ordered list (everyone is wearing black, white, black and white, or beige anyway with the exception of the awesome Kim So-hyun and Joo Ji-hoon). This is something that I've been wanting to make a comment about for more than two years and have only just now worked up the nerve. :D

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lazy ~ gogo!

November 24, 2018 at 2:41 AM

i mean, i'm not against the idea... but what difference would it make?

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tonal

November 24, 2018 at 9:04 AM

The easy answer? It's fun to mess with the 'norm' and the people who obviously find it easier to say 'men and women' or list some male category before female category. I'm an academic and I see in scientific papers (of the linguistic variety) that male results are presented first most of the time so in the articles that I write where I say 'female and male participants' and present female results first. Some people don't notice (which is great!) while other people are thrown off because it's just a little harder to say. It's fun to watch the thrown off when I'm present while they read my writing.

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12 mikgoo

November 23, 2018 at 10:34 PM

I don't know why they always wear the best clothes in dramas but they wear the most drab for awards night. Is there a dress code or something? Aren't they sponsored by designers? Don't they have designer friends? Why can't they dress up like a real top star?

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mary

November 23, 2018 at 11:03 PM

*remembers Yoo Baek in that shirtless coat* Uhm... maybe they have weird ideas on what top stars should wear.

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bbstl 🧹

November 23, 2018 at 11:14 PM

Gaaaaah, right? It's a never-ending mystery. And why the Koreans never accessorize well with jewelry, either. 🤦🏻‍♀️ They always look like they put on the first white prom dress they found and walked out the door. I can't believe we're legit getting excited about one navy dress.
Praise be to Joo Ji Hoon.

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cherry 🍒

November 24, 2018 at 1:15 AM

Exactly my thoughts. The actors look absolutely amazing and gorgeous in dramas but the real life red carpet events are disappointing at best. Well, I wanted to use a word ugly, but that would be too harsh.

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wapz

November 24, 2018 at 3:51 AM

I do think there must be a dress code (that might also be considered proper ettiquette to dress in white or black) and perhaps contracts with select few designers. I never see the likes of Zuhair Murad or Elie Saab that I do see in C-stars. These are mostly Gucci and D&G I guess.

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bbstl 🧹

November 24, 2018 at 8:32 AM

I don't know if they're even big designers, and they often aren't fitted well. It's such a disconnect, I do wish someone could explain it to us. There must be a cultural reason why Chinese actresses (and actors) pull out all the glamour for awards shows and Korean stars mostly seem to want to squash it down.

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sph_7

November 24, 2018 at 8:55 AM

There’s also a great difference in Korea among different award shows. This being a respected movie awards is probably why actors go the humble route. The drama awards have more glam, and the K-pop awards is when everyone tries to stand out.

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mikgoo

November 25, 2018 at 6:41 AM

The last drama awards I checked has everyone also in white.

marina

November 24, 2018 at 9:49 AM

And the worst clothes are worn for wrap-up parties. They just ruin the image of sixteen episodes with just one gathering event.

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13 ladykrueger

November 24, 2018 at 2:49 AM

OMG, Joo Ji-hoon. It's so good and so bad at the same time, I'm confused 😂

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mikgoo

November 25, 2018 at 6:43 AM

Thankfully, he's tall, good looking, and has a devil-may-care attitude so he pulled it off.

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14 kanzcech

November 24, 2018 at 3:00 AM

I miss dress/suit commentary by javabeans/girlfriday!

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immawish

November 25, 2018 at 10:02 AM

I was waiting for those just to talk about Kim Sohyun omg

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15 PilTa

November 24, 2018 at 3:42 AM

I will always appreciate that person who wears a splash of color in this sea of white.

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wapz

November 24, 2018 at 3:47 AM

It's not even necessary that they would be wearing sth nice but the color in all these whites makes me appreciate them.

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16 rubytuesday

November 24, 2018 at 3:56 AM

okay but Lee Joo-young is turning LOOKS.

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17 rubytuesday

November 24, 2018 at 3:58 AM

just once, I'd love to see an awards show where the dudes don't all wear boring ass suits. Like. Come on, guys. It's 2018. Let's be adventurous.

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18 shach

November 24, 2018 at 4:43 AM

My very shallow commentary: Nam Joo Hyuk... how, why???
Joo Ji Hoon, that is not his color but A+ for the effort. Otherwise fashion wise we again get cheap prom dresses parade, and how no one ever wear evening make up during this event?

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bbstl 🧹

November 24, 2018 at 8:28 AM

Or hair? Is there an unwritten rule that the actresses must downplay taking awards shows seriously?

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19 korfan

November 24, 2018 at 5:28 AM

I look at Joo Ji-hoon's picture and that strawberry milk/bubblegum number he's wearing and then think ....
- he lost a bet
- it was a dare
- unbeknownst to us, it's his favorite color

Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks for this awards post!

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20 kiara

November 24, 2018 at 7:07 AM

My baby Kim Hyang-gi growing up and winning film awards! I'm so so happy for her <3. I do miss seeing her in dramas but it's good to see another young actress beside Kim Sae-ron thriving in Chungmuro.

Kim Yoon-seok <3! Well deserved winner as best actor but I also wanted Lee Sung-min to win something too.

I'm surprised that Lee Chang-dong didn't get a nomination for "Burning." It wasn't his best but still one of the best art-house director in Korea.

I was rooting for "1987" to win best picture and I'm glad it did.
"The Spy Gone North" was the only other that I thought would've won.

I think last years films were much better in quality and acting. Even "1987" came out last year.

Thank you @stroopwafel! It has been a while since we have news, awards etc from Chungmuro.

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zhenhai

November 24, 2018 at 5:35 PM

Director Lee Chang-dong has been boycotting Blue Dragon Awards since 2002 because of his political stance. So Awards decided to exclude his films from Best Film & Best Director nominations.

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21 WisdomToothless

November 24, 2018 at 7:55 AM

The actresses have really become less adventurous in fashion these days... Looking at older blue dragon awards, the gowns and makeup were much more varied and daring, such as these https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/the-28th-blue-dragon-film-awards?mediatype=photography&phrase=the%2028th%20blue%20dragon%20film%20awards&sort=mostpopular

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bbstl 🧹

November 24, 2018 at 8:26 AM

Thanks for those. They're also not too fashionable or flattering but at least they took several steps out and they did pay attention to makeup. Makes me wonder if there was a backlash against them that year.

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WisdomToothless

November 26, 2018 at 3:29 AM

I think the quality of the photos does affect too? I'm no expert but that the lighting just doesn't look too flattering...

Well subsequent years still had more varied fashion e.g. https://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/2009/12/17/30th-blue-dragon-film-awards/ so I just wonder when they started toning down the fashion across the board to mainly white and black.