“2023 SBS Drama Awards” Face Backlash For The Lineup of “Questionable” Winners

On December 29 (KST), SBS celebrated the network’s greatest works for 2023 at the “2023 SBS Drama Awards.” The lineup of winners, however, has been facing backlash from Korean TV viewers…

| SBS

…for being “questionable,” at best.

For one, viewers raised questions about the awards being offered to multiple winners. The “Best New Actor” award went to all seven nominees, with the host Shin Dong Yeop explaining that “Multiple actors have done so well in 2023 that a special arrangement was made to celebrate all of their efforts.”

The winners of the “Best New Actor” award. | @SBSNOW/Twitter

Overall, viewers criticized SBS for “chopping up” all the categories into smaller categories and “handing out” the awards to all the shows and their actors.

| theqoo

• “This is the worst, LOL.”
• “I don’t think I’d feel all that honored after winning an award being handed out like that.”
• “Seven winners for the Best New Actor award is mind-blowing. So is six winners for the Top Excellence Actor award, though. I mean, SBS has been known for awarding whoever is popular… But 2023 is the worst. Six winners for what is one award? LMAO.”
• “Just name the awards ‘Popular Award’ and ‘More Popular Award.'”
• “Getting ‘Participation Award’ vibes. Haha.”
• “What’s the point of holding these ceremonies if the awards are going to be given out like this? Just stop.”

Also, viewers doubted that some actors deserved their wins over others.

| SBS

Actor Song Kang (who did not attend) won the “Top Excellence Award” for a romantic/comedic miniseries over actors Park Hee Soon and Kim Mu Yeol, which the viewers claimed was because he was “the most popular out of the three.”

| theqoo

• “Wouldn’t it make more sense to come up with a ‘Visual Award’? Song Kang is good-looking for sure, so I watch his shows. But I don’t think his acting was ‘Top Excellence’ at all. It was OK in Navillera, but I haven’t seen improvements since.”
• “Well, now all the viewers will know he’s not that good at acting because of this award.”
• “Ha, what the heck?!”
• “I bet Song Kang himself was questioning the award as he was winning it, too.”
• “LOL. This is funnier than all of SBS’s entertainment shows of 2023. Who won what out of that lineup?!”
• “Should’ve given him a ‘Popularity Award’ instead… Or change the show name to ‘SBS Popularity Awards.'”
• “I love Song Kang, but his acting falls short.”

Actor Ahn Hyo Seop‘s win of the “Top Excellence Award” for a multi-season miniseries, over actors Han Suk Kyu and Kim Rae Won, also received backlash.

| SBS | theqoo

• “How did Ahn Hyo Seop win the award over Kim Rae Won?! LOL. This is nonsense.”
• “Isn’t this rather disrespectful to Kim Rae Won and Han Suk Kyu, though? And poor Ahn Hyo Seop is getting heat for no reason. But with time, people will forget and the award will go down on Ahn’s record. So…”
• “Both Song Kang and Ahn Hyo Seop’s victories will make sense if you think of them as popularity awards. Don’t expect SBS to award for acting, even if the award is literally called ‘Top Excellence Award for Acting.'”
• “But throughout the show, viewers were asking him if he practices acting at all. So… How did he win a ‘Top Excellence Award’ at all? LOL.”
• “I don’t even think he was all that popular from the show, TBH. If he was terrible at acting, and didn’t get all that much recognition, then how did he win this award?”
• “How is Ahn Hyo Seop the winner?”
• “He’s not that good at acting, though. ‘Top Excellence Award,’ my butt. LOL. I can’t believe he won over Han Suk Kyu for a show that Han Suk Kyu carried. Just hilarious.”
• “I guess it did have the highest viewer ratings.”
• “Netword award ceremonies are like this all the time, though. I’m not surprised.”

The biggest disappointment came from the fact that Daesang was split between two actors.

Lee Je Hoon (left) and Kim Tae Ri (right) | SBS

While congratulating both Kim Tae Ri and Lee Je Hoon‘s victories, viewers remained unconvinced that SBS was fair and selective in choosing the stars—making the award itself less prestigious.

In addition to the Best New Actor award being shared among seven winners, the Daesang was shared between two actors as well. Most of the awards were chopped into genres, and then shared among all of the shows that SBS aired. In doing so, SBS made the award less prestigious than ever before.

— Hankyung

You can see the full list of winners here.

Here Are All The Winners Of The “2023 SBS Drama Awards”