23rd Korean Music Awards

23rd Korean Music Awards
23rd Korean Music Awards
	Official logo
Date	February 26, 2026
Location	Seoul, South Korea
Hosted by	Nucksal
Highlights
Most awards	Lee Chan-hyuk (3)
Most nominations	Effie (6)
Musician of the Year	Hanroro
Album of the Year	Chudahye Chagis – Sosuminjok
Song of the Year	Lee Chan-hyuk – "Endangered Love"
Website	koreanmusicawards.com
Television/radio coverage
Network	Melon ; YouTube

The 23rd Korean Music Awards was held in Seoul, South Korea on February 26, 2026. Hosted by the Korean Music Awards Selection Committee and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, the ceremony recognized the best music released in South Korea between December 1, 2024, and November 30, 2025.^[1]

Unlike other South Korean music awards, the Korean Music Awards are based on musical achievement rather than record sales. Winners are determined by the Korean Music Awards Selection Committee, which comprises music critics, radio show producers, academics, and other music industry professionals. Nominations were announced on February 5, 2026, through its official website and YouTube channel.^[2]

Hyperpop musician Effie is the most nominated artist with six nominations.^[3] Singer-songwriter Lee Chan-hyuk is the biggest winner of the night, winning three awards including Song of the Year for "Endangered Love". Sosuminjok by Chudahye Chagis won Album of the Year, Singer-songwriter Hanroro won Musician of the Year, while Huijun Woo won Rookie of the Year.^[4]

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡). Nominees are listed in alphabetical order.^[5]

General field

Album of the Year *Chudahye Chagis – Sosuminjok* ‡** Effie – Pullup to Busan 4 More Hyper Summer It's Gonna Be a Fuckin Movie Huijun Woo – Pumping of Heart is Torturing Jennie – Ruby Kwon Tree – The Fragrance of Life Lee Chan-hyuk – Eros	Song of the Year Lee Chan-hyuk – "Endangered Love" ‡ Chudahye Chagis – "Heosse!" Huijun Woo – "Spacious House" Jennie – "Like Jennie" Nmixx – "Blue Valentine"
Musician of the Year Hanroro ‡ Effie Jennie Lee Chan-hyuk Nmixx	Rookie of the Year Huijun Woo ‡ AllDay Project Gongwon Peach Truck Hijackers Rakunelama

Genre categories

Best K-pop Album *Jennie – Ruby* ‡** Chaeyoung – Lil Fantasy Vol. 1 Mark – The Firstfruit Nmixx – Blue Valentine Nmixx – Fe3O4: Forward	Best K-pop Song Jennie – "Like Jennie" ‡ AllDay Project – "Famous" Hearts2Hearts – "Focus" Le Sserafim – "Spaghetti" (featuring J-Hope) Nmixx – "Blue Valentine"
Best Pop Album *Lee Chan-hyuk – Eros* ‡** Hyelyn Joo – Stereo Lim Hyun-jung – Extraordinary Song So-hee – Re:5 Yerin Baek – Flash and Core	Best Pop Song Lee Chan-hyuk – "Endangered Love" ‡ Hwasa – "Good Goodbye" Jowall – "Your Love as My Pretext" (featuring Haepa) Lim Hyun-jung – "The Road to Me Is Beautiful" Yerin Baek – "Mirror"
Best Rock Album *Wah Wah Wah & Noridogam – UBUBU* ‡** Green Flame Boys – Greenroof Peach Truck Hijackers – Peach Truck Hijackers YB – Odyssey	Best Rock Song Lee Seung-yoon – "PunKanon" ‡ Bae Cheol-soo – "Ieodo Island (Parangdo Island)" Green Flame Boys – "True Heart" Uinone – "Apocalypse" Wah Wah Wah & Noridogam – "Uncertainty"
Best Alternative Rock Album *Shin In Ryu – Shining Strike* ‡** Gogohawk – Vol. 07 Hanroro – Jamong Salgu Club Huijun Woo – Pumping of Heart is Torturing Say Sue Me – Time is Not Yours	Best Alternative Rock Song Huijun Woo – "Spacious House" ‡ Hanroro – "Goodbye, My Summer" Jungwoo – "The Embers" Noridogam – "Truthbuster" Shin In Ryu – "Attack!"
Best Electronic Album *Kirara – Kirara* ‡** Bojvck – UnderNationWide Effie – E Necta – Seoul Bizarre Yetsuby – 4EVA	Best Electronic Song Melki – "Body Break" ‡ Effie – "Open Ur Eyes" Kirara – "Music" (with Sunwoo Jung-a) Naojusung – "Eternal Sunshine" (featuring Meaningful Stone) Necta – "Lady Love"
Best Rap & Hip-Hop Album *Sik-K & Lil Moshpit – K-Flip+* ‡** B-Free – Free the Mane 3 "Free the Mane vs. B-Free" Effie – Pullup to Busan 4 More Hyper Summer It's Gonna Be a Fuckin Movie Viceversa – Animal FKRY Yumdda – Breathe 4	Best Rap & Hip-Hop Song Sik-K & Lil Moshpit – "LOV3" (featuring Bryan Chase & Okasian) ‡ B-Free – "Nergal" C Jamm – "Layered" Effie – "Can I Sip 담배" Yumdda – "Irony"
Best R&B & Soul Album *Yoon Da-hye – Wang* ‡** Bibi – Eve: Romance Chudahye Chagis – Sosuminjok Jeebanoff – Misery Shinjihang – Nong	Best R&B & Soul Song Chudahye Chagis – "Heosse!" ‡ A.TRAIN – "Povidone" (featuring Danpyunsun) Hyelyn Joo – "Busy Boy" Rakunelama – "B" Yoon Da-hye – "Twin Flame"
Best Folk Album *Kwon Tree – The Fragrance of Life* ‡** Joung Tae-choon & Park Eun-ohk – Between Hard Rain Kim Hwal-sung – The Remnant Forest Lucid Fall – Elsewhere Sanmanhan – Sanmanhan 2	Best Folk Song Kwon Tree – "Unknowingly, So Did I" ‡ Joung Tae-choon & Park Eun-ohk – "Between Hard Rain" Kim Chang-wan – "A Day" Kim Hwal-sung – "The Remnant Forest" Sanmanhan – "Heart of a Dog"
Best Metal & Hardcore Album *Baan – Neumann* ‡** Chain Reaction – A Love Supreme Dulom – Axiom Zero Loss of infection – 罰錢 Methkamel – Circle	Best Global Contemporary Album *Gray by Silver – Time of Tree* ‡** Jeon Jin-hee – 雨後 uuhu Jisu Jung & Baroque in Blue – Baroque in Blue Jung Eun-hye, Cadejo, & Yechan Kim – Namdo Calling Park Jiha – All Living Things
Best Jazz Album *Malo – Malo Live at Muddy* ‡** Hakyung – Breathin In Maria Kim – Love Letters Oldie but Goodie – Oldie but Goodie Yunmi Kang & John Stowell – A Timeless Place	Best Jazz Instrumental Album *Mijung Lim – Impromptu* ‡** Shin Ah-ram – Bium Project II: After Bium Sumin Jung – Remnants Sunmi Hong – Fourth Page: Meaning of a Nest Yonglee & the Doltang – Invisible Worker

Special awards

Lifetime Achievement Award – Songgolmae
Selection Committee Special Award – CJ Cultural Foundation's Tune Up

Multiple awards

The following artist(s) received two or more awards:

Count	Artist(s)
3	Lee Chan-hyuk
2	Chudahye Chagis
	Huijun Woo
	Jennie
	Kwon Tree
	Lil Moshpit
	Sik-K

References

^ "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
^ Lee, Jae-hoon (February 3, 2026). '韓 그래미' 한국대중음악상, '제23회 후보' 5일 공개한다 ['Korean Grammy' Korean Pop Music Awards, '23rd Nominations' will be released on the 5th] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Naver.
^ Ji, Seung-hoon (February 5, 2026). 이찬혁·제니, 한국대중음악상 5개 부문 노미 [Lee Chan-hyuk and Jennie were nominated for 5 Korean Pop Music Awards] (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Naver.
^ Yoon, Sang-geun (February 27, 2026). 이찬혁, 한대음 올해의 노래+3관왕 석권..제니 '베스트 케이팝'[종합] [Lee Chan-hyuk, Han Dae-eum's Song of the Year + 3 awards... Jennie's 'Best K-Pop' [Comprehensive]] (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026 – via Naver.
^
2026 Nominees:
- General field: "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식 - 종합분야 수상후보" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony - Nominee for the General Field]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
- Genre categories: "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식 - 장르분야 수상후보" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony - Genre Categories]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

[1] "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

[2] Lee, Jae-hoon (February 3, 2026). '韓 그래미' 한국대중음악상, '제23회 후보' 5일 공개한다 ['Korean Grammy' Korean Pop Music Awards, '23rd Nominations' will be released on the 5th] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Naver.

[3] Ji, Seung-hoon (February 5, 2026). 이찬혁·제니, 한국대중음악상 5개 부문 노미 [Lee Chan-hyuk and Jennie were nominated for 5 Korean Pop Music Awards] (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Naver.

[4] Yoon, Sang-geun (February 27, 2026). 이찬혁, 한대음 올해의 노래+3관왕 석권..제니 '베스트 케이팝'[종합] [Lee Chan-hyuk, Han Dae-eum's Song of the Year + 3 awards... Jennie's 'Best K-Pop' [Comprehensive]] (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026 – via Naver.

[nominations-5] 2026 Nominees:
General field: "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식 - 종합분야 수상후보" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony - Nominee for the General Field]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

Genre categories: "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식 - 장르분야 수상후보" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony - Genre Categories]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

[6] General field: "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식 - 종합분야 수상후보" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony - Nominee for the General Field]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

[7] Genre categories: "2026 제23회 한국대중음악상 시상식 - 장르분야 수상후보" [The 23rd Korean Music Awards 2026 Ceremony - Genre Categories]. Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]