60th Baeksang Arts Awards

The 60th Baeksang Arts Awards (Korean: 제60회 백상예술대상) ceremony was held at COEX, Seoul on May 7, 2024, at 17:00 (KST).^[2] The show was hosted by Shin Dong-yup, Bae Suzy, and Park Bo-gum. It was broadcast live simultaneously in South Korea on JTBC channels and internationally on Prizm.^[3] As one of South Korea's most prestigious entertainment honors, the ceremony recognized excellence in film, television, and theatre through a screening process involving 60 professional evaluators and industry experts.^[4] The nominees were announced on April 8, 2024, via its official website. All works released from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, were eligible for nominations.^[4][5] The ceremony was noted for highlighting a recovery in the domestic film industry and the intensifying competition between traditional broadcasters and global OTT platforms.

In the Film Division, the historical drama 12.12: The Day emerged as the primary winner, securing the Grand Prize for director Kim Sung-su and Best Film. The jury credited the film's success with contributing to the post-pandemic recovery of the domestic film industry by prioritizing a theatrical release. Hwang Jung-min (12.12: The Day) won Best Actor following a competitive five-round deliberation, while Kim Go-eun was awarded Best Actress for Exhuma by a unanimous decision. The directing and technical categories also highlighted a trend toward blending genre elements with nationalistic themes, as seen in the awards for Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun and sound designer Kim Byung-in.

The Television Division highlighted the ongoing competition between broadcasters and OTT. The Disney+ original series Moving received the Grand Prize, marking the first time the platform secured the ceremony's top honor. The series won four awards in total, including Best Screenplay for Kang Full. MBC maintained a significant presence for legacy media, winning Best Drama for My Dearest and sweeping the Best Actor and Best Actress categories with Namkoong Min and Lee Hanee. Additionally, the division reflected the growing influence of web-based content by honoring creators Na Yeong-seok and Hong Jin-kyung in the variety categories for their cross-platform impact.

The Theater Division emphasized "artistic excellence" through a year-long live evaluation process that prioritized in-person attendance over video screenings. The Baeksang Theater was granted to the theater company Miin for the production To My Son (Subtitle: Miok Alice Hyeon), which also earned Kang Hae-jin the Best Acting award for her lead performance. Director Lee Cheol-hee was recognized with the Best Newcomer for A New Movement in an Old Tradition – Blind, with judges citing his ability to maximize the technical and inherent strengths of the stage medium. The ceremony concluded by acknowledging the evolving nature of media consumption and the need for diverse evaluation criteria across all three divisions.

Winners are listed first and emphasized in bold text.^[6] Nominees are listed per official website.^[5][7]

The film division of the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards, covering Korean feature films released between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, was characterized as a significant "revival" for the industry following a period of stagnation. The Grand Prize (Daesang) was awarded to Director Kim Sung-su for the historical drama 12.12: The Day. The judging panel reached a unanimous decision, citing Kim's 30-year career and his commitment to a theatrical release during a period of industry downturn. 12.12: The Day also won Best Film receiving six votes over Exhuma. Judges noted the production's high completion quality and the "bold decision-making" required for its distribution process.^[8]

In the directing and screenwriting categories, Jang Jae-hyun received Best Director for Exhuma, with the committee highlighting the film's unique energy and its ability to integrate nationalistic themes into the occult genre. Lee Jung-hong was awarded Best New Director for A Wild Roomer, receiving five votes in the first round of deliberation. The Best Screenplay award went to Jason Yu for Sleep; the script was recommended by all seven judges in the initial round for its efficient use of limited space.^[8]

The acting categories involved significant deliberation. Hwang Jung-min won Best Actor for 12.12: The Day by a single vote over Lee Byung-hun (Concrete Utopia) after five rounds of voting. The jury focused on Hwang's ability to reinterpret a historical figure into a distinct character. In contrast, Kim Go-eun was selected for Best Actress for Exhuma by a unanimous vote conducted in 30 seconds. Kim Jong-soo (Smugglers) won Best Supporting Actor with four votes, while Lee Sang-hee (My Name is Loh Kiwan) secured Best Supporting Actress following a tie-break. Lee Do-hyun (Exhuma) and Kim Hyeong-seo (Hopeless) were named Best New Actor and Best New Actress, respectively. The Best Technical Achievement was given to Kim Byung-in for the sound design of Exhuma, and the Gucci Impact Award was awarded to The Dream Songs.^[8]

The television division of the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards evaluated content across terrestrial, cable, and OTT platforms released between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. The selection process incorporated a preliminary survey of 30 industry experts, followed by three rounds of deliberation by a seven-member judging panel. The Grand Prize (Daesang) was awarded to the Disney+ original series Moving. In the second round of voting, the series received four votes, surpassing wildlife cinematographers Kim Dong-sik and Im Wan-ho (Whales and I) and entertainer Yoo Jae-suk. The jury cited the work's "Korean-style hero narrative" and its thematic exploration of how human ideology impacts the individual as primary factors for the win. Moving secured a total of four awards, including Best Screenplay for Kang Full, who was noted for his successful transition from webtoon author to scriptwriter, and Best New Actor for Lee Jung-ha.^[9]

The category for Best Drama was awarded to MBC's My Dearest, which received four votes over The Good Bad Mother and Revenant. The panel highlighted the series' reinterpretation of the Qing invasion of Joseon through a romantic lens. Best Director resulted in one of the most competitive votes of the ceremony; Han Dong-wook (The Worst of Evil) won by a single-vote margin over Lee Myoungwoo (Boyhood) following a final tie-breaker. Judges noted Han's ability to execute a stylized genre piece that avoided conventional character tropes. In the acting categories, Namkoong Min (My Dearest) won Best Actor after maintaining a lead through three rounds of voting, while Lee Hanee (Knight Flower) secured Best Actress following a final tie-break against Ra Mi-ran and Uhm Jung-hwa. The jury specifically cited Lee's technical range in portraying a character's dual identity.^[9]

The Best Variety Show category focused on a debate between "originality" and "broad popularity". MBC's Adventure By Accident 2 won the Best Entertainment Program award by a single vote over the Wavve original The Community. While the latter was praised for its social experimentation, the majority of the panel favored the former for its successful serialization and public appeal. For Best Variety Performer, Na Yeong-seok and Hong Jin-kyung were selected. The jury highlighted Na's role in shifting the variety paradigm toward a creator-based model via his YouTube channel, Channel Fullmoon, while Hong was recognized for her consistent presence across both legacy media and web platforms.^[9]

In the supporting and newcomer categories, Ahn Jae-hong and Yeom Hye-ran both won for their performances in the Netflix series Mask Girl. Ahn was recognized for his transformative character work, receiving four votes, while Yeom was praised for anchoring the series' two-part structure. The Best New Actress award was given to Jeon Yu-na (The Kidnapping Day) after a final round of deliberation where she received three votes, surpassing Kim Hyeong-seo and Go Youn-jung. For the Best Educational Show, the jury selected the KBS documentary Japanese Person Ozawa, noting its focus on labor rights and the dignity of survival as a return to the fundamental virtues of the documentary genre. The Best Technical Achievement was granted to Kim Dong-sik and Im Wan-ho for their underwater cinematography in Whale and I, marking a rare instance of the award focusing on the specialized field of documentary filming.^[9]

The theater division of the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards evaluated stage productions held between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. To ensure the integrity of the live medium, the jury conducted a year-long evaluation process, prioritizing in-person attendance over video screenings to assess artistic excellence and contemporary relevance. The Baeksang Theater Award, the division's highest honor, was awarded to the theater company Miin for the production To My Son (Subtitle: Miok Alice Hyeon). Following a deliberation between Miin and director Kim Poong-nyun (The Art of Fighting), the jury reached a unanimous decision in favor of Miin, citing the production's advanced performance aesthetics and contemporary reality.^[10]

The Best Acting award was awarded to Kang Hae-jin for her performance in To My Son (Subtitle: Miok Alice Hyeon). The jury selected Kang from a pool of five nominees, noting her ability to lead a production through traditional acting strengths while providing an interpretation that expanded the work's thematic meaning without repeating established styles. The Best Newcomer, which recognizes original and developmental attempts in the field, was granted to director Lee Cheol-hee for A New Movement in an Old Tradition – Blind. The selection followed a debate regarding whether the category should be limited to theater troupes or remain open to individual creators; the panel ultimately chose Lee for his capacity to maximize the technical strengths of the theatrical medium.^[10]

The voting for the Prizm Popularity Award was held from April 25, at 12:00 (KST) to May 4, at 14:00 KST via Prizm app.^[11][12][13]

The following individuals and teams, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.^[14][15]

• Official website (in Korean)