KBS has officially revealed the list of Grand Prize contenders (Daesang) for the upcoming KBS Drama Awards 2025, which will air live on December 31 at 7:10 pm KST. The annual ceremony will celebrate outstanding performances in miniseries, long-form dramas and daily dramas, along with awards such as Best Couple, Popularity, Supporting Actor and Rookie of the Year, drawing attention to which stars will take home the network’s highest honor.
On December 26, KBS announced that the expected contenders for Daesang included Ahn Jae-wook and Uhm Ji-won for For the Aquila brothersNa Young-ih for Cinderella gameLee Young-ae and Kim Young-kwang for Walking on thin iceand Chun Ho-jin and Lee Tae-ran for Our golden days. The lineup has attracted particular interest due to a high-profile confrontation between veteran actors Ahn Jae-wook and Lee Young-ae.
Despite initial rumors, Ma Dong-seok was excluded from the list of candidates. His drama Twelve it peaked at 8.1%, then dropped sharply to 2.4%.. Adding to the controversy, local media reported that Ma would receive 500 million won per episode for the eight-episode series, for a total of 4 billion won in appearance fees. The actor has not issued an official response regarding the reports.
Throughout 2025, KBS presented a broad and genre-diverse drama lineup, ranging from romantic comedies to emotionally driven miniseries, daily dramas that anchored viewers’ routines, and weekend family dramas that brought laughter and tears. The network’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Who is she! received praise for its strong storytelling and unpredictable plot twists, with Jung Ji-so, Kim Hae-sook, and Jinyoung winning acclaim for their performances and their comforting, healing tone.. Another midweek series, Increase healthy lovewith Jung Eun-ji and Lee Jun-young, combines humor and heart as it follows an overzealous gym owner and the anxious newcomers trying to transform their lives.
Fantasy romance also caught attention The first night with the Duke, which follows a college student whose soul inhabits a minor character in a romance novel, leading to an unexpected involvement with an obsessively devoted male protagonist. Seohyun and Ok Taec-yeon impressed viewers with bold acting transformations. In the meantime, My girlfriend is the man! offered a quirky romantic comedy about a woman who suddenly becomes a handsome man overnight, with Yoon San-ha and Arin adding youthful charm to the story.
KBS daily dramas have also demonstrated their strength. Good luck! on KBS 1TV, starring Son Chang-min, Sunwoo Jae-duk and Park Sang-myun, resonated with audiences thanks to its portrayal of three friends obsessed with wealth and the turbulent growth of their families. His successor, Marie and her three dadswith Ha Seung-ri, Hyun Woo, Park Eun-hye and Ryu Jin, attracted interest for its novel premise, compelling narrative, and multigenerational romance.
On KBS 2TV, Cinderella game greater immersion through its complex characters caught in a spiral of fate, offering a classic good versus evil conclusion that left a lasting impression. Han Groo and Na Young-hee have been praised for their emotionally charged portrayals of family reunion and revenge. House of the Queenstarring Ham Eun-jung, Seo Jun-young and Park Yoon-jae. maintained intense momentumWhile A graceful liar stood out for its bold narrative about a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law caught in a battle of lies, led by powerful performances from Lee Si-ah, Lee Il-hwa and Lee Seung-yeon.
The weekend miniseries Walking on thin iceled by Lee Young-ae, Kim Young-kwang and Park Yong-woo, has gained acclaim as a well-crafted drama that explores human desire and moral choices through the story of an ordinary housewife caught up in crime to protect her family. Weekend drama For the Aquila brothers with Uhm Ji-won and Ahn Jae-wook dominated ratings with a peak of 22.4% nationwide, warmly depicting the creation of a new family beyond blood ties. Our golden dayswith jung il-woo, jung in-sun, yoon hyun-min and lee tae-ran, continued to gain momentum with increasingly dramatic developments and record-breaking ratings.
Also, the newly renewed 2025 KBS 2TV one-act drama project “Track of Love,” consisting of ten short-form plays, reaffirmed the creative strength of KBS’s one-act drama format.
The 2025 KBS Drama Awards will be broadcast live on December 31 at 7:10 pm KST, with viewers eagerly awaiting the final result of one of the most competitive Grand Prix races of the year.
Sources: naver
