Spotlight shines on small-screen awards
.jpg?w=728)
Jang Hyuk from “The Merchant: Gaekju” / Screen capture from YouTube
As Korea’s three major TV networks prepare for their annual acting awards, speculation is rising about who will be honored.
KBS hosts its award show on Dec. 31. According to media reports, possible candidates for the awards have been narrowed to five. Among them are Jang Hyuk from “The Merchant: Gaekju,” Kim Hye-ja from “Unkind Women” and Go Doo-sim from “All about My Mom” and “The Eccentric Daughter-in-Law.”
Jang, who won the network’s best actor award in 2010 with his man-hunter role in historic action drama “Chuno,” is aiming for his second award with another historic drama.
Go and Kim, both seasoned actresses, are also previous winners. Kim won in 2008 and Go in 1989 and 2004.
Competing with them for top honors are So Ji-sub from “Oh My Venus” and Kim Soo-hyun from “The Producers.”
Hwang Jung-eum from “She was Pretty”
For MBC, Hwang Jung-eum from “She was Pretty,” who played a disheveled, unattractive journalist for a fashion magazine, is considered the strongest candidate to win an award on Dec. 30.
Ji Sung from “Kill Me, Heal Me” has drawn support for his role in the drama, in which he played a man with seven personalities.
Baek Jin-hee and Jeon In-hwa from “My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol” are also expected to win an award.
Kim Hyun-joo from “I Have a Lover”
At the SBS awards on Dec. 31, Kim Hyun-joo from “I Have a Lover” dominates the public’s pick for the top award. Kim has drawn praise for playing three characters in the drama. Thanks to the star, the drama has been highly acclaimed for its quality.
Joo Won from “Yong-pal,” who played a mercenary surgeon falling in love with a chaebol heiress, and Cho Jae-hyun from “Punch,” who played a prosecutor general, also are in the running for an honor.