Comedian Park Na-rae tops MBC Entertainment Awards
Comedian Park Na-rae gives an acceptance speech after winning the grand prize at the MBC Entertainment Awards held at MBC building in Sangam, Seoul, Sunday./ Yonhap
By Jung Hae-myoung
Comedian Park Na-rae won big at MBC Entertainment Awards, Sunday.
Park won the Grand Prize for her appearance in the hit reality show “I Live Alone.” The show clinched eight awards, including the Entertainment Program Award of the Year and Best Couple.
“To be honest, I didn't think I would be the winner of this award. But I was not so different from others and was anxious to win this,” Park said holding the trophy with tears.
“I was nominated with other top comedians but fellow nominee Lee Young-ja told me to pull my shoulders back and be confident. Yoo Jae-seok also told me I deserve it. They have so much experience and I am not even close,” she said.
“I am not that kind or nice of a person. But I exert influence to many people. I will try to be a comedian who can influence for the better,” she affirmed.
Commedians Kim Sook, Noh Hong-chul, Song Eun-yi and Yang Se-hyung were the runner-ups.
After winning the awards, Song, Kim and Ahn Young-mi, known as CelebFive, a five member girl group consisting of comedians, congratulated one another.
Female comedians have held the top MBC prize since 2018 with Park following fellow comedian Lee Young-ja's win of the much-coveted award last year.
As Kim and Ahn said this is the first time they have won the MBC award ― even though they have been working in this field for over ten years, they believe there has been a glass ceiling for female celebrities when it comes to the MBC annual awards.
At the KBS Entertainment Awards held Dec. 22, the dads on the television reality show “The Return of Superman” received the grand prize. “The Return of Superman” is a television program that shows the daily life of dads ―whether celebrities or non-celebrities―spending time with their children.
At the SBS Entertainment Awards, reality shows dominated. The grand prize went to Yoo Jae-seok who hosts the show “Running Man.” This is the first award he has received in three years since 2016 when he swept the board for the top prizes from major television broadcasters.
Until the beginning of this year, his career showed signs of declining with the finale of “Infinite Challenge,” a television show that ran for 13 years. This became a huge turning point for Yoo.
He returned to the small screen with the new program called “How do you play?” He performed as a trot singer, called “Yoo San-seul,” which created much buzz. He won the rookie singer award at the MBC Entertainment Awards.
Some criticism was also raised regarding splitting awards.
Kim Gu-ra, a television personality, received support from many viewers after he criticized broadcasting companies for nominating too many people.
He also claimed that broadcasting companies resort to the decades-old practice of awarding celebrities for the sake of awarding, noting the selection process is not merit-based.