Blue Dragon Film Awards highlight glimmers of hope amid industry slump

Actor Jo Jung-suk poses during a red carpet event for the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards held at KBS Hall in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Despite Korea's ongoing box office slump, the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards offered a blueprint for survival, proving that a mix of fresh webtoon adaptations and top-tier artistic talent can still captivate audiences.

Held on Wednesday night, the Blue Dragon Film Awards are widely regarded as being among Korea’s most prestigious film honors.

The clearest sign of a breakthrough came from Naver Webtoon's video subsidiary Studio N as the studio’s film "My Daughter is a Zombie" secured the Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film, proving that powerful original content is showing a new direction for the industry's future.

Based on the popular 2018 webtoon by Lee Yun-chang, the film has drawn 5.63 million viewers, becoming the most-watched film in 2025. The film was lauded as a well-balanced family movie that effectively used the original work's blend of dark comedy, family love and humanity.

Studio N CEO Kwon Mi-kyung emphasized the forward-looking strategy behind the hit.

"This award shows the power of our original stories. It proves we found the right balance between the webtoon's imagination and the movie experience," Kwon said Thursday. "We will continue to lead content expansion based on solid stories."

Actor So Ye-jin poses during a red carpet event for the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards held at KBS Hall in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

The awards also celebrated sustained artistic quality. “Oldboy” director Park Chan-wook’s latest thriller "No Other Choice" demonstrated the industry continues to support director-led movies as the film swept seven awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

The night's biggest highlight was the historic double win by real-life couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin. Hyun took home Best Actor for “Harbin” and Son won Best Actress for “No Other Choice.”

Their wins brought much-needed excitement and attention to the event, but Son also reminded everyone of the reality.

“We are grateful for the honor, but our hearts are heavy knowing how difficult the film industry is right now,” Son said while accepting her award, encouraging the industry to stay strong together.

Further cementing the sense of hope was the emergence of fresh talent.

Ahn Bo-hyun ("Pretty Crazy") and Kim Do-yeon ("Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary") were recognized with the Best New Actor and Best New Actress awards. Veteran actor Lee Sung-min secured Best Supporting Actor and Park Ji-hyun took home Best Supporting Actress for their compelling performances from “No Other Choice” and “Hidden Face,” respectively.

The ceremony also highlighted the remarkable achievement of "The Ugly," a film directed by Yeon Sang-ho and produced on a low budget, which earned widespread critical acclaim and secured nominations in 10 of the 15 major categories.