[Focus] Terrestrial Broadcasters' Award Ceremonies, a Bittersweet Farewell Only for Them

Year-End Festivals Lost Fun and Tension
Broadcasting 3 Companies' Award Ceremonies Degraded to Closing Ceremonies

Actors Ju Sang-wook, Lee Seung-gi, Lee Jong-suk, and Kim Nam-gil received the grand prizes from the three major broadcasting stations.

KBS selected Ju Sang-wook, who led the drama "Taejong Yi Bang-won," and Lee Seung-gi from "Love According to the Law" as the winners of the 2022 Acting Awards held on December 31 last year. This joint awarding is unusual considering recent trends in award ceremonies.

(From left) Joo Sang-wook, Lee Seung-gi, Lee Jong-suk, Kim Nam-gil. Photo by Yonhap News, KBS, Gil Story ENT

Ju Sang-wook was recognized for leading the historical epic "Taejong Yi Bang-won," which aired from December 2021 to May of last year, for six months. The joint award was seen as nothing particularly new. KBS, which has been struggling with a lack of hits last year, was criticized for its "favoritism-style" joint awarding, which lowered the tension of the ceremony.

Lee Seung-gi's grand prize win also came under scrutiny. The melodrama "Love According to the Law" mainly focused on the romance between the male and female leads, generating high public interest, but it was criticized for lacking the overall artistic quality and other elements worthy of a grand prize. There is criticism that KBS's intention to fill the acceptance speech with Lee Seung-gi's exclusive interview amid his ongoing dispute diminished the significance of the award.

Appearing with a shaved head and wearing a tuxedo that day, Lee Seung-gi revealed his determination regarding the dispute with Hook Entertainment during his acceptance speech. He said, "Because of personal matters, I felt it was neither right to just smile or remain expressionless at this celebration," adding, "For the juniors present today, I reaffirmed that 'the rights we fight hard to obtain by giving up many things should not be passed down.'"

MBC awarded the grand prize to Lee Jong-suk, the lead of "Big Mouth," at the 2022 Acting Awards held on the 30th of last month. This is his second grand prize, six years after winning for the 2016 drama "W." The award was not surprising as Lee Jong-suk's win had been anticipated, but his acceptance speech attracted attention. Lee Jong-suk made a heartfelt confession to someone, sparking curiosity.

Lee Jong-suk said, "I have liked that person for a very long time," and added, "I respect them," which led to speculation about who the person was. The next day, it was revealed that the person was singer IU (Lee Ji-eun), and both parties confirmed they are dating.

The 2022 SBS Acting Awards held on December 31 went to actor Kim Nam-gil. Kim Nam-gil was praised for convincingly portraying the process of detective Song Ha-young becoming a profiler in "Through the Darkness." Among the three major terrestrial broadcasters, SBS was the only one to base its award more on artistic merit than popularity.

Kim Nam-gil dedicated the award to "the police officers who work tirelessly day and night for our lives and safety, and the profilers who strive to read the minds of evil in unseen places."

There is a growing sentiment that the acting awards of the three major terrestrial broadcasters have become "their own private parties." The main reason is that the status of dramas is not what it used to be. Last year, high-quality dramas produced by online streaming services (OTT), comprehensive programming channels, and cable channels gained popularity, overshadowing terrestrial dramas. Repeated criticism that excessive product placement (PPL) undermines plausibility and that romance scenes appearing without reason to boost ratings reduce immersion has led many viewers to turn away entirely.

Photo by SBS 'Entertainment Awards' screen capture

Fairness has long disappeared as well. The outcry of Kim Gu-ra, who received applause for his candid remarks at the 2019 SBS Entertainment Awards, is being recalled.

"Isn't it time for a shake-up? Recently, even KBS (Entertainment Awards) didn't get good ratings. There are too many national programs that have been around for 5 or 10 years, and they keep recycling awards. In my view, let's exclude people like me who are no longer relevant and focus on the two major figures: Baek Jong-won, Yoo Jae-suk, and maybe Shin Dong-yup. Having about three of them would create tension. Why am I sitting with Seo Jang-hoon? Jong-kook has been on air for 20 years too, joking around and sitting there. He's in his mid-40s." (Kim Gu-ra)

Three years have passed since then, but the three major broadcasters have not changed a bit in response to such criticism, which is disappointing.

Looking at the recent drama ratings of the three major terrestrial broadcasters, few works exceed 20%. Some say it is even difficult to surpass 10%. Some dramas have embarrassed themselves with ratings of 2-3% even in prime time slots. Not only ratings but also popularity is insufficient. Most of the works that attracted online attention last year, such as "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family," were OTT, comprehensive programming, or cable dramas.

How did the year-end festival, which used to be a grand finale, turn into a mere company year-end party? The three major broadcasters seem to need awakening. Instead of blaming the increasing platforms, it is time to seriously consider why terrestrial drama viewers are leaving. If award ceremonies are used merely as a means to make money in the short term, someday special feature films might replace them.