KBS has officially revealed the list of Grand Prize (Daesang) contenders for the upcoming 2025 KBS Drama Awards, set to air live on December 31 at 7:10 p.m. KST. The annual ceremony will celebrate standout performances across miniseries, long-form dramas, and daily dramas, alongside awards such as Best Couple, Popularity, Supporting Actor, and Rookie of the Year, drawing keen attention to which stars will take home the network’s highest honor.
On December 26, KBS announced that the expected Daesang contenders include Ahn Jae-wook and Uhm Ji-won for For Eagle Brothers, Na Young-hee for Cinderella Game, Lee Young-ae and Kim Young-kwang for Walking on Thin Ice, and Chun Ho-jin and Lee Tae-ran for Our Golden Days. The lineup has sparked particular interest due to a high-profile face-off between veteran actors Ahn Jae-wook and Lee Young-ae.
Despite early buzz, Ma Dong-seok was notably excluded from the nominee list. His drama Twelve reached a peak rating of 8.1 percent but later dropped sharply to 2.4 percent. Adding to the controversy, local media reported that Ma allegedly received 500 million won per episode for the eight-episode series, totaling 4 billion won in appearance fees. The actor has not issued an official response regarding the reports.
Throughout 2025, KBS showcased an expansive and genre-diverse drama lineup, ranging from romantic comedies to emotionally driven miniseries, daily dramas that anchored viewers’ routines, and weekend family dramas that delivered both laughter and tears. The network’s Wednesday–Thursday drama Who Is She! drew praise for its strong storytelling and unpredictable twists, with Jung Ji-so, Kim Hae-sook, and Jinyoung earning acclaim for their performances and delivering a comforting, healing tone. Another midweek series, Pump Up the Healthy Love, starring Jung Eun-ji and Lee Jun-young, blended humor and heart as it followed an overzealous gym owner and anxious newcomers striving to transform their lives.
Fantasy romance also captured attention with 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 entanglement with an obsessively devoted male lead. Seohyun and Ok Taec-yeon impressed viewers with bold acting transformations. Meanwhile, 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’s daily dramas also proved their strength. Good Luck! on KBS 1TV, starring Son Chang-min, Sunwoo Jae-duk, and Park Sang-myun, resonated with audiences through its depiction of three friends obsessed with wealth and their families’ turbulent growth. Its successor, Marie and Her Three Daddies, featuring Ha Seung-ri, Hyun Woo, Park Eun-hye, and Ryu Jin, has drawn interest for its fresh premise, engaging storytelling, and multigenerational romance.
On KBS 2TV, Cinderella Game heightened immersion through its complex characters caught in a spiral of fate, delivering a classic good-versus-evil conclusion that left a lasting impression. Han Groo and Na Young-hee were praised for their emotionally charged portrayals of family reunion and revenge. Queen’s House, starring Ham Eun-jung, Seo Jun-young, and Park Yoon-jae, maintained intense momentum, while A Graceful Liar stood out for its bold narrative about a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law locked in a battle of lies, driven by powerful performances from Lee Si-ah, Lee Il-hwa, and Lee Seung-yeon.
The weekend miniseries Walking on Thin Ice, led by Lee Young-ae, Kim Young-kwang, and Park Yong-woo, earned acclaim as a well-crafted drama exploring human desire and moral choices through the story of an ordinary housewife drawn into crime to protect her family. Weekend drama For Eagle Brothers starring Uhm Ji-won and Ahn Jae-wook dominated ratings with a peak of 22.4 percent nationwide, warmly portraying the creation of a new family beyond blood ties. Our Golden Days, featuring Jung Il-woo, Jung In-sun, Yoon Hyun-min, Chun Ho-jin, and Lee Tae-ran, has continued to build momentum with increasingly dramatic developments and record-breaking ratings.
In addition, the newly revamped 2025 KBS 2TV One-Act Drama Project “Love Track”, consisting of ten short-form works, 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 p.m. KST, with viewers eagerly awaiting the final outcome of one of the year’s most competitive Grand Prize races.
Sources: naver