The 2023 Blue Dragon Film Awards (제44회 청룡영화상) are upon us, and it’s time that we finally get to counting down the days to the annual South Korean award ceremony that comes in after this year’s 59th Grand Bell Awards, held earlier in November. Awarding contributions marking excellence in cinematic achievements, this event will be hosted for the 30th time by Kim Hye-soo, marking her final appearance as the glorious MC of the long-running ceremony. She’ll reportedly be joined by Yoo Yeon-seok, whose also recently made wave with his acting comeback in the K-drama A Bloody Lucky Day.
Nominations for 15 awarding categories of the show were announced on November 6, with Ryoo Seung-wan directorial crime action film Smugglers taking the lead with 12 nominations, while films Cobweb and Concrete Utopia came in second with a total of 11 nominations. Organised by Sports Chosun, this will be the 44th edition of the prestigious grand-scale showcase, which is expected to be graced with a performance by Street Woman Fighter 2’s dance crew 1MILLION. Here’s what we know about the live coverage of event.
About the 2023 Blue Dragon Film Awards
Blue Dragon Film Awards 2023 Date and Venue
The annual award ceremony for this year will be held on November 24, 2023, at the KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. The main broadcast will begin on Friday at 8:30 PM KST, whereas, the Red Carpet event will be held prior to that at 7 PM KST.
Where to Watch Blue Dragon Film Awards 2023
The 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards will be broadcasted on the South Korean channel KBS2, and also live streamed on the @KBSEnt YouTube channel.
44th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2023 Nominees
BEST FILM: Concrete Utopia, Next Sohee, Smugglers, The Night Owl and Cobweb.
BEST DIRECTOR: Um Tae-hwa (Concrete Utopia), Kim Jee-woon (Cobweb), Ryoo Seung-wan (Smugglers), Lee Han (Honey Sweet), and Jung Ju-ri (Next Sohee)
BEST ACTOR: Lee Byung-hun (Concrete Utopia), Doh Kyung-soo (The Moon), Ryu Jun-yeol (The Night Owl), Yoo Hae-jin (Honey Sweet) and Song Kang-ho (Cobweb)
BEST ACTRESS: Kim Seo-hyung (Green House), Kim Hye-soo (Smugglers), Park Bo-young (Concrete Utopia), Yum Jung-ah (Smugglers) and Jung Yu-mi (Sleep).
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Park Jeong-min for Smugglers, Song Joong-ki for Hopeless, Lee Joon-hyuk for The Roundup No Way Out, Oh Jung-se for Cobweb and Zo In-sung for Smugglers.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Krystal Jung for Cobweb, Kim Sun-young for Concrete Utopia, Jeon Yeo-been for Cobweb, Han Sun-hwa for Honey Sweet, and Lee Yoon-ji for Dream Palace.
BEST NEW DIRECTOR: Ka Sung-moon (Dream Palace), Kim Chang-hoon (Hopeless), Ahn Tae-jin (The Night Owl), Jason Yu (Sleep) and Lee Sol-hui (Green House).
BEST NEW ACTOR: Lee Shin-young for Rebound, Kim Seon-ho for The Childe, Kang Tae-joo for The Childe, Choi Min-young for Dream Palace and Hong Xa-bin for Hopeless.
BEST NEW ACTRESS: Kim Si-eun for Next Sohee, Go Min-si for Smugglers, Kim Hyung-seo for Hopeless, Ahn Eun-jin for The Night Owl and An So-yoo for Green House.
BEST SCREENPLAY: Jung Ju-ri for Next Sohee , Lee Shin-ji and Um tae-hwa for Concrete Utopia, Hyun Eun-mi and Ahn Tae-jin for The Night Owl, Ryoo Seung-wan + Kim Jeong-yeon + Choi Cha-won for Smugglers, and Shin Yeok-shick for Cobweb.
BEST MUSIC: Mowg for Cobweb, Kim Hae-won for Concrete Utopia, Chang Kiha for Smugglers, Gray for Ballerina and Hwang Sang-jun for Hero.
BEST EDITING: Kim Sun-min for The Night Owl, Han Mi-yeon for Sleep, Han Mi-yeon for Concrete Utopia, Yang Jin-mo for Cobweb and Lee Gang-hee for Smugglers.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING: Kim Jee-yong + Park Jun-woo for Cobweb, Kim Young-ho + Hwang Soon-wook for The Moon, Choi Yeong-hwan + Lee Jae-hyuk for Smugglers, Kim Tae-kyeong + Hong Seung-chul for The Night Owl, and Cho Hyoung-rae + Lee Kil-kyu for Concrete Utopia.
BEST ART DIRECTION: Lee Hoo-kyoung for Smugglers, Kim Min-hye for Ballerina, Cho Hwa-sung + Choi Hyun-seouk for Concrete Utopia, Jung Yi-jin for Cobweb, and Lee Ha-jun for The Night Owl.
TECHNICAL AWARD: Jin Jong-hyun (VFX) for The Moon, Eun Jae-hyun (VFX) for Concrete Utopia, Yoon Jung-hee (Costume Design) for Smugglers, Heo Myeong-hoeng + Yoon Sung-min (Stunt) for The Roundup No Way Out, and Park Yong-ki (Sound) for The Night Owl.
AUDIENCE CHOICE – Most Popular Film: The Roundup No Way Out, Smugglers, Concrete Utopia, The Night Owl and Hero.
Will you be watching the award ceremony this Friday? Let us know your thoughts on the event in the comments section below.