Korea Broadcasting Awards

A comprehensive awards ceremony of the highest authority in the broadcasting industry hosted by the Korean Broadcasting Association, established in 1973, annually honoring outstanding broadcasting pro

Korea Broadcasting Awards

Overview

The Korea Broadcasting Awards is a comprehensive awards ceremony of the highest authority in the South Korean broadcasting industry, hosted by the Korean Broadcasting Association (한국방송협회). It was established in 1973 to promote the qualitative improvement of broadcasting and encourage creative production. Each year, outstanding works, production crews, and performers in the broadcasting and video fields are selected and honored.

Main Content

History and Background

The Korea Broadcasting Awards began with its first ceremony in 1973, organized by the Korean Broadcasting Association to promote the development of the broadcasting industry and boost the morale of broadcasting professionals. Initially held in separate radio and TV categories, it later expanded its scope to include diverse platforms such as cable, IPTV, and OTT in response to changing times. In the 1980s, it was reorganized to embrace not only public broadcasters but also private and regional broadcasters.

Award Categories and Types

The Korea Broadcasting Awards is broadly divided into program categories and individual categories. In the program categories, the Grand Prize, Best Award, and Excellence Award are presented by genre, including drama, educational, entertainment, documentary, and current affairs/news programs. In the individual categories, awards are given to professionals in various fields such as TV hosts, radio hosts, voice actors, writers, actors, directors, and cinematographers.

The Grand Prize is awarded to a single outstanding program among all categories, and winners are selected through expert deliberation among entries in each category. The ceremony is held in Seoul around September every year, with broadcasting stations nationwide, including the three major terrestrial broadcasters (KBS, MBC, SBS), cooperating to broadcast it.

Judging Criteria and Procedure

Judging is conducted by the judging committee under the Korean Broadcasting Association, composed of broadcasting experts, academics, and journalists. The evaluation comprehensively assesses multiple criteria such as artistic quality, creativity, professionalism, public interest, and popularity. Candidate works are submitted by each broadcaster, and works not submitted are excluded from deliberation. Winners by genre are determined in the first round of deliberation, candidates for the Grand Prize are shortlisted in the second round, and the Grand Prize is decided through a final vote.

Past Grand Prize Winners

The list of past Grand Prize winners of the Korea Broadcasting Awards is recorded as a page in the history of Korean broadcasting. The winner of the 1st ceremony (1973) was TBC's documentary 'Daemado' (대마도). Since then, historic dramas and documentaries produced by broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, and SBS have received the Grand Prize. Notable examples include MBC's 'Jeonwon Ilgi' (전원일기), KBS's 'History Special' (역사스페셜), and SBS's 'Sandglass' (모래시계). In recent years, works from OTT production companies have also been submitted, competing with terrestrial broadcasters.

Award Benefits and Influence

Winning the Korea Broadcasting Awards signifies that a work has been recognized for its quality in the South Korean broadcasting industry and brings great honor to the production company and production team. Award-winning works are often given preferential treatment in rerun scheduling or overseas sales. However, concerns have been raised in some quarters about the fairness and commercialism of the ceremony, with criticism that selection should focus more on artistic quality than viewership ratings.

Latest Trends

The 51st Korea Broadcasting Awards in 2024 was held amid trends of digital transformation and the rise of OTT. Emphasizing its role as an integrated platform ceremony encompassing terrestrial, cable, and OTT, it actively included works released on streaming services in individual categories such as Rookie Award and Acting Award, as well as in program categories. In addition, as cases of using AI technology in broadcasting production increased, there were also discussions about establishing special awards highlighting the role of AI in certain categories. In 2025, possibilities of expanding the ceremony to a year-round event and increasing the share of audience participatory voting have been proposed. Voices are growing that award categories need to be readjusted and the committee's judging standards revised in response to the rapidly changing broadcasting environment.