The Glory actress Song Hye-kyo draws laughter for speech after winning first best actress prize

SEOUL – South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo has won her first Best Actress award at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards held in Incheon last Friday, while South Korean actress Park Eun-bin won Grand Prize (Television), the highest honour in the TV category.

Recognising excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea, it is one of the three most prestigious award ceremonies in the country, alongside the Daejong Film Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Song, 41, won for her role as Moon Dong-eun, a victim of school violence who plots revenge against her perpetrators in the popular Netflix K-drama.

The Glory also won Best Drama and Best Supporting Actress for Lim Ji-yeon, who played the wicked ringleader-antagonist Park Yeon-jin in the series.

Song drew laughter when she opened her acceptance speech on stage by recreating a famous line from the show.

“I won the prize, Yeon-jin, I’m so thrilled right now,” she said, according to a translation by Yonhap News Agency, as Lim, 32, smiled and clapped at her table. Song also thanked the production crew for its hard work in making The Glory a success.

Song, who made her debut in the entertainment industry in 1996, was previously nominated for Best Actress at Baeksang for Full House in 2005, That Winter, The Wind Blows in 2013 and Descendants Of The Sun in 2016.

She won the Most Popular Actress award for Autumn In My Heart in 2001 and Descendants Of The Sun in 2016.

Park, 30, won the Grand Prize for her role as the titular autistic lawyer Woo Young-woo in the legal drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which also nabbed her a Best Actress nomination.

She was previously nominated for her role as the crown prince/princess in the period drama The King’s Affection in 2022.

@unniefangirlph Song Hye Kyo Best Actress for #TheGlory Song Hye Kyo Speech #59thBaeksangArtsAwards #BaeksangArtsAwards2023 #SongHyeKyo #BestActressBaeksang #SongHyeKyo ♬ original sound - Unnie Fan Girl Mode

“When I was young, I thought to myself that if I don’t give up on my dream of becoming an actor, I may become a star who gets this award,” she said. “Thanks for making my dream come true.”

Extraordinary Attorney Woo also won Best Director for Yoo In-shik.

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The Best Actor award went to Lee Sung-min of Reborn Rich, while Jo Woo-jin of Narco-Saints was named Best Supporting Actor.

For Baeksang Arts Awards’ film category, romantic crime thriller Decision To Leave picked up the Grand Prize, Best Director for Park Chan-wook and Best Actress for Chinese star Tang Wei.

Tang, 43, who rose to fame in Taiwanese director Lee Ang’s erotic espionage thriller Lust, Caution (2007), won Best Actress at Baeksang in 2011 for Late Autumn (2010).

The Best Film award went to period thriller The Night Owl, with its director Ahn Tae-jin winning Best New Director and male lead Ryu Jun-yeol scoring Best Actor.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.