Drama Festa to bring the awards festivities to Banpo, Seokchon West Lake
The 2026 Seoul International Drama Awards, one of Korea's largest events for celebrating excellence in TV programming, is set to take place Thursday afternoon, featuring a record 352 entries from 46 countries and regions.
This is the 21st edition of the event since its launch in 2006. Organized by the Seoul Drama Awards Organizing Committee and the Korean Broadcasters Association, the awards recognize outstanding television programming from Korea and around the world.
Prior to Thursday's ceremony, organizers revealed this year's honorees. Ten best program awards and 16 individual honors were bestowed in three categories: International Competition, K-Drama Competition and International Invitation.
The Golden Bird Award, the event’s highest honor, went to screenwriter Kim Eun-sook. Known for K-drama classics including "Secret Garden," "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," "Mr. Sunshine" and "The Glory," Kim is the first screenwriter to receive the honor.
In the K-drama competition category, studio SLL's "The Dream Life of Mr. Kim" and "We Are All Trying Here" were selected as Outstanding Korean Dramas.
Koo Kyo-hwan captured the Outstanding Korean Actor title for "We Are All Trying Here," while Lim Ji-yeon earned Outstanding Korean Actress honors for "My Royal Nemesis."
In the International Competition category, the Norwegian series "A Better Man" claimed the Grand Prize, with Thomas Seeberg Torjussen earning Best Screenwriter and Anders Baasmo taking Best Actor.
The drama follows Tom, a middle-aged man known for spreading misogynistic hate online, who goes into hiding disguised as a woman after his identity is exposed. As he changes, the series explores gender conflict, social isolation and online hate.
"A Better Man" previously claimed three accolades at Canneseries 2025, including Best Series and Best Performance for Baasmo.
Drama Festa, a special event held as part of the Seoul International Drama Awards, will kick off on Friday at Banpo Hangang Park and Seokchon West Lake in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The two-day event will offer drama talk concerts, drama soundtrack performances and interactive games inspired by Korean and international series.
Highlights include speed drama-scene quizzes and a three-second game where players identify a series after listening to a brief audio snippet. Attendees can also participate in the SDA Golden Bell Tournament to test their TV knowledge and compete for prizes.
yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com