On May 5, multiple renowned actors and actresses gathered together for the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards, an annual award ceremony where titles such as Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director are announced. The award for Best Actress is especially sought after, as only five individuals may be nominated out of the hundreds of actresses who have risen in entertainment for the past year. Out of this year’s nominees, IU, Kim Tae-ri, Koh Min-seo, Jang Na-ra, and Kim Hye-yoon stand out as popular nominees from the multiple K-dramas they have starred in.
Kim Tae-ri has shone her way in the entertainment industry for the past decade, winning prominence in popular K-dramas such as Miss and the award-winning “Twenty-Five, Twenty-One.” As such, she secured a total of 15 nominations and 13 awards, but had yet to win the Best Actress award until recently.
IU has also gained much of South Korea’s attention in recent years. Formerly known as a popular K-pop idol, IU starred as the main female lead in the Best Drama award-winning show, “When Life Gives You Tangerines.”
Over the months, the K-drama has achieved a high level of success and popularity, topping Netflix’s top 10 in 42 countries, appealing to both South Korean and international audiences. Because of this, many viewers had expected that IU would receive this year’s Best Actress award, considering that many professional critics have praised her performance in two separate roles, acting as both the mother and the daughter in the show.
Although IU has shown exceptional performance in the drama, the 61st Baeksang Award for Best Actress was given to Kim Tae-ri for acting as the female lead in the drama, “Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born,” a Korean drama about a vocal prodigy aiming to become the best gukgeok, a traditional Korean theatre dancer.
Due to the fact that many viewers were expecting IU to receive Best Actress, the internet erupted in a debate over which actress should have won the renowned award.
However, what many viewers are unaware of is the sheer effort that Kim Tae-ri has poured into her role in the K-drama. For the past three years, she had trained in Pansori, a Korean traditional art form of epic storytelling, a genre of art that is difficult to master even for well-trained opera veterans.
By fully immersing herself into the role of Jeongnyeon, Kim Tae-ri’s performance in the K-drama had ultimately paved the way for her nomination for Baeksang’s 61st Best Actress award.
“IU is a phenomenal actress, and I personally really enjoyed the K-drama that she starred in,” Jenny Park (11), a fan of IU, said. “But it should also be noted that Kim Tae-ri is just as phenomenal, and has put in the effort to win the Best Actress award this year.”
