2020 Korean Drama Awards - Lee Joon Gi, Moon Chae Won, Jin Se Yeon, Kim Min Kyu, Seo Ye Ji, Kim Soo Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Suzy, Park Sung Hoon

Welcome to the Kdrama Kisses 2020 Korean Drama Awards!  In addition to this, don’t miss out on the big list of my favorite dramas of the year in my Best Korean Dramas of 2020 post, but now we bring attention to some of my favorite performances and dramas in each genre. As always, there were lots of great ones to choose from, but let’s see what ultimately made my list of the best in 2020:

Best Actor:
Lee Joon Gi (Flower of Evil)

Flower of Evil Korean Drama - Lee Joon Gi

I had a terrible time choosing the winner for the category of best actor. There were just so many memorable performances! A little bias may be coming through though, since ultimately, I just had to go with Lee Joon Gi for his role in Flower of Evil. He gave us an amazing performance of a very multi-dimensional character. He opened a window into this character and broke my heart with the immense amount of turmoil he went through. Truly magnificent!

Best Actress:
Seo Ye Ji (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)

It's Okay to Not Be Okay Korean Drama - Seo Ye Ji

Seo Ye Ji was absolutely phenomenal It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. She owned the complex character that was Go Moon Young and breathed so much life into her. Moon Young is a unique character in the drama landscape, and it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Seo Ye Ji bringing this character to life and delivering such an incredible performance.

Best Romantic Comedy:
Start-Up

Start-Up Korean Drama - Nam Joo Hyuk and Suzy

Start-Up was sort of a workplace romantic comedy, and it was a wonderful drama. I enjoyed all of the characters and watching their complicated relationships play out. Suzy and Nam Joo Hyuk were a fun couple that went on an interesting journey together. They put me through a lot of emotions in the best kind of way.

Best Crime/Thriller Drama:
Flower of Evil

Flower of Evil Korean Drama - Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won

Flower of Evil was filled with suspense and was roller coaster of emotions. There were plenty of surprising plot developments along with some great cliff hangers. This one is not to be missed with its combination of mystery, heart, and thrills.

Best Melodrama:
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

It's Okay to Not Be Okay Korean Drama - Kim Soo Hyun, Seo Ye Ji, Oh Jung Se

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay is a masterpiece! It is like a dark, modern fairy tale with a magical quality to it in the way the story is told. The script was so incredibly well-written with every line of dialogue having meaning. A lot of thought also went into the production with so much attention to detail in constructing the sets as well as how the scenes were shot. Powerhouse performances were given all around. All of these elements blended together beautifully to carry us away into this slightly disturbing yet very healing fairy tale.

Best Historical:
Queen: Love and War

Queen Love and War Korean Drama - Kim Min Kyu and Jin Se Yeon

Queen: Love and War was a solid drama that had a steady pace that slowly builds and gets better as it goes. We had an interesting power struggle that consistently raise the stakes. We also had a great main couple in Jin Se Yeon and Kim Min Kyu. They were interesting characters that faced a lot of challenges, but they also shared a lovely romance that we got to see play out. Overall, Queen: Love and War was a great watch.

Best Couple:
Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)

It's Okay to Not Be Okay Korean Drama - Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji

Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji delivered powerhouse performances in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, and any time they were on screen together was completely captivating in so many different ways. Their chemistry was palpable. We experience a lot of joy and sadness with this couple, but it’s all worth it to watch these two hurting people face their demons and find comfort in each other. I was completely swept us in this amazing romance!

Best Bromance:
Kim Soo Hyun and Oh Jung Se
(It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
)

It's Okay to Not Be Okay Korean Drama - Kim Soo Hyun and Oh Sung Je

The bromance between brothers Gang Tae and Sang Tae in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay was a special one. They have a complex relationship that has been frozen in time. Growing as individuals and in the relationship becomes very important for them. I loved seeing how they cared for each other despite some severe challenges to the relationship. And watching them grow closer, understand each other more, and finally progress into a healthier relationship was wonderful.

Best Girlmance:
Moon Ga Young and Kim Seul Gi
(Find Me in Your Memory
)

Find Me in Your Memory Korean Drama - Moon Ga Young and Kim Seul Gi

Find Me in Your Memory features a fantastic sister relationship between Moon Ga Young and Kim Seul Gi. This pair was so supportive of each other, and I loved seeing their strong bond. Aside from also being there for one another, they also had a very fun relationship that brought a lot of smiles. It was very nice to see the connection between these two ladies.

Best Villain:
Park Sung Hoon (Psychopath Diary) 

Best Villain goes to Park Sung Hoon in Psychopath Diary. His psychopathic serial killer character was all kinds of fun, and his reactions to his crazy situations were priceless. He was so good here with a great mix of being creepy and very entertaining.

Best Kiss: 
Kim Min Kyu and Jin Se Yeon – Love Confession Kiss
(Queen: Love and War)

Queen Love and War - Kim Min Kyu and Jin Se YeonQueen Love and War Korean Drama - Kim Min Kyu and Jin Se Yeon

Kim Min Kyu and Jin Se Yeon had a challenging but lovely romance in Queen: Love and War. They shared several really nice kisses which was a treat for a historical drama. My favorite though was the Love Confession Kiss that had a lot of build up to it and became a defining moment for the couple.

Best Costumes:
Queen: Love and War

Queen Love and War Korean Drama - Jin Se Yeon, Lee Yeol Eum, Yoo Young

Queen: Love and War wins for best costumes. There was so much beautiful clothing throughout the drama. The gorgeous sets also really complimented the costumes to make for such lovely scenes. This is such a nice drama to look at.

Best Soundtrack:
Flower of Evil

Flower of Evil Korean Drama - Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won

Flower of Evil had a soundtrack that completely enhanced the drama. It was so powerful and excellent at drawing out emotion. It also was great at leaving an impact for those ending cliffhangers.


Although a few dramas really took the spotlight, I think I spread the love around a little more this year. There were so many fantastic performances and entertaining dramas. I’m happy I got to highlight a few of them.

So who were your favorite actors and what were your favorite dramas in 2020?

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24 responses to “Kdrama Kisses 2020 Korean Drama Awards”

  1. Snow Flower Avatar
    Snow Flower

    Here are my picks for 2020:

    Best actor: Lee Joon Ki (Flower of Evil), Oh Jung Se (It’s Okay To Not be Okay), Jung Jin Young (My Unfamiliar Family)

    Best actress: Seo Ye Ji (It’s Okay To Not be Okay)

    Best romantic comedy: Start Up

    Best crime/thriller: Flower of Evil

    Best melodrama: It’s Okay To Not be Okay

    Best historical drama: Kingdom Season 2

    Best couple: Seo Ye Ji/Kim Soo Hyun (It’s Okay To Not be Okay), Suzy/Nam Joo Hyuk (Start Up)

    Best bromance: Kang Tae/Sang Tae (It’s Okay To Not Be Okay), Samsan Tech guys (Start Up)

    Best girlmance: Beauty salon ladies (Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol)

    Best villain(ess): Kim Ho Ran, played by Lee Il Hwa (Lie After Lie), Queen (Kingdom Season 2)

    Best kiss: Birthday kiss (It’s Okay To Not Be Okay)

    Best costumes: It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

    Best soundtrack: Vocal: It’s Okay To Not Be Okay; Instrumental: Flower of Evil

    1. Kay Avatar

      Fantastic picks!

      I actually also had Oh Jung Se as well as Kim Soo Hyun on my short list for best actor.

      And it looks like we had a lot of the same picks with actress, couple, bromance, rom-com, crime thriller, and melodrama 🙂 A couple of the kisses from It’s Okay to Not Be Okay were on my short list and for best soundtrack.

      We really had some wonderful dramas that gave us a lot to enjoy 🙂

  2. Snow Flower Avatar
    Snow Flower

    I was agoinzing over not including Kim Soo Hyun in the list! He was great too. But I wanted to include a lesser known performance, and Jung Jin Young was fantastic in My Unfamiliar Family. Among the actresses I liked: Jeon Mi Do in Hospital Playlist, also the female leads in Lie After Lie and Zombie Detective. I want to mention how impressed I was by the acting performances of children: from It’s Okay To Not Be Okay to Flower of Evil and Lie After Lie, excellent work, kids!

    1. Kay Avatar

      It’s always good to share the love especially for some lesser known excellent performances 🙂 And yes, we had some amazing kid performances this year! I’m always so amazed at just how good they are. They really deserve more recognition.

  3. kfangurl Avatar

    Wow, another year-end post! You are on fire! (Note to self: get going on that year-end post, seriously! 😝😅)

    I was quite startled to see Park Sung Hoon as a villain on your list, because I’d just seen him for the first time, and he was all dorky and sweet in Into The Ring! 🤯 Looks like he’s way more versatile than I expected! 😆

    Also, YES, the sisterhood in Find Me In Your Memory was lovely. ❤️

    Lastly, 7 eps in, I think I may not love Start-Up as much as most.. but hope springs eternal, and perhaps I will eventually grow to love it..? 😅

    1. Kay Avatar

      Yes, get going on that! 😂 J/K Take your time since I know it will be worth the wait 🙂

      Haha, yes, Park Sung Hoon is a fantastic villain! And he was perfect in Psychopath Diary considering he was very creepy yet also handled the comedic elements well. He and Yoon Shi Yoon were great opposite each other in that one. I had only seen him one other time, and he was pretty serious in that too. Sounds like I need to see him playing sweet and dorky! 🙂

      Yay! I’m glad you liked the wonderful sisters in Find Me in Your Memory. I think they were a bit underappreciated so it’s good to see others appreciate them too ❤

      Aww, too bad your like of Start-Up is waning. As with anything, it just depends on what you like. The middle eps get a bit more workplace drama focused. That would usually be a big negative for me since I don’t care for work place dramas most of the time, but in this particular instance, I liked all of the characters so much that I genuinely didn’t mind. And if you’re not already really loving it, some of it’s latter episode problems may be more apparent, lol 😂

  4. MyKDramaticLife Avatar
    MyKDramaticLife

    Oh mygosh!
    Is it time for the annual Kdrama Awards already?

    Hehe. Well, I have the short list of nominations ready. All I have to do is choose the best among the list. Hehehe.

    1. Kay Avatar

      It’s that time already! 🙂 🙂 🙂

      I look forward to your list of favorites 🙂

  5. Timescout Avatar

    Well, hasn’t the end of the year snuck upon me again. I haven’t watched much this year so not many dramas to mention. Good thing I don’t do “best of” lists, I guess. 😁

    1. Kay Avatar

      That definitely makes things a bit easier 😉 I know you got in at least a few good ones though, so maybe a few good memories 🙂

      1. Timescout Avatar

        Definitely fond memories of some I’ve watched. Now I just have to find time to write the darned post! 😁

        1. Kay Avatar

          That’s always the most challenging part! 🤣 If you do find time, I will look forward to the read 🙂

  6. D Avatar
    D

    Hi Kay – I enjoyed reading this post. I watched different dramas to you and so my list is slightly different. For example, I have not watched Flower of Evil. So, best crime/thriller for me was The Good Detective and Best Melo was ‘Lie After Lie’. I also loved Start Up like yourself. However, I think I am in the minority who did not like ‘It’s ok to not be okay’. Overall though, I must say I pretty much enjoyed most of the dramas I watched this year. There were so many that were enjoyable this year.

    1. Kay Avatar

      Hi D! I’m glad you had a good drama year too 🙂 I was the same in that I enjoyed most of the ones I watched. There really were a lot of great dramas this year! I still have Lie After Lie on my list from the ones on your favorites list. I’m really curious as to what I’ll think of that one 🙂

      1. D Avatar
        D

        I’m always curious to see what you think. I will wait to see your review. 🙂

        1. Kay Avatar

          Do keep me updated on what your watching also since I love getting your thoughts on dramas too 🙂

  7. MyKDramaticLife Avatar
    MyKDramaticLife

    My list is quite long hehehe.
    I couldnt finish Spies this year, because I got distracted with other things. However I’ll prio it early next year.

    Without further much ado, here it is:

    My K-Dramatic Awards 2020

    Best Actor:
    Lee Joon Ki (Flower of Evil)
    Runners Up: Yoon Shi Yoon (Psychopath Diary), Park Seo Joon (Itaewon Class)

    Best Actress:
    Hwang Jung Eum (Mystic Pop Up Bar)
    Runners Up:
    Seo Ji Ye (It’s Okay to Not be Okay), Moon Chae Won (Flower of Evil), Kim Da Mi (Itaewon Class)

    Best Supporting Actor: Oh Jung Se (It’s Okay to Not be Okay)
    Runner Up: Kim Min Jae (Romantic Doctor Teacher 2)

    Best Supporting Actress:
    Kim Hae Sook (Start-Up)
    Runner Up: Jin Kyung (Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 2)

    Best Villain: Yoo Jae Myung (Itaewon Class)
    Runner Up: Park Sung Hoon (Pyschopath Diary)

    Second Male Lead of the Year:
    Kim Sun Ho (Start-Up)
    Runner Up: Kim Min Kyu (Backstreet Rookie)

    Best Child Actress: Go Do Yeon (Eccentric Chef Moon)

    Breakthrough Performances: Kim Da Mi (Itaewon Class), Oh Jung Se (It’s Okay to Not be Okay)

    Best Couple: Seo Kang Joon <3 Park Min Young (When the Weather is Fine)
    Runners Up: Ji Chang Wook <3 Kim Yoo Jung (Backstreet Rookie), Kim Soo Hyun <3 Seo Yi Je (It's Okay to Not be Okay)

    Best Kiss: It's Okay Kiss (It's Okay to Not be Okay)

    Best Romcom: Backstreet Rookie

    Best Crime Thiller Drama: Pyschopath Diary

    Best Fantasy Drama: Mystic Pop Up Bar

    Best Melodrama: When the Weather is Fine

    Best Medical: Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 2

    Best Ensembles: North Korean armies (Crash Landing on You), College Admission teachers (Black Dog), Main Five (Hospital Playlist)

    Best Stories / Freshest Ideas in Dramaland: Kingdom 2, Psychopath Diary, The School Nurse Files

    Scene Stealers of the Year: Park Sun Young and Kim Young Min (World of the Married)

    Characters of the Year: Captain Ri Jung Hyuk (Crash Landing on You), Yook Dong Shik (Psychopath Diary), Park Saero Yi (Itaewon Class), Jung Saet Byul (Backstreet Rookie), Ko Moon Young (It's Okay to Not be Okay), Moon Gang Tae (It's Okay to Not be Okay), Moon Sang Tae (It's Okay to Not be Okay), Seo Dal Mi (Start-Up), SanSamTech guys (Start-Up)

    Drama of the Year: Itaewon Class

    Two Stars Awardees: Hwang Jung Eum (Mystic Pop Up Bar, To All the Guys Who Loved Me), Yoon Shi Yoon (Psychopath Diary, Train)

    Inspirational Drama of the Year: Start-Up

    Inspirational Characters of the Year: Nam Do San (Start-Up), Park Saero Yi (Itaewon Class)

    Oppa of the Year: Jung Il Woo (Moon Embracing the Sun, Sweet Munchies, 49 Days)

    Unnie of the Year: Bae Suzy (Vagabond, Uncontrollably Fond, Start-Up)

    To more favorites next year! 😀

    1. Kay Avatar

      A fantastic group of dramas and performances! We had several of the same best actors and actresses as either the winner or runner up. Yoon Shi Yoon, Kim Soo Hyun, and Oh Sung Je were runner up for best actor for me. Moon Chae Won and Hwang Jung Eum runner up for best actress.

      And we enjoyed a lot of the same dramas like It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Psychopath Diary, Start-Up, and Mystic Pop-Up Bar.

      I love seeing all the love you shared to other categories too. So many deserving dramas and performances this year 🙂

  8. Snow Flower Avatar
    Snow Flower

    I am adding Chae Soo Bin/Jung Hae In (A Piece of Your Mind) and Son Ye Jin/Hyun Bin (Crash Landing on You) to the list of memorable drama couples of 2020.

    I am also adding Kim Jung Hyun (Crash Landing On You) as my favorite Second Lead of 2020.

    1. Kay Avatar

      I still need to give A Piece of Your Mind a try at some point. I know so many loved Chae Soo Bin and Jung Hae In. And of course, Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin were definitely a memorable couple 🙂 I’d have to do some thinking on a favorite second lead since there were several of those too 🙂

  9. Snow Flower Avatar
    Snow Flower

    And speaking of couples, how could I ever forget Lee Joon Ki/Moon Chae Won (Flower of Evil)?

    1. Kay Avatar

      And a big yes to Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won! They were on my short list for favorite couple 🙂

  10. Inns Avatar
    Inns

    Honestly to be able to put those in the list are superb! Too much too handle this year in Kdramaland. Can’t decide for another category but Lee Joon Gi is seriously on top for his role on FoE.

    1. Kay Avatar

      Kdramaland really did give us some seriously amazing dramas and performances this year. And I wholeheartedly agree, Lee Joon Gi deserves the top for his fantastic performance in Flower of Evil 🙂

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