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Busan’s Asian Contents Awards Deliver Prizes at Virtual Ceremony

Korean series “Kingdom,” and “The World of the Married” and China’s “The Bad Kids” were the most rewarded shows on Sunday at Busan’s Asian Contents Awards.

The event in its second year was live-streamed from the Busan International Film Festival where hosts and performers were the only ones physically present. Presenters and prize-winners joined remotely via video conference.

Singapore’s “Last Madame” was named as best Asian drama, jointly with Taiwan’s “When The Camelia Blooms.”

A Netflix original series, made with AStory, “Kingdom” earned three awards. Actor Ju Ji-hoon won the Korean actor award, while Kim Eunhee won the best writer award, one of the prize categories that was not divided by nationality. The show also won the technical achievement award for its special effects provided by Madman Post.

Romantic espionage drama, “The World of the Married,” produced and broadcast by Korea’s JTBC, and also shown outside Korea by Netflix, earned two prizes. Mo Wan-il was named as best (Korean) creative. Kim Hee-ae was named as best (Korean) actress.

“The Bad Kids” earned two prizes: one for series producer Dai Ying as best creative, the other for actor Rong Zi-shan, as best newcomer.

“The Bad Kids” is a 12-episode suspense series that tells the story of three youngsters in a small coastal town who accidentally witness a murder and then get involved in blackmail. Its starry cast includes Qin Hao (“Crosscurrent,” “Legend of the Demon Cat”) and Wang Jingchun (“So Long My Son,” “Shadow,” “Black Coal, Thin Ice”). The series is presented by iQIYI and co-produced by Eternity Pictures, with Han Sanping, former head of China Film Group, as the lead producer. It was directed by Xin Shuang.

“It has a unique perspective, and we are trying to bring new ideas of this type. It will be our privilege if you can remember the three little children who came into our world and inspired us to thinking in this summer. Thank you for everyone’s love for this show” said Dai, VP at iQIYI who heads up the company’s original drama division.

The ceremony included a mildly political note. It gave a lifetime achievement award to ABS-CBN, the Philippines broadcaster which earlier this year had its license application turned down for opposing President Rodrigo Duterte.

Asian Contents Awards 2020 Prize-Winners
Best Creative:
(China) Dai Ying for “The Bad Kids”
(Korea) Mo Wan-il for “The World of the Married”
Best Asian Drama
(Singapore) “Last Madame”
(Taiwan) “When the Camellia Blooms”
Best Actress
(Korea) Kim Hee-ae “The World of the Married”
(Japan) Kuroki Haru “Nagi’s Long Vacation”
Best Actor
(Taiwan) Joseph Chang “The Victims’ Game”
(Korea) Ju Ji-hoon “Kingdom” Season 2
Best Writer
Kim Eunhee “Kingdom” Season 2
Best newcomer – Actress
(Thailand) Plearnpichaya Komalarajun “One Year”
(Korea) Jeon Mido “Hospital Playlist”
Best Newcomer – Actor
(China) Rong Zi-shan
(Thailand) Paris Intarakomalyasut “In Family We Trust”
Technical Achievement Award
Madmanpost “Kingdom” Season 2, visual effects
Best Rising Star
(China) Dilireba “Eternal Love of Dream”
(India) Kirti Kulhari, Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo, Gurbani Judge “Four More Shots Please!” Season 2.
(Indonesia) Ririn Dwi Ariyanti “Dewi”
Excellence Award
(Korea) Kim Hyesoo “Hyena”
(Japan) Araki Yuko
Lifetime Achievement Award
Amuse Inc. “Midnight Diner”
ABS-CBN.

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