The acting awards for all three companies, KBS, SBS, and MBC, have ended. There was no disagreement among those who won trophies for their impressive performances, but it was an acting award that left a deep sense of disappointment for actors who were not properly recognized despite their good performances.
Lee Se-young, who received great love for 'Love According to the Law', did not attend the 2022 KBS Drama Awards held on the 31st of last month. Although he could not attend due to personal reasons, Lee Seung-gi, who was the male lead, showed his face in the legal dispute with his agency and even received the grand prize.
'Love According to the Law' (written by Lim Lim-jeong, directed by Lee Eun-jin, produced by Jidam Media Co., Ltd., High Ground) is a law man's drama between Kim Jeong-ho, a former prosecutor, and Kim Yu-ri, a 4D lawyer. Lee Se-young, who played the role of Kim Yu-ri, who has not only loveliness but also a sense of justice and courage, mesmerized viewers by providing the ultimate sense of immersion. In addition, Lee Se-young left a strong impression by showing off the magical power of offsetting the image of her previous work with costumes that covered all kinds of patterns.
Due to the extraordinary chemistry between Lee Seung-gi and Lee Se-young, the final episode of 'Love According to the Law' recorded 5.2% in the metropolitan area and 1.2% in the 2049 viewership rating according to Nielsen Korea. It soared to a maximum of 6.2% per minute, and ended as the strongest Monday-Tuesday drama that held the No. 1 throne for 16 consecutive episodes.
Therefore, fans expected that the show would win at least 4 to 5 awards at the KBS Drama Awards. But was Lee Se-young’s absence the reason? Lee Se-young and Lee Seung-gi only won two awards: the 'Best Couple Award', which was handed out in a bunch, and Lee Seung-gi's 'Grand Prize'. The Couple Award had a strong feel of an attendance award given to every work, so in reality, Se-young Lee was given no awards.
Although Lee Se-young received favorable reviews for not only being the center of the drama but also leading the work perfectly with her stable acting skills, her name could not be found. Did not attending the awards ceremony lead to this result? Lee Se-young has shown particularly good performance this year, so this loss is especially disappointing.
Lee Seung-gi may also have been aware of this, and during his grand prize acceptance speech, he said, "I heard that 'Love According to the Law' is the first work that made a profit at KBS in a few years. Comparatively speaking, it seems like the actors of 'Love According to the Law' today went away empty-handed." Leave a comment.
Many people already implicitly know that awards are not decided 100% purely based on ‘good acting’. This can also be said to be the other side of the awards ceremony.
It is also inevitable to point out that this year's KBS Drama Awards selected winners based on 'popularity' and 'attendance' rather than 'acting'. However, in the public's mind, it is already acknowledged that Lee Se-young has shown value as much as, or even more than, the 'grand prize' Lee Seung-gi. This year, the KBS Drama Awards remained at the GoStop level with just a bunch of guesswork.
Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr