Seo Kang-joon and Kang Tae-oh Shine at 2025 MBC Drama Awards

Seo Kang-joon and Kang Tae-oh, who debuted as part of the actor group Surprise in 2013 under Fantagio, have both emerged as winners at the '2025 MBC Drama Awards', taking home the Grand Prize and Best Actor Award, respectively. After their contracts with Fantagio expired, both actors signed exclusive contracts with Man of Creation and completed their military service in 2021 and 2022. This year, they made their comeback with MBC productions.

The '2025 MBC Drama Awards' took place on the evening of the 30th at the MBC Media Center in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The event was hosted by broadcaster Kim Sung-joo and actress Lee Sun-bin. This year, MBC faced a general slump, with dramas like 'Bunny and the Oppas', 'Mary Kills People', and 'To the Moon' recording low ratings of 1-2%.

The Grand Prize trophy at the 2025 MBC Drama Awards went to Seo Kang-joon for 'Undercover High School'. Upon receiving the trophy, Seo expressed, "I feel more bewildered than happy. It's so surprising and overwhelming, but I want to thank those who have supported me."

He thanked the director, producer, writer, and staff of 'Undercover High School', saying, "To my agency's CEO, who is the most precious friend and best business partner in my life, let's go together forever. I'm also very grateful to the agency staff. Above all, I sincerely thank all the actors, including Jin Ki-joo, Kim Shin-rok, and Jeon Bae-soo, who were part of 'Undercover High School'." He added, "To my family, mom and dad, stay healthy and I love you. Congratulations to my sister on her marriage, live well. Congratulations to my brother-in-law for becoming part of the family."

Seo Kang-joon shared, "This drama was the first project I worked on after returning from the military. I missed this scene so much," and continued, "Having acted for over 10 years, I always reminded myself to be grateful and cherish every moment, but I think I forgot that. Spending endless time in the military made me miss this scene so much, and receiving such a heavy award through 'Undercover High School' is even more bewildering and surprising."

He further expressed, "While filming, I often thought I could be replaced at any time. I try to act with my own thoughts and concerns, but when I look around, there are many who work harder and are more excellent than me," and added, "I question why I'm standing here holding this award, why I'm occupying a spot on set, and I can only think it's because I was lucky." He concluded, "I don't know how long I'll be doing this work, but I don't want to be replaced until the end. I will act with more earnest research and contemplation."

Earlier, the Best Actor Award in the miniseries category went to Kang Tae-oh for 'The Moon Flows Over the River'. He also won the 'Best Couple Award' with Kim Se-jeong, making him a double winner that night. The category included nominees like Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Min-ki, and Seo Kang-joon.

Kang Tae-oh began his speech by saying, "When I first debuted and was a rookie with very little experience, I wanted to show a relaxed demeanor on set while working on projects or acting, and I thought it would naturally happen as time passed and I got older." He continued, "I need to show more, but as my filmography and experience grow, the responsibility and burden for the next project become heavier, making me more nervous and worried when starting work."

He shared, "'The Moon Flows Over the River' was a project that gave me the feeling of going on a trip. I enjoyed it on set, and it felt like spending family-like time across the country, enjoying beautiful scenery in a harmonious atmosphere with great staff and actors," and added, "I sincerely want to thank the director who made the set warm and helped me realize I was enjoying acting again after a long time." He also expressed gratitude to the writer who wrote beautiful words about the emotion of love called 'Yeonsim' and to the many seniors and juniors who traveled with him.

Kang Tae-oh concluded, "I'm really grateful to my family, who always love me unconditionally and stand by my side. I'm also thankful to the CEO and agency staff who work behind the scenes to help the actor Kang Tae-oh succeed and be here. Above all, I'm grateful and love the managers who were more like family than family, who cherished me more than themselves and always thought of me as their top priority. Happy New Year, and I'll see you with a new look in the new year."

Lee So-jung, TenAsia Reporter forusojung@tenasia.co.kr