The 2025 APAN Star Awards celebrated the best of Korean drama with a glamorous ceremony at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza on December 29.
It was hosted for the second year in a row by actors Kim Seung Woo and Park Sun Young. The awards recognized dramas from broadcast networks, cable channels, and OTT platforms that aired between November 2024 and October 2025.
The night’s biggest honor, the Grand Prize (Daesang), went to singer-actress IU for her performance in When Life Gives You Tangerines. She became the third actress to win Daesang after Song Hye Kyo and Kim Tae Ri. The drama itself was the evening’s standout, winning six awards in total, including Best Director and Drama of the Year.
Excellence awards were given to Lee Jun Young and Shin Ye Eun, while the Popularity Star Awards went to Lee Jun Ho and Kim Hye Yoon. Park Bo-gum also took home the Global Star Award.
Lee Chae-min, Kang You Seok, and Ha Young won Best New Actor and Best New Actress, respectively. Hyeri and Chung Su Bin also won the Best Couple Award for their chemistry Friendly Rivalry. Lim Young Woong received Best Original Soundtrack for his song “More Beautiful Than Heaven” from Heavenly Ever After.
The APAN Star Awards are often described as Korea’s only integrated drama awards ceremony. It honors content from all platforms, including terrestrial, cable, OTT, and web dramas.
Established in 2012, past Grand Prize winners include some of the biggest names in Korean entertainment, such as Song Hye Kyo, Kim Soo Hyun, Song Joong Ki, Lee Byung Hun, and last year’s winner, Kim Tae Ri.
2025 APAN Star Awards Winners
The complete list of 2025 APAN Star Awards winners includes
Daesang (Grand Prize)
- IU (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
Drama of the Year
- When Life Gives You Tangerines
Best Screenwriter
- Jang Hyun Sook (Typhoon Family)
Best Director
- Kim Won Seok (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
Male Top Excellence Award (Mid-Length Drama)
- Lee Junho (Typhoon Family)
Female Top Excellence Award (Mid-Length Drama)
- Cha Joo Young (The Queen Who Crowns)
Female Excellence Award (Mid-Length Drama)
- Shin Ye Eun (A Hundred Memories, The Murky Stream)
Male Excellence Award (Mid-Length Drama)
- Lee Jun Young (Pump Up The Healthy Love, When Life Gives You Tangerines)
Male Top Excellence Award (Serial Drama)
- Son Chang Min (Good Luck!)
Female Excellence Award (Serial Drama)
- Park Eun Hye (Marie and Her Three Daddies)
Male Excellence Award (Short Drama)
- Park Sung Woong (A Head Coach’s Turnover)
Female Excellence Award (Short Drama)
- Park Ha Sun (Psychopath Yeo Soon-jeong, A Love That’s Completely Useless)
Female Top Excellence Award (Serial Drama)
- Park Ha Na (My Merry Marriage)
Male Excellence Award (Serial Drama)
- Kim Dong Wan (For Eagle Brothers)
Best New Actor
- Lee Chae Min (Crushology 101, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty)
- Kang You Seok (Resident Playbook & When Life Gives You Tangerines)
Best New Actress
- Ha Young (Face Me, Trauma Code: Heroes on Call)
Excellence Acting Award
- Oh Na Ra (The Nice Guy, Villains Everywhere)
- Ko Kyu Pil (Twelve, Genie, Make a Wish)
Best Couple
- Chung Su Bin and Hyeri (Friendly Rivalry)
Best OST
- More Beautifully Than Heaven – Lim Young Woong (Heavenly Ever After)
Best Child Actor
- Kim Tae Yeon and Lee Cheon Mu (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
Best Entertainer
- Cha Eunwoo
Asia Star Award
- Chung Su Bin
- Jinyoung (B1A4)
Global Star
- Lee Junho
Popularity Award
- Lee Junho
- Kim Hye Yoon
Congratulations to all 2025 APAN Star Award winners!