This year’s standout names in Korean cinema have been revealed.
On October 21, the Blue Dragon Film Awards committee announced the final list of nominees for the 46th edition of the prestigious ceremony. The awards span 15 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best New Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best New Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Music, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Technical Award. The Audience Award and the Cheongjeongwon Popular Star Award will be presented separately.
In the Best Picture category, No Other Choice, The Ugly, My Daughter Is a Zombie, The Old Woman with the Knife, and Harbin will compete. These films, recognized for both artistic merit and popular appeal, have drawn significant attention ahead of this year’s results. Notably, Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice set a record with 12 nominations, underscoring its critical and commercial success.
The Ugly, starring Park Jeong-min, secured 10 nominations, while Hyun Bin’s Harbin earned 8. Jo Jung-suk’s My Daughter Is a Zombie and Ahn Jae-hong and Yoo Ah-in’s High Five each received nominations in six categories, reflecting a diverse competition across genres and generations. Additionally, Uprising and The Old Woman with the Knife received five nominations each, while Noise and The Match earned three. 3670, The Priests 2: Dark Nuns, A Normal Family, Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary, Pretty Crazy, and Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy each made the list with two nominations. The bold storytelling and unique direction of emerging filmmakers have received positive feedback, highlighting the expanding landscape of Korean cinema.
In the acting categories, fierce competition is expected. Hyun Bin is nominated for Best Actor for his role in Harbin, while Son Ye-jin is nominated for Best Actress for No Other Choice. Hyun Bin will compete against Lee Byung-hun (No Other Choice), Park Jeong-min (The Ugly), Sol Kyung-gu (A Normal Family), and Jo Jung-suk (My Daughter Is a Zombie). Son Ye-jin will face Song Hye-kyo (The Priests 2: Dark Nuns), Lee Jae-in (High Five), Lee Hye-young (The Old Woman with the Knife), and Im Yoon-ah (Pretty Crazy).
Meanwhile, online voting opened on October 21 via the Celeb Champ mobile app. The available categories include all major awards, totaling 16, with results weighted equally alongside a single vote from a panel of expert judges.
Following the announcement, netizens expressed mixed reactions, with comments such as “It looks like No Other Choice will sweep everything” and “Looks like they’re just handing out the awards to everyone again, huh?”
The 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony will be held on November 19 at KBS Hall in Yeouido and will be broadcast live on KBS 2TV.