Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won Both Up for 2013 MBC Drama Award Daesang

Just the mere thought that I get to see Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won at the same place, attending the year end MBC Drama Awards, makes me giddy with excitement. It’s been a year and a half since they worked together in The King 2 Hearts, also a MBC drama, and to date in 2013 I still haven’t found an OTP that I’ve loved as much as I loved them as the King Lee Jae Ha and his Queen Kim Hang Ah. The nominations are out for MBC’s 2013 Daesang (the highest award of the night) and chances are only the winner will attend while the other nominees might show up if they win other awards. Each network’s drama awards is like an employee recognition event so it’s purely goodwill, ratings, connections, and pats on the back all around. Don’t read too much into winning anything being the equivalent of an acting validation. MBC has had an okay year in 2013 – it’s all-sageuk line-up on Mon-Tues did good to solid ratings, it mostly floundered in the Wed-Thurs timeslot, but it made up for it by doing even more makjang than usual weekend fare and luring the audience in. The nominations for the Daesang are all heavyweights to current It-actors or actresses and I actually don’t see a frontrunner in the bunch. The line up includes: Lee Seung Gi for Gu Family Book, Ha Ji Won for the currently airing Empress Ki, Moon Geun Young for Goddess of Fire Jeongi (LOL forever), The Queen’s Classroom with Go Hyun Jung, and Park Won Sook for A Hundred Years Inheritance. Last year’s Daesang winner was Horse Doctor with Jo Seung Woo. I guess Han Ji Hye‘s valiant turn as twins in the bipolar I Summon You, Gold didn’t make the cut. I don’t care who wins as long as Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi pose for a picture together for me, even if my King has turned into a half-gumiho while his Queen has run off to become an Empress. I’m also chuckling with the sneaking suspicion that MBC will somehow give Moon Geun Young and Kim Bum a couples award for GoF, despite them NOT being a couple in the drama, since this is one network that will pounce on any free fanservice when it can. The winners will all be announced before the ceremony which is usually held in the last few days of December.

I’m betting one of the ladies bags the MBC Daesang this year. Prolly a toss-up between Ha Ji Won and Go Hyun Jung.


Comments

Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won Both Up for 2013 MBC Drama Award Daesang — 93 Comments

  1. Omg I would die if they gave MGY and KB a best couple award. That would be so cute.

    Personally, I would vote for Go Hyun Jung for the Daesang out of those nominees. She gave a very impressive and nuanced performance in TQC. I hope the show gets recognition, too. It was one of the best this year imo.

  2. OMG! OMG! OMFG! They need to walk the red carpet together, and I’ll just pretend this is 2012 instead of 2013! MBC better make up for last year’s fail and give them both an award. I really wanna see them together again…

    But it’s such a pleasant surprise to see Seung-gi getting nominated for the Daesang award. Firstly, he’s the youngest of the lot (I’m blinding myself with the MGY nomination) but in my eyes, he’s more of an it-actor than a heavyweight. Or maybe he’s both? Because he’s definitely extremely popular (in Korea and internationally) and creates that buzz, but I won’t call him an actor with the calibre of say a HJW – not yet at least… But then again he did impress the heck out of me last year as Jae Ha and then as Kang Chi. LOL, I guess the point is he deserves the nomination.

    Also… why is last year’s Daesang winner nominated this year? I get that HD extended into 2013, but JSW already won it and so did the Horse doctor team. I’m seriously hoping Seung-gi and Ji-won gets the Daesang award together. I remember MBC splitting it a few years ago, so I’m hoping for something like that this year too. In the very least, I’m sure they’ll get the top-excellence, so as long as they walk that red carpet together, I’ll be in heaven!

  3. Uh if anything Seung Gi should be nominated for his performance in K2H not GFB and even then that nomination should be taken with a grain of salt. Love you seung gi, but there’s alot of actors out there that probably deserve the award more than you do! Don’t worry baby, you’re still very young with many many years ahead of you. I’ll be rooting for the day you top your K2H performance (not sure if you’ll ever have a chance to portray such character though.) Jae Ha and Hang Ah were one in a million.

    Despite loving ha ji won, i say go hyun jung deserves daesangs more than anything. She’s a wonderful actress. However, i don’t think her best performance was QOC despite it being a solid show. But we should know better than anything that MBC drama awards have always been a popularity contest.

    • Isnt K2H for 2012 MBC lineup not 2013?
      I love him too But I agree there are a lot of actors more deserving to get the nominations compared to his acting gig in GFB. I know he can become awesome as he did in K2H but GFB was a drama with acting the was just entertaining, not really award material.
      I wonder why Jo Jae Hyun was not nominated for Daesang, he was ultimately awesome in Scandal. really really awesome. floored me every episode along with Kim Jaewon!

      Dont know who the nominees are for the categories but I am hoping Lee JunKi or Kim Jae Won wins Best actor category.

  4. Ha Ji Won totally rocks in Empress Ki!!! Her red attire was beautiful and she looked beautiful. I’m also loving the OTP so much. Hope you write something about Empress Ki Ms. Koala. Lee Seung Gi is so talented! Acting wise, singing and entertainer!!And I love he is like the handsome boy next door with a beautiful wide smile. Even though I haven’t watched ‘The King 2 Hearts’ I’ll check it out just because you seem fond of them and I love your drama sense.
    About my dear Moonie been nominated for the Daesang I also find it laughable. She’s an amazing actress but GoF was the exception, but still love her. Maybe MBC nominated her because they want ❤GeunBum❤ to forcefully come and how you mentioned “free publicity” (I wouldn’t mind if they go) you know.

  5. If this award is for the King 2 Hearts, Lee Seung Gi might win as he clinched the role as King Lee Jae Ha to the tee, but not for Gu Family Book, I don’t think. Yes, King 2 Hearts is probably my favourite kdrama of all time as I was hooked from the first episode to the last one. It’s like the denouement of that story was on its last 15 minutes while before it is just all climax, which is great! The actors were all superb which is rather rare for a drama. So I wonder why Lee Seung gi never had an award for that. He was downright spectacular in that drama. I mean hands down. So natural. This is one of those dramas that I’ll never tire of watching over and over again. I wish he was recognised by the award-giving bodies for that. While Ha Ji Won always delivers. I mean she’s pretty consistent performance-wise, whatever role, hence, the casting people can never go wrong with her. But this pairing, oh gee, I so love. I hope LSG is a noona-killer just like Kim Bum and snag his queen in Ha Ji won for real. He even said in interviews when asked about his ideal woman that he thought that he used to like just the pretty but now he likes mature women. What did he mean by that? I guess mature as in how one thinks, or mature as in older than he is, but I think what he meant was mature as in Ha Ji Won (I wish!)!

    • His ideal has changed from yoona to ha ji won.
      I think its safe to say ha ji won is probably the most commonly picked ideal type.
      I ship them like crazy too, even if i know it’s probably impossible.
      I still get shivers re-watching certain scenes from K2H or just listening to OSTS from that show. Goosebumps, i tell you.

      • nahhh!its not HAJIWON anymore he said his ideal change from time to time.well too bad for him,he’s so fickle,no offense here ok,peace 🙂

      • I’m sure everyone’s ideal changes from time to time.
        Just curious though, who’s his new ideal?

      • @ilikemangos

        She’s actually the last name he mentioned I think. Now it’s just vague things, not any person.

      • @ilikemangos – Don’t think he gave a new name for his ‘ideal type’. He just said she should be able to get along with his family and friends, is lively etc. So he never changed from HJW… I personally think this whole ‘ideal type’ questions get repetitive and useless.

        Love him with HJW, but I don’t quite ship them in real life. That age difference along with the mutual respect would probably prevent them from having anything more… But one can never tell LOL

  6. i know that these are mostly just popularity contests but I personally thin Go Hyun Jung’s the only one that deserves an award… I haven’t seen Park Won Sook’s or Ha ji Won’s dramas but from the rest she’s the only one that’s a real contender acting wise (sorry MGY unni, you know you’ve done better)….I also just want see her win because Queens Classroom is such a sorely underrated show….I even think GHJ’performance there bypassed the one she gave in Queen Seonduk…I mean you could literally blink and miss revealing expressions

    • I completely agree. I’m not surprised if The Queen’s Classroom is completely ignored at the awards b/c of its low ratings though. mbc’s an ass like that.

      • Empress Ki was really really better than Queen Classroom! Ha Ji Won the only one who deserved DAESANG!

    • Absolutely agreed that Go Hyun Jung should win for The Queen’s Classroom hands down. None of the nominees could surpass her performance in that drama.

  7. Despite GOF was a disaster , Moon Geun Young has always incredible in their roles and she’s also deserves to win no wonder she’s nominated !!

  8. OMG, my King and Queen.
    I love them so much.
    They have to win something in order for them to attend the ceremony, and please, make them present an award so I can see my King and Queen together and interact and reenact their King and Queen dialogs from TK2H.
    Please MBC, you hear me?

  9. Despite people’s issues with GFB there is no doubt he’s very deserving of the nomination for carrying that drama throughout most of it’s run with no real acting partner like he had in Tk2H and doing it successfully. I don’t think he’ll win, but him not getting a nomination at the very least would be completely unfair (which I expected of MBC).

    HJW I think can win next year if Empress Ki keeps up the quality. It’s just too new even in December for it to be deserving of anything quite yet. I’m excited they are both nominated. Let’s hope they both go now. 😀

  10. OMG! My fangirling days over Ha-AH couple are back! Excited to see them togther! wishing they sit on the same table.. we’re not asking for much no?! Both are saguek dramas cast.. HOLY I’m all excited for this!

    As for the awards, I think SG will win the top excellence award ( MBC better not give him anything less) of course and the couple award with YW

  11. “Two weeks” isn’t up for any awards? I thought it is from MBC too?

    And seeing how the drama swept 3-4 APAN drama awards yesterday proves the recognition for its quality.

    Too bad, such year-end awards like MBC, KBS drama awards mostly pays attention to those with high rating only.

  12. I respect the opinions of those who hated the Goddess of Fire drama, but I don’t find Moon Geun-Young’s nomination to MBC Drama Awards laughable at all. Because, imho, she portrayed well the character of Jung-Yi as what the story and dialogue of the drama dictated. In the episodes she was Tae-Pyung, Moon Geun-Young didn’t just dress up as male laborer at Bunwon, but she acted as what a male laborer would do during that time and that place – chopping wood, carrying firewood on her back, digging clay, hanging out with the guys at Bunwon, etc. Also, in a couple of several episodes showing Tae-Pyung interactions with Prince Gwanghae, Moon Geun-Young even showed her comic side. Then when Jung-yi went blind, Moon Geun-Young convincingly acted as a blind person, not giving a hint she is able to see. In the episode where Tae-Do was arrested leaving Jung-Yi by herself, some viewers commented how useless Jung-Yi was. Well because she was blind; how can she defend herself and Tae-Do if she can’t see? So, isn’t Jung-Yi’s helplessness in that episode attributable to Moon Geun-Young’s excellent acting? And last but not the least, the episodes leading up to and after Jung-Yi’s discovery of her true birth were emotionally gripping. To name a few: the episode where she fell and cried on Tae-Do’s arm after hearing Ma-Pyung’s revelation was heart-wrenching; the episode when she informed her teacher Moon Sa of this discovery was equally heart-wrenching; the episode where she tried to tell Lee Kang-Chun she was her daughter was also heart-breaking; and in the episode where Tae-Do died in Jung-Yi’s arms, Moon Geun-Young portrayed an inconsolable Jung-Yi who wailed at the moment of Tae-Do’s death, and who then became almost immovable as the pain of loss and regret finally sank in. Moon Geun-Young may not win this year’s MBC Daesang award, but imho, her performance in Goddess of Fire, her commitment to the character of Jung-Yi, is nothing to be sneered about.

    Just one last thing to share – one of the Korean Viewers’ comments in MBC’s page for Goddess of Fire, said that when he saw the episode where Lee Kang-Chun died in his son Lee Yook-Do’s arm in front of Jung-Yi who was crying, he, who is also a father, couldn’t help but cry too. I used Google-Translate to translate this comment so some meaning could have been lost. However, if this translation is at least semi-correct, then I could not help but praise more Moon Geun-Young’s acting. For even in this single viewer comment, she clearly demonstrated she can reach and touch a viewer’s honest emotions, a hallmark of excellent acting, one that is deserving both of a nomination and an award.

    • Well said ,although Goddess Of Fire did not get good ratings , actors Of GOF saved the drama ,they were all good . Acting of actor who deserve despite low ratings and there are people who have yet understood how Kdrama .You can have a good drama with a good rating but acting of actors are bland.
      So MGY deserves as well as others nominees to win ,she was great in its action in GOF especially emotions as usuel , no wonder she is nominated , can i expect a second Daesang For her LOL

    • I absolutely agree.. LOL should mean Lots Of Love for all the actors of a Goddess of Fire. Moon Geun Young and the rest of her co-stars acted so well no doubt about it.

    • At any time t, I will guess correctly that she will act out her role superbly. I watched her in Painter of the Wind, she was awesome. I have not watched GOF but I am sure that she did well. I agree with your analysis in toto.

  13. After they gave best actress award to Han Ga In last year , i`m done with MBC and their flop awards. I`m fully expecting Suzy to win this year just to make it even a bigger joke.

    • after Han Ga In last year if they are going to give suzy awards for her acting then it is the biggest joke! seriously she is not good! even while watching GFB she had improved but not there yet! to me Lee Yoo Bi stolen the show from her! beside Choi Jin Hyuk of course 😀
      that’s why I hate when idols act! they are not that good in acting! there are much better real actors out there, but in the end they took the awards! sigh~

  14. Go Hyun Jung should win the daesang, hands down. Her performance in The Queen’s Classroom was amazing and the drama was better than anything else mbc put out this year. I’m very annoyed that Lee Jun Ki wasn’t nominated considering some of the people on the list, but then again, it’s mbc, and once again their awards will be the biggest joke of the year. expecting a lot of awards to go to Empress Ki/Gu Family Book.

  15. I didn’t watch K2H so I can’t comment, but I do love Ha Ji Won, this lady is wonderful actress and beautiful. However I think the award would most likely go to Go Hyun Jung, she was amazing in The Queens classroom. I also love my Moonie, her acting is always powerful and we know she pours her heart into everything she does. Ok….I give up, all these ladies are great, I can’t decide….lol.

    More than anything, I can’t wait to see Moonie and KB walk the red Carpert together.

  16. My vote only for a very very talented actress GO HYUN JUNG unnie !!!!!

    Hope she will take home her 2nd Daesang from MBC Drama Awards after her trully deserved Dasang from QOS in 2009…

  17. Even if MGY doesn’t win, we all know, its not because her acting was bad..it was the script…because I still see a wonderful acting even with that horrible horrible unforgivable script.

  18. Ha Ji Won and Go Hyun Jung..both are amazing actresses..this is a tough call. I hope it can be split between them!! If not…I’ll give the edge to HJW…loving her in Empress Ki and most likely, the more popular drama will bag in more awards. However, only couple of episodes out for Empress Ki, this may be a disadvantage though.

  19. I’m for Ha Ji Won.I don’t care if there’s only few episodes shown of Empress Ki.She’s a very versatile actress. They ignored her in 2013 and gave the award to Han Ga In considering she’s the only Korean actress nominated for best actress at the Seoul’s award last year for her performance for K2H. Empress KI fighting.

  20. I have a good feeling that they’ll give it to Go Hyun Jung b/c she’s really the senior out of the nominations with enough hype. Unless they decide to give it to the older actress.

  21. Prove that there is a god , even if MGY does not win , she was nominated because of his acting not because of the drama , but i hope she will win a prize .

  22. why do people say ‘goddess of fire’ is no good? that is korean first female ceramics/porcelian’s life. ceramic industry is interesting. should be interested in? it is a good drama (combines with actress(excellent acting skills). LOOK AT ACTRESS’s FACE. her emotions are so amazing.ha ji won and go hyun jung are good actresses to win ‘daesang award’. BUT MOON GEUN YOUNG IS ALSO GOOD ACTRESS TO WIN THIS AWARD.

  23. Yippeee! My Moonie is on the list.

    My bet is Go Hyun Jung as the most likely candidate for MBC Daesang award. As for Moonie, her award at SBS Daesang is good enough for me.Though I do not mind her walking away best couple award with Bummie.

  24. The average rating for Queen’s Classroom was 8%. Empress Ki is now over 16%, and will likely soon break 20%. The math is easy. Also, MBC shafted HJW last year. She will win easy this year!

    • I will never understand this logic of giving best actress award to the lead of the highest rated drama. The award should be for the BEST PERFORMANCE,not for the highest viewed drama.

      If Oscars went by that logic Meryl Streep would never win an award and Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart would already have like five Oscars.

      • Well, I am not saying it is right. But we kid ourselves if we think award shows are about quality. They are about publicity for the industry: tv stations, studios, actors. That, by the way, is also the case outside of Korea, including the Oscars. Last year, for instance, Jennifer Lawrence won best actress, even though Emmanuelle Riva’s performance in “Amour” was far and away better. Just to take one example.

      • @gossipgirl Yes but Jennifer Lawrence had a great performance in SLPB, so although i agree Emmanuelle Riva should have won , i don`t think Jennifer wining was such a shock, shes been praised from all the critics since the movie came out.Plus the movie wasn`t some huge hit.

        On the other hand Han Ga In had the WORST performance of the year, looked like stoned statue trough entire drama , but still got the award just because her drama had national status. That`s my problem.

      • The only one who deserved DAESANG was Ha Ji Won and she won! Empress Ki was such an amazing drama!

      • Empress Ki was such an amazing drama! The only one who deserved DAESANG was Ha Ji Won and she won!

  25. Yup..the acting daesang is too big even for seung gi to win…and the top awards usually have a kind of curses in them which usually makes the winner unable to grow and find suitable role after winning, for example, Han Hyo Joo in Dong Yi. He took the roles of one top (lead) in GFB which is tough to do according to the GFB actors, which I think the reason he was nominated and maybe some recommendation from the PDs. On the upside, maybe after this he can move on to making movies. But I hope he can win other awards tho’, Like excellence in acting maybe,

  26. I think Ha Ji Won deserve the Daesang just like Go Hyun Jung. Her acting is impressive and she is one of the most underrated actress in Korea. I hope she wins, if she doesnt i prefer if Park Won Sook wins.

  27. ha ji won should win next year because ‘Empress ki’ is not finished yet. they should announce ‘just finished drama’. lee seoung gi for top excellent actor. moon geun young & go hyun jung for daesang.

    • Firstly, please pardon for any grammatical errors….

      The nominated drama does not necessarily has to be a ‘finished drama’ because yoo chun and yoon eun hye both won big last year when the drama i miss you is still airing halfway.

      • which was total bullshit that they won anything for that drama, especially considering how it turned out

      • ha ji won should win ‘daesang award’ for next year because ’empress ki’ is still aring. MBC should nominate award lists from finished dramas. I think that lee seoung gi should win ‘top excellent actor’. And i expect ‘daesang award’ for go hyun jung or moon geun young. that is just my opinion. So how about you? Can you understand about my grammatical?

  28. I’m all for Lee Seung Gi, he totally deserves a big big award for his work on Gu Family Book. I’m also a fan of The King 2 Hearts (masterpiece!) and found him absolutely amazing in it, so I was really sad to see that he got nothing for his performance last year. Same for Ha Ji Won… anyway they were so perfect together, I couldn’t agree more with you.
    But he also did an outstanding job on Gu Family Book. I mean it’s not just some random role that other actors have done before: there was a CREATION of character. Which is exactly what I expect from an actor. To create something that is unique, that has not been seen before. He did it. He was exciting to watch. He showed a very wide range of emotions, expressions. His acting is getting more and more refined, detailed. I loved how he took the challenge to make this comic book character into a real person, with such passion and sensitiveness. The body language was perfect too and there was action. He gave his all and he was very touching in his acting.
    Although I love Ha Ji Won too, I would find it unfair for her to win since her drama has just begun and is 50-episode long. So go, Lee Seung Gi!!!! 🙂

    • If that is the reasoning for nomination,why did they even bother placing HJW name on the list.I also find it unfair to be on the list and not winning because the drama has just began.The basis should be on how good they portray their roles not on whether the drama is finish and that the other contender can still win it next year and who says that seniority should also be the basis for winning.HJW fighting.

  29. Ha Ji Won , Go Hyung Jung and Moon Geun Young
    Hard hard to choose this 3 great actress calibrated but Moon Geun Young from a young age tacles every role with such passion and dignity … Fabulous actress ! Good luck to everyone .

    • http://news.nate.com/view/20131115n07948

      Reporter’s analysis about how this is a woman-heavy year at MBC. But internal MBC selections for Daesang are reportedly these folks. Not announced yet but this stuff is pretty legit since it’s just a network picking its biggest names of the year which is pretty obvious based on the dramas that aired.

  30. crap MBC award its not worthed it anymore it doesnt matter if my hajiwon doesnt get it she’s already a winner and please hajiwon is the most versatile actress among the nominated actresses,all genre you name it she has done it, the other senior actress maybe deserves the award due to seniority thing in the industry but talent wise hajiwon way up high with them.again its much better if hajiwon will not win at least because her reputation wont be tainted with nasty award giving buddy whose criteria for winning is so totally unjust,i just being honest here no offense meant.

    • Daesang award should be given to the the actress that legitimately deserves it.I don’t care if you’ve been in the industry for too long or that the drama has just begun. Give it to the actress that truly deserve it and in my opinion HJW should get it.

      • HJW and MGY are my fave actresses… but I go with HJW this time cause the versatile of her talent and acting is the best… though Empress Ki is just starting to air with it’s 7th episode today.. I can say that it is one of the most awaited drama of this year… even us outside of korea are very eager to watch it and crazily waits for the next episode.. well anyways it’s my opinion I hope I didn’t offend any of you…. thank you and good day…

  31. this comment is a gesture of appreciation and admiration for my first k drama blogger okolla ( since im not sure i can pm her or not)

    im a newbie for k- entertainmemt in general,i wanted to checkout k drama’s ( becz of all the hype ) and dint have a clue where to start. i tried bof and yab. i could get past 15 minut of bof ( it sucked! period! ) i was gonna give up k drama for life but i somehow endedd up in this blog, and miss O’ seemed sane and awesom so i tried her favrt drama’s. im so glad i did. i watched 49 days ( sine its the first drama on the side tags) and then KING TWO HEARTS bcz it was obvious koala couldnt get enoug of the otp and the drama itself.
    i just loved it. its my favrt drama and it introduced me to lee seung gi who i didnt know existed but now has totaly ruined my chancess of 100% loving a guy ( i mean honestly where am i gonna find a guy ho is atleast 10 lee seung gi ??

    gu family book was good compared to trash heirs and mhyd , and seungi’s ating was well balanced and kanchi is a gumiho which you wont be ambarassed to have played in 10 years time ( no overacting, no unnecery superhero tendanies , no sacrifies, and the gumiho suiting up was super duper hot!!!!)these two dramas were my highly anticipated must watc dramas but dissapointed and dipressed me like hell.so as a fan i dont think you should waste our energy on those two …….. dramas.

    thats just my personal opionion which you can disregard freely, just wanna say thanku for your effort, il forever love lee seung gi and ha ji woon and any other drama’s, actors and otp’s which is worth it only becz i found this blog

  32. and about ha ji won she was a materpeice in DAMO, She realy is a jwel, and lee seung gi in BRILLIANT LEGACY was super solid, he played the jerky reluctant cheobal to make it memorable for ever, there is a rumor seungi is gonna be in new drama in SBS to be aired next may with a costar as same age as him. hope its han hyo joo ( he said he wanted to work with her again) and hope that you will like the drama and recap it.

  33. OK ockoaka, thank you for your answer. Then it’s great for Lee Seung Gi, I’m super happy for him. His Kang Chi is unforgettable. From Shining Inheritance to Gu Family Book, his evolution as an actor has been absolutely captivating. I hope he wins. 😉

  34. I love LSG&HJW in TK2H especally the last episode for the last few minute when SG said “saranghae” then hold JW hands, it’s so natural, just love both of them

  35. what in the world can you say about Shin Se Kyung being recognized for being emotionless in WAML?!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!! it is actually SSH who has turned in a better performance this time. he is nominated but sadly, he has been sidelined.
    anyway, congratulations to all the winners!

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