The 2018 APAN Star Awards are Surprisingly Star-studded This Year

Consider me pleasantly surprising at how many stars attended the 2018 APAN Star Awards which is only on its 6th year but clearly has a savvy winner picking algorithm to have the famous faces show up. The big winner was Lee Byung Hun taking home the Daesang and Mr. Sunshine winning Best Drama but best screenplay went to Life instead. IU for Mr. Ahjusshi but Lee Seon Kyun was beaten out by Jung Hae In for Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food. Other notable winners of current It drama boys were Yang Se Jong and Jang Ki Young in the Best New Actor category, and a random award it feels like for Park Hae Jin for the Global Star Award. The red carpet was decent nothing exciting but I felt for once the attendees all looked pretty and handsome, respectfully, and two cute couples to speak of: real life married Lee Sang Woo and Kim So Yeon and upcoming drama costars tried out their visuals for the audience with Kim Yoo Jung and Yoon Kyun Sang in Clean With Passion For Now.

2018 APAN Star Award Winners:

Daesang: Lee Byung Hun (“Mr. Sunshine”)

Best Drama: Mr. Sunshine

Best Screenwriter: Lee Soo Yeon (“Life”)

Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Short Drama: Park Seo Joon (“What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim”)

Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Short Drama: IU (“My Ahjussi”)

Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Long Drama: Lee Sang Woo (Marry Me Now”)

Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Long Drama: Shin Hye Sun (“My Golden Life”)

Excellence Award, Actor in a Short Drama: Jung Hae In (“Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food”)

Excellence Award, Actress in a Short Drama: Go Ah Sung (“Life on Mars”)

Excellence Award, Actor in Long Drama: Jang Seung Go (“Money Flower”)

Excellence Award, Actress in Long Drama: Jo Boa (“Goodbye to Goodbye”)

Best New Actor: Jang Ki Yong (“My Ahjusshi”), Yang Se Jong (“Temperature of Love”)

Best New Actress: Kim Tae Ri (“Mr. Sunshine”), Won Jin Ah (“Just Between Lovers”)

Best Supporting Actor: Yoo Jae Myung (“Life”), Park Ho San (“Prison Playbook”)

Best Supporting Actress: Jang So Yeon (“Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food”), Kim Min Jung (“Mr. Sunshine”)

K-Star Award (Most Popular): Park Min Young (“What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim”), Jung Hae In (“Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food”)

Global Star Award: Park Hae Jin


Comments

The 2018 APAN Star Awards are Surprisingly Star-studded This Year — 30 Comments

  1. Correction: Lee Seon Kyun lost to Lee Byung Hyun in the Daesang category. I watched both dramas and think LSK should have won. Guy is forever overlooked.

    • Does LSK attend these awards ceremony? I sometimes feel that they send out feelers of possible winner/s and ascertain if they are coming, and if not, they move on to the next name. And also, the agency behind the actor.

      • I think it’s the other way around. The winners get notified before the show, and so they show up while most of the rest stay home. At least that’s the only explanation that makes sense to me. This may not be true for the more prestigious awards.

  2. Life is good but best script writer? Hmm… I think Mr sunshine writer nim deserved more. But well, no yys? Dongmae? No kyungho life on mars? But at least, this one is more acceptable than the previous award show who gave the award to changsung etc lols

    • I don’t think CS should win in the other award show…. but what do you think about LBH and JHI? These awards are totally bought by the networks… JHI over LSK?? JHI??? Geez… I am glad IU is finally recognized as an actress.

      • I think, someone else deserves daesang more than LBH, the same goes to Kim Tae Ri.

        While for JHI hahahahahaha… Ya ya ya.. He got an award last year and got again now.. JKH, JSW (life), Jisung or Jang Hyuk deserves it more (if only they got nominated). Park seo joon? Hahaha… Aigooo… They should change the title to what’s wrong with President director, instead of secretary lmao

  3. Congratulations to everyone that won however it’s bittersweet knowing certain ‘actors’ missed the cut in nominations whilst others were overlooked entirely. I’m on the fence wondering who; why etc…etc… Anyway on to the Seoul Awards and I guess we can wait and see what happens there.

  4. The only decent word I ca describe of this awards is CRAPPPPPP. How the hell does My Ajusshi and Lee Seon Kyun not getting any recognition? Are the judges even credible or maybe they are encompassing of the blinds.

      • I agree, he was the star. Everyone seems to go GAGA over IU’s performance (and she did a phenomenal job), but LSK was NOT nothing!! He was the one doing much of the heavy lifting. Romance, platonic love, brotherly love, filial love, violence, insecurities, and everything in between he did them all, and he had very strong chemistry with every other character!

      • @KS IU and LSK were nominated for different categories. She was nominated for top excellence and LSK was nominated for daesang/ grand prize which lbh won. If you want to blame then blame the ppl behind the award show. IU and her fans are very grateful for lsk. She thanked him on her acceptance speech and said he was her best onscreen partner. Most of her fans love him and think he deserves the daesang for his amazing performance in MA.

      • @Hannah, the moment I posted my message I realized that it could be taken the wrong way. Sorry about that. Of course I knew they were nominated for different categories, and I am very happy for IU’s win. I am very taken with her graciousness and beauty actually. 🙂 I guess my misgivings stem from the facts that I have seen too many things written about My Ajusshi that give bigger focus to IU’s role than LSK’s, and that LSK is just very often overlooked.

  5. JKH was in life on mars and prison playbook but still lost. He’s not even nominated for the Seoul Drama Awards, which is just tragic.

    JKH is seriously overlooked. I dont know if he have a chance to win anything for his awesomeness in LoM and PP.

    I hope his future dramas hit daebak and he swipes all sorts of awards.

    But i’m still sad he isnt getting deserving recognition for LoM. IMO, he acted his heart out, viewers were able to feel his confusion and weariness but he managed to stay likeable and have people root for his character.

    • Agree wholeheartedly with JKH missing out just sucks big time and Jang Hyuk as well. I’m weary when awards nominations are announced and it’s not a case of sour grapes it’s more that the talented superlative actors that deserve a nod are always overlooked. Is it connections and money or an agency with clout that can hustle up a win? School me please…because how can JHI win over LSK and ‘Life’ get best screenplay over ‘Mr Sunshine’. I wish these awards were more transparent as to how the voting and judging is done cos it sure smacks and smells of giant arse nepotism. On and Junho didn’t get nominated for ‘Just between lovers’ and I could go on and on addressing the white elephant in the room but excuse me I’m going to go listen to crickets chirping.

      • JHI was in a different category than LSK. LSK was up for the daesang, JHI was for the excellence award.

        I also wonder what goes around behind these awards. Is lobbying required? Is a big agency needed? I’m sad that performance is overlooked with popularity. Huhuhu

        On another note, I’m glad that Go Ah Sung won for life on mars. But i was kinda shocked because she was up against PMY and Jang Nara. I personally think JN was superb in Go Back Spouses. That drama has so much feelllsss.

        It also made me wonder how JKH is nkt nominated for best actor in Seoul Awards, but GAS is nominated for best actress. Clearly JKH carried LoM on his shoulders. I wonder what are the criterias for award nominations huhuhu

      • Jung Kyung Ho, Lee Sun Kyun, and Junho deserve more recognition acting-wise than Park Seo Joon or Jung Hae In. I hv nothing against the latter, but the former three gave out impressive performances and carrying more than half of their dramas on their shoulders, unlike PSJ with PMY and JHI with SYJ. Just my observation.

        Oh, and LSK over LBH by one cm. Clooose, but more. That man can conveys so many feelings just with a single heavy breath on wiretapped phone.

      • I’m fuming that Lee Sang Woo got one over Jang Hyuk???? I’ve watched both ‘Marry me now’ and ‘Money Flower’ and I know for sure these awards are so rigged. Seriously how could this happen? There was no competition whatsoever; JH was far more superior in his role and outstanding in his delivery. Gosh why am I even bothering to be bothered? Never will I ever understand the machinations of these awards ceremony.

      • Creating chemistry with your actresses is part of the job too. PSJ and JHI has great partners, but it’s wrong to dismiss their hard work. Especially on the part of PSJ. Who keeps delivering stable and great performance from drama to drama. He deserves all his acting awards just like any other actors. Guy turned people who thought he is totally wrong for the role into admires of his natural way of delivering cringe dialogues. From comedy to serious acting he showed it all in WWWSK.

      • @underthesun Yes creating chemistry is mandatory and that’s a given but being an emotional train wreck and delivering on your performance gives you more kudos then relying on your co star to bounce off gives you more credibility as an actor. PSJ and JHI do work hard but that shouldn’t be at the cost of another fine actor who is merely overlooked because they’re not ‘star’ enough when dishing out these awards. On another note of course IU would acknowledge LSK as her best acting partner to date like all the comments here he was the ‘it’ factor in that drama and he made her shine and rightfully so it takes 2 to tango.

      • You’re saying it like someone gave them that “star” power without any work on their part. The fact that their dramas became so popular and they gained recognition is all due to their performances, likability and ablility to engage audience with their performances. No amount of PMY and SYJ being fine actresses on their own would save couple or drama if PSY and JHI couldn’t be there with them on the same page in term of performance as actors. Just how it’s wrong to overlook someone at the same page it’s equally wrong to dismiss another hard working and fine actors just because they could shine a bit more.

      • Yes I am saying that and I’ll stand 110% behind that claim. The awards are biased and we all know that. Even the comments here are bent towards that ideal. Pretty boy faces and pretty boy actin an only get you so far but coupled with the financial means and an ruthless agency you will go far.

      • The thing is, even with agencies behind them not every “pretty face” makes it out there. You need to have “it” factor and be a hard worker to catch an attention. I would agree with you, if some weak ass pretty boy won over JKH. But that’s not the case. We’re talking about an obviously talented guy, who delivered great performance. And to add to all of that, I want to remind you, that there is ton of the beautiful guys, that falling completely unnoticed by mainstream audience. And JKH is not some “not mainstream” face. Considering, that people in SK don’t qualify PSJ as “pretty boy” or even “handsome face” they’re on the same level. One just being senior and stepping into “serious roles” zone with age. That’s pretty much it.

      • Defending PSJ and JHI win is admirable and they may be the current ‘it’ hits over in SK but that isn’t going to change the fact that they both are mediocre in their acting and that they have the financial backing to secure themselves around awards time. Everyone works hard and everyone deserves the recognition but those 2 are exceptional because they are able to laud it over better and more talented actors that leave the rest of us scratching our heads and wasting sleep over wondering why? How did that happen? Acting is like fine wine it takes time to mature as we have seen with range performed by the elite actors such as LSK and Jang Hyuk; PSJ and JHI are still at grape juice.

  6. Thank God JHI did not stand in the centre of winners group photo and create a controversy. Haha!! But I cannot see him in the group pic posted above at all.
    I miss LSK. He is my choice of deasang too.

    • I think you are JHI hater… It happens because he was new to awards ceremony & he get nervous, can you people be kinder and forgiven.. How long are you people keep this STUFF go on. Get over it. JHI is a great new actor … He is going to be successful and have many more good things happen to him. Please, people be kind to actors & actresses that not your idols.. If you don’t like them then don’t watch them.

      • I like jhi and he is a decent actor but for me, yys is more deserving in that category. If ever they need jhi to win and others tied in the same category, i may inderstand if yys and jhi won, but it was not the case. Also jkh’ perf is better than psj but the latter won. Though am satisfied with the results overall, i still feel that there are other actors who are far more deserving than the winners.

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