This seems like one of those rando awards ceremonies but it’s been around now for 12 years so has gained enough legitimacy that plenty of Asian film stars actually attend the Asian Film Awards. Held at the Venetian Sands in Macau, the 2018 ceremony held this weekend brought out mostly Hong Kong stars but from the K-ent contingent actress-idol Yoona represented and took home the AFA Next Generation Award. I don’t doubt Yoona is one of the next generations in K-ent but as an actress she is still very very weak. I’ve seen strength at times and definite improvement over the years, and like her hardworking ethos and solid media presence so I hope she lands projects with great mentors who can help push her to the next level.
All I know is that she has really terrible luck in projects. Her contemporary, Suzy might have worse acting skills but was able to score some hit projects by pairing up with trendy young actors. While SM gives her shitty projects like Love Rain and Prime Minister.
Nah. Both are not good but at least Suzy is improving (even a little bit) while Yoona got worst acting skills and no luck with her drama ratings except her debut k-drama almost decade ago and her Chinese drama wherein she looks like a puppet with her Chinese dubbing. Her awards are mostly because of SM and SNSD’s popularity.
Nah Yoona is still the better actress, she’s not great but her facial expressions are still more varied.
Suzy is just media play at this point, JYP was very savvy in how they built up her advertisements and then marketed her lack of acting ability as some special thing that needed the ‘right’ PD and writer to make her acting not awful, that way the blame for her acting always falls on other people, as do the low audience turnouts/drama ratings for her acting projects in the last 5 years.
It’s amazing how Suzy can land all the hot guys as her male leads and she still managed to snag the hot guys as her real life boyfriend. No wonder she has lots of haters.
So landing all the hot guys as male leads and boyfriends is an achievement now?
Is this talk about achievements? I thought it’s merely a comparison on Yoona and Suzy acting projects. Well, it might be flimsy but considering how male actors gets more glorified than actresses then yes, having hot co-stars and hot boyfriends is an achievement.
Lol yes it is an achievement, considering Suzy fans use it as something to boast about. They even come for PSH, saying she’s dating a C-list actor unlike their beloved unnie. I am sure in this case, Suzy wins since she dates two A-listers while Yoona only dated one.
Hahaha …tell us who is better than yoona?.. number of commercials and endorsement..number of awards and number of fans??????? and others If you have pass her achievements you have the right to talk,,,,still SHE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, MOST AWARDS MOST ENDORSEMENTS,MOST MAGAZINE COVERS IN KOREA.YOONA…UNLUCKY???? She is one of the riches korean actress that is why she is giving away some of her money to CHARITY…
The award was probably bought by sm
Probably, if they can buy Key East why not for simple awards.
Your comments reminds me of articles I read some years back about the KEnt industry’s major players. Them setting up a talent pool and churning out Idols akin to factories manufacturing products. The disadvantageous contracts they bind their young talents and the skewed pay schemes. There was an article (can’t remember exactly if it was NYT or The Guardian) on SM Ent and there head honcho. My take was an undertone of shady deals and ex-deals to keep the agency as one of the top in the food chain. Their roster of “talents” and stars may not have the “acting chops” but they’re among the best in playing the popularity game in packaging the images of their celebrities. I’ve been noticing in most popularity awards that SM’s stars talents have been winning these awards. It’s interesting because that popularity is not translated in the ratings (major star power reels audience in) and credibility as an artist (true talent elevates bad writing and direction) or screen presence can make a bad film enjoyable and palatable. IMO this is true in Yoona’s case as a product of a well oiled PR machinery. SM I’m sure have paid hacks on speed dial and PR hacks on their payroll to keep her “popular image” on the roll. These awards and manufactured popularity is her team’s card (her marketing value) at negotiating table for endorsements and whatnot. As many mentioned for someone so bland and someone who has not shown growth in her craft, IMO it’s a big credit to her management team that she’s still relevant in terms of her popularity. It’s a testament to her agency’s clout and power that she’s shortlisted in drama female lead roles despite her very limited acting talent and zilch screen presence.
Correction that should be PR flacks.
She’s no doubt very popular but it doesn’t reflect in her drama’s ratings.
She is popular but definitely not a good actress, at least for now. She lacks of charisma and screen presence with rather bland acting, still has a long way to go as an actress.
On seperate news, I am happy that Louis Koo finally won “Best Actor” award. It’s been a long wait for him so I would like to believe his winning is definitely deserving. I like him a lot since his TVB days, crushing on him before he got all tanned up in “Cold Blood Warm Heart”.
Yoona already got many dramas and movies in her list but the girl seems to be not improving as actress with her bland acting and lack of charisma.
BTW, I didn’t know that Louis Koo’s first award as Best Actor. I’m happy because he’s really good, I’ve been watching his past projects.
Louis Koo ever won Best Actor for drama works from TVB but never for his movie works. He branched into movies after “A Step Into The Past” in 2001 and been doing so many but rarely received nomination and never won anything until this one. So I am thrilled that he finally getting the recognition he deserves. He is a hardworking actor and I find his winning is just about time. I seldom check HK movies and dramas these days but growing up watching TVB dramas, Louis Koo certainly one very familiar name.
She’s not a good actress, but she isn’t bad either. She’s just really bland on screen.
SM also needs to pick her projects better. She doesn’t have a hit drama except for the family drama ten years ago.
Isn’t The K2 could be considered a moderate hit? She’s well-liked among general public… And knetz don’t despise her acting either. But weirdly it doesn’t reflect on her drama’s rating.
However, nowadays she seems to be doing better on movie and variety. All of her recent awards including this one are from the hit movie Confidential Assignment. And right now she’s making a huge buzz with the high-rated Hyori’s Homestay S2. I wonder if the success buff will finally translate to her upcoming drama project.
Yeah it was. But her character was written so badly she got no merit for it. I read somewhere that she was promised a meaty character prior to the project, but Anna just turned out to be a wet blanket.
Yeah honestly I think maybe she will have better luck in films. The King’s Love was quite good, but its ratings didn’t reflect that.
She also received bad criticism like other idol-actressea. But compared to Hyeri, Seolhyun, IU, Suzy, Naeun…it didn’t sensationalized nowadays because it seems that K-public are not interested in her drama projects anymore compared to her peak days. K2 did okay with 3-5% ratings in cable (tvN) but it was forgettable while King’s In Love was an utterly flop. In Confidential Assignment, she just got small screen time.
Honestly, Park Bo Gum’s popularity mostly helped in the ratings of Hyori’s show. Let’s see if we can see her in a successful projects and get awards except for just popularity awards due to SM and her group.
she only have 1 movie with less than 10 minutes scene,so doing good on movies is an exaggeration
I think to transition successfully from the small screen to film without the acting chops she needs a helluva more than just her being “popular”. Actors hustles for supporting roles or small roles in films just so they can work with great auteurs. She needs a breakout role or performance to earn credibility. There are actors/actresses who are not classically beautiful but they more than made up for it because of their ability to disappear into roles and shed their public persona. Or those that epitomises “the star” with their screen presence and are just magnetic on the big screen great.
@peach Yeah she’s so bland in The K2 that I wasn’t sure if it’s her or the character. But I really enjoyed The King Loves and Prime Minister as a whole tbh.
Yep so bland and such a non-presence in K2 that I really don’t care what happened to her “Anna”.
I enjoyed PM&I because there’s really not that much that is being asked from her role. And LBS carried the weight on the acting department IMO.
I tried watching some episodes of King’s Love but it didn’t hold my interest, enough to make me watch some more. The scenes I’ve watched. It’s Yoona in costume.
@Mameee But isn’t The King Loves rating around Suzy’s UF and Hyeri’s Two Cops too… Averaging on 7-8%. I mean, all three dramas receive similar rating and I don’t recall Yoona got the usual acting controversy. Not even in The K2.
Park Bogum appearance (starting from last week episode) did increased the rating. But even before he came, the rating already quite high and Yoona alone made many items she used on the show sold out like hot cakes… Why are you downplaying her impact on the show? lol
The King Loves averaged nearly 3% below UF, which is a pretty significant gap. Two Cops had a similar average rating, but peaked higher and hit/almost hit 10% (TMmS/Nielsen). Besides, Two Cops did get all sorts of bad press for having poor ratings.
We get so many articles about her winning X or Y award, but really feels like her acting career is basically just propped up by media play and not results at this point. Some people comment that other actresses are lucky to score popular co-stars, but maybe she’s the one that lacks the star power to get those kinds of co-stars. Her one genuinely successful drama was a literal decade ago. Even K2, the most noteworthy of her recent dramas, was very much the Song Yoon-ah show in terms of charisma and acting ability.
It says something when her most touted recent work is Confidential Assignment, and then it turns out that in reality she’s just some supporting character.
How does she rank among actresses in her age group?
She is born in 1990, same as Park Bo Young, PSH, Seo ye ji. I think her cutesy idol stage has passed, and at 27 years old, she is so much weaker in acting skill as compared to other actresses in her age group, getting this award is a joke!! I am not familiar with this Film Award, are there any other contenders in her category?
Nothing wrong with taking a small or supporting role if it’s something meaty or an actor wanting to hone his craft. Some stars even take a pay cut just to work with great directors and script writers.
But if Yoona’s role and her level of performance is nothing to write home about. Then it’s nothing but just an acting gig on her resume.
There aren’t many actresses with star power in her age group. I think she ranks below Park Boyoung and Park Shinhye. Somewhere between Kim Jiwon and Shin Sekyung?
I actually think Shin Se Kyung would be ranked above Yoona as an actress, she was a known name since her child actress days and is an acknowledged decent actress in sageuks and even the odd modern drama. Plus she has been the lead of successful dramas in recent years (Girl Who Sees Smells, Six Flying Dragons).
Good for her but what does this award mean exactly??
Haha exactly for what ground breaking performance did she revive this ??? I mean at least give name of the performance. We are giving her this award for her extraordinary performance in so and so role. Really? Once up on a time these awards were given to the performances of choi min sik,lee young ae, leebyung hyun, lee joon gi, bae doo na, han hyoo joo and so on. Do these awards really hold meaning any more? She is a decent actress but none of her performance has been a masterpiece or ground breaking
What is she wearing? Did she dress for a slumber party? Seriously, it looks like a nightgown!
its a wedding dress collection,
@Llyanne
10 minutes of screen time is enough if she’s got the chops ala Judi Dench in Shakespeare In Love or Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
BTW, anyone ID”d who she’s wearing? Why are K-stars so allergic to color? For someone who’s touted to be a fashionista she’s also bland at times in her fashion choices and red carpet style.
I’d prefer stars who gets flak for their fashion but at least they’re not afraid to take fashion risks.
i think its bride and you, same brand song hyekyo wear in her prenuptial pic, she have been wearing der dress lately
She always looks beautiful in her photos no doubt about it.?
I’ve never seen Yoona in any dramas or films but if there was one that could be recommended please yell out. I only follow Sooyoung from SNSD in her works and haven’t even seen the shows listed above for Yoona. I have to say that ‘bad acting’ for idol actors I’m probably with the minority that don’t have any complaints in that department. My issue would be with the actual story and writing to whether I watch or not. However on that note I’m waiting for the day for Jennie from Blackpink to debut in her first drama or film and then I’ll take more interest. That girl is gonna rock on screen when she does.❤️
She has so many rabid fans shielding her left and right. The truth is; her acting is weak. The only time she did seemingly well was in K2 and that was because she stayed in her own lane and was the third/fourth lead. Song Yoona was obviously the main lead. SM keeps pushing her to acting and trying hard to give her the actress image, but not only her acting is weak, she doesn’t even have the charisma and aura.
Haha. That still translates as a non-presence to me. She’s like a prop at the set. Taken out from the backdrop and put in focus when they need to remind the audience and advertisers that she’s there. Subliminal.
Exactly, she may be fine for variety and romcoms but she’s really insipid onscreen.
Yoona is very well loved in the Mandarin speaking countries. Her hard work at learning the language has really paid off. Her acting might not be stellar but she is popular so that makes her the leading contender for that award. Otherwise this award show would have gone unnoticed.
Nah it’s more of media play by SM. Well done SM.
Look at the optics and articles were bombarded about her going to a fashion show or events of top Global brands.
Unfortunately hard work does not make talent.she may become competent but I have never considered her unforgettable in any role that I have seen her in. I felt she was a weak point in K2. Just my opinion.
True dat!
I have a soft spot on her cuz she’s so cute off screen but agreed with most comments, acting is not her forte but something she can improve as she is still young.
Suzy= Yoona in my book.
I agree. Fans argue endlessly about who is better but they are honestly about the same.
Why would you think that having a BF who can act means Suzy will improve? Hyeri has Ryu Junyeol as her BF and she still sucks. Even Yoona did not improve much after dating Lee Seunggi. Lol!
@Vanca – this is just a joke! If you follow this site long enough you will know…. Hyeri sucks coz she is really bad with no chance of improvement regardless of any coach & no one really cares who she is with (never a topic of interest)…
Suzy wins by being 4 years younger. 27 vs 23 makes a big difference in the choice of roles as K-actress. Not a fan of either, but I think Suzy should have more opportunities based on her younger age… just saying….
And with Lee Dong Wook as her new boyfriend and acting coach let’s hope the acting gets better haha.
Hahaha… yeah… her coach was sooooo bad before… lol…
so many butthurt.
Kdrama had its day…with so many options available today these kdramas will continue to struggle for just half decent ratings…The industry needs to move on and look at what is the future not continue with a tired used by date past.. The industry world wide has evolved and so has the audience..just my opinion.
Are you sure Kdramas have had its day??? They actually increasing the amount of dramas they are churning out each year. It looks more like flourishing. What do you think is the next hot thing then??
This seems strange she would get this award, she is not a good actress. On what do they base their decision? She seems nice but like Suzy they just do not seem to have the talent.
The Korean industry is definitely on a decline, at least internationally. Lots of Asian viewers used to watch Korean dramas because of their high production value but over the past few years Chinese (especially, production value is ridiculously high these days in Chinese dramas), Vietnamese, Thai, etc have all increased output. Korean dramas can’t compete as they used to. The only one I can think of recently is descendants of the sun and honestly that wasn’t even very good just super hyped up because of the main cast.