Busan hosts Asia Content Awards

The first Asia Contents Awards (ASA) ceremony was hosted at Sohyang Theater in Busan on Sunday evening.

The event was co-hosted by the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and the Asian Film Market (AFM) to acknowledge talented actors from television drama series produced over the past five years.

The nine awards were: Best Creative, Best Asian Drama, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Writer, Best Rising Star, New Corner, Lifetime Achievement Award and Excellence Award.

Local talents that took home the prizes include actor Kim Nam-gil, who received the Best Actor award for his performance in SBS drama “The Fiery Priest” this year. The actor has received a total of five awards for his role in the drama, including Outstanding Korean Actor and Excellent Korean Drama at the 14th Seoul International Drama Awards and Best Actor and Best Short or Mid-Length Drama at the 46th Korean Broadcasting Awards.

“I didn’t put that much significance into receiving so many prizes at first for ‘The Fiery Priest,’” the actor said at the ASA ceremony. “But I’m so happy to keep on receiving credit for the drama. I dedicate this award to the crew for our outstanding teamwork.”

Singer and actor Kim Jae-joong received the Excellence Award for his active career on stage and screen in Korea, China and Japan. Producer Kim Yong-kyu of the production company Studio Dragon received the Best Creative award for his drama series “Mr. Sunshine” (2018). Also, one of the Best Writer awards went to scriptwriter Park Hae-young for her work on tvN drama “My Mister” (2018).

By Lee Jae-lim