We Dem Boyz of 'Like Jennie' wins top honor at 2025 Choreo Awards

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We Dem Boyz of 'Like Jennie' wins top honor at 2025 Choreo Awards

Published: 25 Jan. 2026, 16:04 Updated: 25 Jan. 2026, 21:34

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The Korea Choreography Copyright Association (KCCA) hosted the 2025 Choreo Awards at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Jan. 24. [KCCA]

We Dem Boyz, the dance crew behind Jennie’s solo track “Like Jennie” (2025), emerged as the biggest winner at the 2025 Choreo Awards, taking home the ceremony’s top honor alongside the Best K-pop Choreography of the Year prize.

The crew, known for placing second in Mnet’s dance competition program “Street Man Fighter” (2022), was recognized for crafting the charismatic choreography that completed the song’s iconic performance, cementing its place in the year’s most memorable K-pop stages.

“It’s amazing to see people who are carving out their own path and place in their own style,” said Ingyoo of We Dem Boyz during the annual awards ceremony held at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Saturday.

Dance crew We Dem Boyz poses for a photo during a red carpet event ahead of the 2025 Choreo Awards hosted by the Korea Choreography Copyright Association (KCCA) held at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Jan. 24. [KCCA]

“We will also continue to create our own culture in our own way, so let’s create K-culture together,” he added.

Hosted by the Korea Choreography Copyright Association (KCCA) and jointly organized by Danstruct, Grigo Entertainment and 1Million Dance Studio, the 2025 Choreo Awards marked its second edition following its inaugural ceremony last year.

Jennie performs during her solo concert, "The Ruby Experience," at the Inspire Arena in Incheon on March 15, 2025. [RIZZ COMM]

The annual event was established to spotlight choreographers — who play an integral part in the visual-driven K-pop industry, yet often work behind the scenes without much recognition — while also raising awareness of choreography as protected creative work.

“While there are many award ceremonies recognizing other forms of content such as films and television, there are very few dedicated to choreography, not only in Korea but also globally,” KCCA Chairwoman and 1Million Dance Studio founder Lia Kim told the Korea JoongAng Daily ahead of the ceremony.

“Choreographers have limited opportunities to receive recognition for their work and often do not receive proper credit for their creative contributions in the media,” said Kim. “So this event is particularly meaningful in the sense that it brings people together interested in dance, culture, copyright and K-content.”

.Lia Kim, founder of 1Million Dance Studio [PARK SANG-MOON]

The night’s top honor, the Choreographer of the Year, went to We Dem Boyz, which prevailed over nominees Baby Zoo, Choi Young-jun — also known as Tamzin — Lachica, The Bips and Nain.

We Dem Boyz’s Vata and Ingyoo also won the main prize in the Best K-pop Choreography of the Year category for “Like Jennie” with choreographer Silverspoon. The special award in the category went to G-Dragon’s “Too Bad” (2025), created by Rie Hata, Deukie, Dony and Renan.

In the K-pop Choreography Discovery category, which recognizes newly emerged K-pop dance performers and choreographers, the award went to “Soda Pop” from Netflix's “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025).

The Saja Boys from Netflix's ″KPop Demon Hunters″ (2025)

The Dance Challenge of the Year went to French dancer Kany, whose hangul-learning clip from a YouTube video became an online challenge that went viral on social media.

Locker Zee and Jin won the Best Dancer of the Year awards in the female and male categories, respectively. The Dance Star awards, fully determined by online fan votes, went to dancer Kyoka of Osaka Ojo Gang.

Studio Choom won the Dance Impact award, recognized for the YouTube channel’s innovative contribution to the dance scene. In the Best Dance Performance category, “Show” (2025) by Team Nuts won the main prize, and “2025 Diver” by dance crew Diver of Sejong University’s Center for Future Education won the special prize.

This year’s Choreo Awards signaled a notable expansion in scale and ambition. While the inaugural event took place at 1Million Dance Studio, the 2025 edition moved to a larger concert venue and opened ticket sales to the public.

Dance crew Bebe poses for a photo during a red carpet event ahead of the 2025 Choreo Awards hosted by the Korea Choreography Copyright Association (KCCA) held at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Jan. 24. [KCCA]

The stage lineup also broadened to include some of the most prominent names in Korea’s dance scene. Dance crews such as We Dem Boyz, Bebe and 1Million took to the stage for celebratory performances as well as dancers Aiki and Ki Moo-gan.

K-pop acts AtHeart and ifeye joined the occasion as well, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between idol performances and the choreographers who help shape them.

“We aimed to promote awareness of choreography copyrights not only within the dance community but also toward the public as well,” said Yoon Hye-rin, dancer and co-CEO of Danstruct, one of the co-organizers of the event. “That’s why we expanded this event, which took place in a smaller scale in a private setting last year, into a concert.”

KCCA, launched in April 2024, aims to strengthen protections for choreography by advocating for the proper crediting of choreographers in K-pop performances, as well as for greater recognition of choreographers’ ownership of their work.

Dance crew Lachica poses for a photo during a red carpet event ahead of the 2025 Choreo Awards hosted by the Korea Choreography Copyright Association (KCCA) held at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Jan. 24. [KCCA]

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]