# 16th Seoul International Drama Awards

The 16th Annual Seoul International Drama Awards (Korean: 제16회 서울 드라마 어워즈) festival was held on 20–22 October 2021 at MBC Hall, Sangam-dong, Seoul. 238 works from 41 countries vied for awards in this edition.
The awards ceremony took place online on 21 October without spectators and non-face-to-face, hosted by Park Eun-bin and Astro member Cha Eun-woo. It was broadcast live through MBC and YouTube channel.
Those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and some of the winners from home and abroad attended this year's awards ceremony as per safety rules for COVID-19.

## Juries

International competition :
| Program category | Grand Prize | |
| Program category | Best TV Movie | Up to 2 awards for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Program category | Best Mini Series | Up to 2 awards for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Program category | Best Serial Drama | Up to 2 awards for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Individual category | Best Director | 1 award for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Individual category | Best Screenwriter | 1 award for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Individual category | Best Actor | 1 award for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Individual category | Best Actress | 1 award for each category through preliminary and final selection. |
| Jury's Special Prize | Jury's Special Prize | Up to 3 awards selected by the organizing committee among recommendations by the jury. |
International Invitation :
| Individual category | Outstanding Asian Star | Up to 5 popular actor and actress from Asian countries. |
Korean (Hallyu) Drama :
| Program category | Outstanding Korean Drama | Up to 3 Korean dramas that contributed to the development of the Korean Wave. |
| Individual category | Outstanding Korean Actor | 2 people by male and female among actors who appeared in a Korean drama. |
| Individual category | Outstanding Korean Actress | 2 people by male and female among actors who appeared in a Korean drama. |
| Individual category | Outstanding Korean OST | 1 person who sang a soundtrack in a Korean drama. |

### Final selection

These are the juries who selected the program and individual to win each category.
* Ko Suk-man (South Korea), former President of Educational Broadcasting System
* Sohn Byung-woo (South Korea), Professor of Department of Communication, Chungnam National University
* Akiko Amy Kanda (Japan), Producer of TV Asahi Scripted Production Department
* Magdalene Ew (Singapore), Head of Content – WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific
* Isabelle Degeorges (France), Gaumont Television director
* Ana Carolina Lima (Brazil), Globoplay Head of Content
* You Xiao Gang (China), Chairman of China Television Drama Production Industry Association

### Preliminary screening

These are the juries who selected the program and individual to qualify for the final selection.
* Rebecca Chiyoko King-O'Riain (Ireland), Associate Professor in Department of Sociology Maynooth University
* Tan Wei Lin (Singapore), vice-president of English drama production – MediaCorp
* Stephen Corvini (Australia), Live Wires Productions founder/executive producer
* Jason Bechervaise (U.K.), Film critic/Professor of Soongsil Cyber University

#### South Korea

* Noh Kwang-woo, columnist/Professor in School of Media and Communication at Korea University
* Sunny Ko, Professor of Seoul Institute of the Arts
* Gong Hee-jeong, critic
* Jung Duk-hyun, critic
* Katharine Kim, CEO of Eastwave Studio
* Lee Hun-yul, Professor of School of Media and Communication at Korea University
* Kim Seon-young, critic
* Hong Seok-woo, executive producer in Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Drama Department

## Winners and nominees

The nominations for the 16th Seoul International Drama Awards were announced on September 10, 2021. Winners are listed first and denoted in bold.
Source:

### Program

* "Golden Bird Prize" recipients are indicated with a double dagger (‡)
* "Silver Bird Prize" recipients are indicated with a dagger (†)
Program :
| Grand Prize (Daesang) Missing Child (South Korea) | Best Serial Drama The Penthouse: War in Life (South Korea)‡ Go Ahead (China)† Ana's Revenge (Colombia) The Long Ballad (China) Legacy [tr] (Turkey) The Pit season 4 (Turkey) Monarch Industry (China) The Red Room [tr] (Turkey) |
| Best Mini-Series The Investigation (Denmark)‡ The Bad Kids (China)† 30 Coins (Spain) Dark Woods (Germany) Das Boot season 2 (Germany) It's a Sin (U.K.) Redlight (Netherlands) The Great (U.S.) We Children from Bahnhof Zoo (Germany) | Best TV Movie Federica Montseny, the Woman Who Speaks (Spain)‡ This House Is Mine (Germany)† A Bad Word (Germany) Grooming (Argentina) Honour (U.K.) Missing Child (South Korea) SF8: "Joan's Galaxy" (South Korea) The Child of Light (Taiwan) |
| Best Short-form Drama Passengers (Russia)‡ Delete Me (Norway)† Blackout (Thailand) Hanging On (South Korea) Dramaworld season 2 (U.S.) No, Thank You (South Korea) Standing Drama – The Play (South Korea) Teaching from Home (Germany) | Jury's Special Prize Bonus Vacation (Malaysia) Atlantic Crossing (Norway) The Pit season 4 (Turkey) |

### Individual

Individual :
| Best Actor Park Hyuk-kwon – Missing Child (South Korea) Kirill Käro – Passengers (Norway) Jung Yoon-seok – Strange School Tales: "The Child Who Would Not Come" (South Korea) Samuel Benito [de] – A Bad Word [de] (Germany) Eduard Fernández – 30 Coins (Spain) Søren Malling – The Investigation (Denmark) Bai Jingting – You Are My Hero (China) Huang Xiaoming – Game Changer (China) | Best Actress Elle Fanning – The Great (U.S.) Park Ha-sun – No, Thank You (South Korea) Thea Sofie Loch Næss – Delete Me (Norway) Iris Berben – This House Is Mine (Germany) Isabelle Gélinas – Fourniret the Showdown (France) Rosalie Thomass – Jackpot [de] (Germany) Carice van Houten – Redlight (Netherlands) Dilraba Dilmurat – The Long Ballad (China) Kim So-yeon – The Penthouse: War in Life (South Korea) |
| Best Director Cho Yong-won – Missing Child (South Korea) | Best Writer Russell T Davies – It's a Sin (U.K.) |

### Outstanding Korean Drama

Hallyu :
| Top Excellence Award | Vincenzo |
| Excellence Award | Start-UpTaxi DriverKairos |
| Best Actor | Song Joong-ki (Vincenzo) |
| Best Actress | Bae Suzy (Start-Up) |
| Best Original Soundtrack (OST) | Young Tak – "Okay" (Revolutionary Sisters) |

## Special performances

Order of the presentation, name of the artist, and the song(s) they performed :
| Order | Artist | Performed |
| 1 | Jinjo Crew | "Soul of SEOUL" |
| 2 | Young Tak | "Kkondae Latte" (Kkondae Intern OST) |
| 2 | Young Tak | "Okay" (Revolutionary Sisters OST) |
| 3 | Big Naughty | "Kwaejina Ching Ching Nane (Daegu)" |
| 4 | AB6IX | "Cherry" |