Park Chan-wook's satirical thriller "No Other Choice" swept the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards on Wednesday night, taking home the coveted best picture award along with three other major honors at South Korea's most prestigious film ceremony. The Venice-premiered film dominated the evening's proceedings at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, securing victories in four categories including best director and best actress.
The film entered the competition as the frontrunner with a field-leading 12 nominations and delivered on expectations by claiming the night's top prizes. Park Chan-wook earned his fourth best director trophy, making him the only filmmaker in Blue Dragon Awards history to achieve this milestone four times. Due to his absence from the ceremony, supporting actor winner Lee Sung-min accepted the award on Park's behalf and delivered the acceptance speech.
In a groundbreaking moment for the awards ceremony, married couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin made history by becoming the first spouses to win both lead acting categories in the same year. Son Ye-jin claimed the best actress award for her performance in "No Other Choice," starring alongside Lee Byung-hun in the critically acclaimed thriller. Meanwhile, her husband Hyun Bin secured the best actor prize for his role in the period drama "Harbin," marking an unprecedented achievement for the celebrity couple.
"No Other Choice" continued its winning streak with Lee Sung-min taking home the best supporting actor award, bringing the film's total to four victories for the evening. In other major categories, Park Ji-hyun earned recognition as best supporting actress for her work in the thriller "Hidden Face," which achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first R-rated Korean film to surpass 1 million admissions at the domestic box office since 2019.
The ceremony also celebrated emerging talent in the industry, with Kim Hye-young winning the best new director award for "It's Okay!" The best new actor and actress honors went to Ahn Bo-hyun and Kim Do-yeon, respectively, recognizing their breakthrough performances and promising futures in Korean cinema.
The Blue Dragon Film Awards hold a distinguished place in South Korea's entertainment industry, standing alongside the Daejong Film Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards as one of the country's three most important film honors. The awards ceremony has a rich history, originally running from 1963 to 1973 before resuming in 1990 and continuing to celebrate excellence in Korean filmmaking.
The live broadcast ceremony on KBS2TV featured winners selected through a comprehensive process that combined expert panel voting with online audience participation. The voting process took place over several weeks between October and November, ensuring both professional expertise and public opinion were represented in the final results.
