At the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards, held on May 7 at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the luminaries of South Korea’s popular culture and arts industry gathered for a night of celebration and recognition. The competition was especially fierce this year, with an impressive array of works nominated.
Despite the high level of anticipation, a post titled “5 Unfortunate Works with No Awards at the Baeksang Arts Awards” quickly gained traction on the online community “Theqoo” on the same day, resonating with many who shared their disappointment.
Among the works that did not clinch any awards were “Concrete Utopia”, Coupang Play’s “Boyhood”, Netflix’s “Daily Dose of Sunshine”, JTBC’s “The Good Bad Mother”, and JTBC’s “Doctor Cha”. Notably, Um Jung-hwa, the lead actress of “Doctor Cha”, was in the running for Best Actress in the TV category but missed out, with Honey Lee (Knight Flower) taking the prize.
Doctor Cha, Promising but not enough to receive an Award? Netizens shocked
“Doctor Cha” had enjoyed immense popularity last year, praised for its vibrant characters and gripping storyline. It attracted significant attention and high viewership ratings, ranking first in popularity, with Um Jung-hwa and Kim Byung-chul holding the top two spots in the weekly popularity rankings for five consecutive weeks. The drama concluded on a high note, achieving an impressive 18.5% rating for its final episode.
Fans of the community Theqoo, who had high hopes for the awards, expressed their disappointment with comments such as, “It’s really disappointing for ‘Doctor Cha’…,” “Wow, ‘Doctor Cha’ had a good response too,” “It’s really unfortunate timing for ‘Doctor Cha’,” “They should have recognized ‘Doctor Cha’ a bit more, seriously,” “It’s really unfortunate for ‘Doctor Cha’… I wished Um Jung-hwa would win,” “It’s a really well-made drama,” “It had good ratings too, what a waste,” and so on.
Despite its critical acclaim and popularity, “Doctor Cha” left the Baeksang Arts Awards empty-handed, much to the dismay of its fans and supporters.
