5th Blue Dragon Series Awards Predictions

I thought I had already missed the Blue Dragon Series Awards, but to my surprise they're doing it a bit later this year. It will be shown on 31st July.

Again, my predictions for the 62nd Baeksang Awards were not that great, so take this with the biggest grain of salt. I'm doing my best. You can find the nominee list on Soompi.

Let me know if you agree with any of my predictions!

Best Drama category

• "Made in Korea"

• "Yumi's Cells 3"

• "You and Everything Else"

• "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier"

• "The Scarecrow"

These are all great dramas, and have such different vibes. I haven't seen "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier", but I have heard that it had great ratings in S. Korea, and they even performed on MCountdown.

It is a very strong contender with the other dramas, as it's still probably in a lot of viewers' minds.

"Made in Korea" was also very interesting and had great action scenes, as well as Hyun Bin, who we all love. However, it didn't seem to have that much hype. And I'm not sure if I just haven't seen many people talk about it, but "The Scarecrow" kind of fits here too.

It has a good story and amazing actors, but would it have all the support from the people?

"Yumi's Cells 3" had very mixed signals when it came out. A lot of people loved it, while some felt the drama was too rushed. It was a great career booster for Kim Jae Won, and a great end to Yu Mi's story; that's how I like to look at it.

While "You and Everything Else" already swept some awards, and I believe it will take this one too. The story holds well, and there are things we can discuss within it, which is a great way to imprint into people's minds.

Best Actor category

• Kim Seon Ho "Can This Love Be Translated?"

• Kim Woo Bin "Genie, Make A Wish"

• Park Ji Hoon "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier"

• Park Hae Soo "The Scarecrow"

• Hyun Bin "Made in Korea"

You cannot put great actors and make me choose one!

Kim Seon Ho was great in "Can This Love Be Translated?" he also had to speak a few foreign languages, and it must have been very hard for him. Park Ji Hoon has also shown a new side of his acting in "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier", and his comedic timing.

"Genie, Make A Wish" wouldn't have been as entertaining without Kim Woo Bin and his clumsy bad boy role.

And I don't see "Made in Korea" working without Hyun Bin. He played a smart character and did well in action scenes, not to mention that he probably had to work on his body a lot for this role.

However, I think that Park Hae Soo will be the judges' favourite. I wouldn't say it's his best role, but the drama had some emotional scenes that he did so well; the character at times can also be a bit eccentric, and with Park Hae Soo it seemed very natural.

Best Actress category

• Go Youn Jung "Can This Love Be Translated?"

• Kim Go Eun "You and Everything Else"

• Park Bo Young "Gold Land"

• Park Ji Hyun "You and Everything Else"

• Shin Hae Sun "The Art of Sarah"

Another cruel decision to make: should we give it to all of them?

I can't believe they have put Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun in the same drama, same category again! They were amazing in it, and I can't say that one was better than the other; they were both leading the drama and are strong contenders.

Park Ji Hyun is always good at making the viewers hate her character.

Watching Park Bo Young in "Gold Land" is also very interesting, as this seemingly nobody comes to crawl her way through the gangster world, wishing to have a different life. In every episode, you can see her become more tired of it but still fighting her best, finding out the hard way that she cannot trust anyone.

Shin Hae Sun was also amazing in "The Art of Sarah", and the way she portrayed all of her different lives was slightly different. It was a great and intriguing performance.

After a long deliberation, I believe Go Youn Jung will win. It might be that I'm being biased, as this was my favourite performance of hers in her dramas I've seen. The way she plays Dorami was very compelling to watch.

Best Supporting Actor category

• Yoon Kyung Ho "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier"

• Lee Kwang Soo "Gold Land"

• Lee Sang Yi "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier"

• Jung Moon Sung "The Scarecrow"

• Jin Sun Kyu "Aema"

As soon as I saw the list, I had to go with Lee Kwang Soo "Gold Land". I remember watching some scenes and thinking how good he is at what he does; you can easily see him be this gangster person, and he's done really well as a villain in the drama.

If my prediction is right, he will be winning the Best Supporting Actor award for the second year in a row!

Joon Moon Sung was great in his roles, but it didn't fully convince me; maybe that is more on the writing and narration of the drama, though. Seeing Jin Sun Kyu in "Aema" was also very interesting, as he played a trashy producer, but I believe Lee Kwang Soo has given the best performance overall.

Though I can't judge Lee San Yi and Yoon Kyung Ho much, as I haven't seen "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier".

Best Supporting Actress category

• Kwak Sun Young "The Scarecrow"

• Moon Jung Hee "Gold Land"

• Park Bo Kyung "The Art of Sarah"

• Seo Eun Soo "Made in Korea"

• Im Soo Jung "Low Life"

The least memorable for me out of all was Seo Eun Soo. I'm not saying that she was bad, but her character is not that prominent in the series. She was forgettable even with some funny moments.

It seems like Park Bo Kyung's scenes in "The Art of Sarah" have been on my for you page, so I memorised it all. It was very well acted too and added a bit of sapphic vibes to the drama.

She would be my personal pick for this award.

Even if Kwak Sun Young's character from "The Scarecrow" didn't stick with me, she had amazing chemistry with Park Hae Soo, so I kind of wish we had seen more of her story.

I'm not 100% sure about Im Soo Jung as I haven't seen "Low Life". However, she has won a Baeksang for this role, so maybe the Blue Dragon Series Award will be hers too.

Moon Jung Hee has hit every emotional scene perfectly in "Gold Land". She has been interesting to watch with an intriguing storyline, and her transformation, softening up for her daughter after all those years, has made me tear up a lot of times and reflect on some relationships.

Best New Actor category

• Kim Jae Won "Yumi's Cells 3"

• Kim Jin Wook "Low Life"

• Baek Sun Ho "If Wishes Could Kill"

• Seon Geon Hee "The Scarecrow"

• Lee Hong Nae "The Legend of Kitchen Soldier"

I can't speak much on this category, as I haven't seen most of the dramas, and I'm seeing some actors for the first time.

Seon Geon Hee deserves that award, and he's been waiting for it for a long time, so I wouldn't be surprised if he finally gets to snatch it. However, at least on my timeline, Kim Jae Won has gained a lot more popularity and fans because of "Yumi's Cells 3".

I wouldn't compare it to Byeon Woo Seok after "Lovely Runner" or Lee Chae Min after "Bon Apetit, Your Majesty", but somewhere along those lines.

Best New Actress category

• Kim Min "Low Life"

• Bang Hyo Rin "Aema"

• Seo Ji Hye "The Scarecrow"

• Arin "S LINE"

• Jeon So Young "If Wishes Could Kill"

Again, I haven't seen some of the dramas, such as "If Wishes Could Kill" and "Low Life", so I can't comment much.

Personally, I would choose Seo Ji Hye as she has been stuck in my mind since "My Perfect Stranger", but she might go unnoticed.

Bang Hyo Rin's performance was strong, and she straight away got a lead role and showcased that she's very capable of doing it well. She has also won Baeksang for this category, so I wouldn't be surprised if she gets this one too.

Best Variety Show category

• "Screwballs 4"

• "Better Late Than Single"

• "Jae Seok's B&B Rules!"

• "The White Collars 2"

• "Culinary Class Wars 2"

I only watched "Better Late Than Single", so this is the variety show I'm rooting for. It was something different and very fun to watch.

If it were the first season of "Culinary Class Wars", I would definitely say that it would win. However, I don't think the second season had as much hype, or at least as a non-watcher, I did not encounter it.

What's also on my mind is that while I haven't heard about the other three shows, one of them is hosted by Yoo Jae Seok, and his variety shows are always beloved by the public.

That is the reason I think it will win.

Best Male Entertainer category

• Kim Won Hun "SNL Korea 8"

• Shin Dong Yup "SNL Korea 8"

• Yu Jae Seok "Jae Seok's B&B Rules!"

• Lee Kwang Soo "Jae Seok's B&B Rules!"

• Joo Woo Jae "Screwballs 4"

Again, never seen any of them, but from what I've heard about SNL Korea, they get a lot of backlash, while Yu Jae Seok still stays unproblematic and beloved.