Baeksang Nominees Announced: Park Bo-gum and IU Hot Favorites for Best Actor and Actress; Hyun Bin and Song Hye-kyo Compete for Best Film Actor and Actress

The 61st Baeksang Arts Awards in Korea will hold its awards ceremony on May 5, with the nominations announced early on the 7th. The popular drama "The End Comes to Meet You," starring Park Bo-gum and IU, leads with 8 nominations including Best Drama, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress, and Best New Actress. Park Bo-gum will compete for Best Actor against Byeon Woo-seok from "Running with Sunjae on My Back," Ju Ji-hoon from "Trauma Care Center," Lee Joon-hyuk from "Good or Bad Dong-jae," and Han Suk-kyu from "Such Intimate Betrayers." For Best Actress, IU's strong competitors include Jang Na-ra from "Good Partners," Go Min-si from "Silent Frog Song," Kim Tae-ri from "Year," and Kim Hye-yoon from "Running with Sunjae on My Back."

This year, the Baeksang "TV Division" has been officially renamed to "Broadcasting Division," expanding its examination scope from three national terrestrial channels to cable, comprehensive channels, OTT, and more. In the male outstanding performance category, the Best Drama section includes the popularly discussed dramas "The End Comes to Meet You," "Running with Sunjae on My Back," and "Trauma Care Center." Additionally, the historical drama "Lady Ok's Legend" breaks through to compete for the grand prize alongside "Such Intimate Betrayers."

In the film department, the candidates for Best Actor include Hyun Bin from "Harbin," Lee Byung-hun from "Chess Ultimate Battle," Yoon Joo-sang from "Seagull of the Morning Sea," Jo Jung-suk from "Captain Transformer," and Lee Hee-jun from "Searching Haunted House." Candidates for Best Actress include Kim Go-eun from "The Man in Hee's, Friend," Song Hye-kyo from "The Priests 2: Dark Nun," Jeon Do-yeon from "Revolver," Kim Keum-soon from "Private Betrayal," and Cho Yeo-jeong from "Mirror." Additionally, Jung Hae-in and Lim Ji-yeon have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Actress for "Hot Cop 2" and "Revolver," respectively, while Hyeri is nominated for Best New Actress with "FIGHTING! Girls."