46th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2025 Nominations: Hyun Bin & Son Ye-jin Lead Best Actor and Actress Race

The 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards, one of South Korea’s most prestigious film ceremonies, has announced its full list of nominations. Among the high-profile contenders, real-life couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin both secured Best Actor and Best Actress nominations, drawing strong attention. Park Chan-wook’s film “It Can’t Be Helped” leads the pack with 12 nominations, while “Face,” “My Daughter Turned into a Zombie,” “Pagua,” and “Harbin” also emerge as major contenders across multiple categories.

Eligible films for this year’s awards are feature-length Korean releases from the 2024–2025 season. From October 1 to 19, a panel of industry experts and a first-round online vote were used to finalize nominees across 15 competitive categories, excluding the Top Audience Choice and Cheongjeongwon Popular Star Awards. Final winners will be determined by a combination of expert jury scores and public voting conducted via the CelebChamp mobile platform starting October 21, with the online vote carrying the same weight as a single jury member’s ballot.

The 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony will take place on the evening of November 19 at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, with actors Han Ji-min and Lee Je-hoon returning as co-hosts. KBS2 will broadcast the event live. The ceremony will gather the year’s most acclaimed filmmakers and performers, serving as a key barometer for trends and achievements in contemporary Korean cinema.

The Best Picture race features five titles: “It Can’t Be Helped,” “Face,” “My Daughter Turned into a Zombie,” “Pagua,” and “Harbin.” “It Can’t Be Helped” secured 12 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, leading acting, and technical categories, positioning it as this year’s frontrunner. “Face” follows with 10 nominations, “Harbin” with 8, while “My Daughter Turned into a Zombie” and “Hi.5” each garnered 6, highlighting a field that balances commercial appeal and auteur-driven storytelling.

In the Best Director category, nominees include Min Kyu-dong (“Pagua”), Park Chan-wook (“It Can’t Be Helped”), Yeon Sang-ho (“Face”), Woo Min-ho (“Harbin”), and Pil Gam-seong (“My Daughter Turned into a Zombie”). The Best New Director lineup spotlights emerging voices such as Kim Min-ha (“Ameba Girls and the School Ghost Story: Founding Anniversary”), Kim Su-jin (“Noise”), Kim Hye-young (“It’s Okay, It’s Okay, It’s Okay!”), Park Joon-ho (“3670”), and Jang Byung-ki (“After Summer”), underlining the breadth of themes and storytelling approaches in recent Korean cinema.

For Best Actor, the nominees are Park Jung-min (“Face”), Sol Kyung-gu (“Ordinary Family”), Lee Byung-hun (“It Can’t Be Helped”), Jo Jung-suk (“My Daughter Turned into a Zombie”), and Hyun Bin (“Harbin”). Spanning family dramas, thrillers, historical action films, and genre hybrids, the category showcases the range and versatility of leading male performances in Korean cinema this year.

In the Best Actress race, nominees include Son Ye-jin (“It Can’t Be Helped”), Song Hye-kyo (“The Black Nuns”), Lee Jae-in (“Hi.5”), Lee Hye-young (“Pagua”), and Im Yoon-ah (“The Devil Has Moved In”). From veteran actresses to idol-turned-actors delivering notable big-screen performances, these contenders cover suspense, horror, fantastical youth narratives, and family dramas, illustrating a cross-generational and cross-genre competition.

Supporting and newcomer categories also feature robust lineups. Best Supporting Actor nominees are Kwon Hae-hyo (“Face”), Kim Sung-cheol (“Pagua”), Park Jung-min (“Harbin”), Yoon Kyung-ho (“My Daughter Turned into a Zombie”), and Lee Sung-min (“It Can’t Be Helped”). Best Supporting Actress contenders include Park Ji-hyun (“Hidden Face”), Shin Hyun-been (“Face”), Yum Hye-ran (“It Can’t Be Helped”), Lee Jung-eun (“My Daughter Turned into a Zombie”), and Jeon Yeo-been (“The Black Nuns”). The Best New Actor category is contested by Park Jinyoung (“Hi.5”), Ahn Bo-hyun (“The Devil Has Moved In”), Ahn Hyo-seop (“Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint”), Jung Sung-il (“War and Chaos”), and Cho Yoo-hyun (“3670”), while Best New Actress nominees include Kim Do-yeon (“Ameba Girls and the School Ghost Story: Founding Anniversary”), Kim Min-ju and Roh Yoon-seo (“You Are My Voice”), Lee Sun-bin (“Noise”), and Hong Ye-ji (“Ordinary Family”), bringing fresh energy to this year’s awards.

Technical and craft categories — including cinematography and lighting, screenplay, music, art direction, editing, and overall technical achievement — are shared across a wide spread of titles. Nominations for the Technical Award cover sound, costume design, makeup, visual effects, and stunt coordination, reflecting the ongoing elevation of production standards in both genre cinema and auteur-driven projects.

With the full nominations for the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards now revealed, this year’s lineup spans box office hits and critical favorites, veteran stars and emerging talents. The list underscores Korean cinema’s sustained global presence and its increasingly diverse range of stories and perspectives. The final winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on November 19 at KBS Hall in Yeouido.