The Seoul International Drama Awards honor a career spanning Korean broadcast hits and global streaming dramas
By Jung Han | K-EnterTech Hub
Kim Eun-sook, the screenwriter behind The Glory, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God and Descendants of the Sun, has been named the first writer to receive the Golden Bird Award, the highest honor of the Seoul International Drama Awards. Her selection puts the craft of screenwriting in the spotlight after three years in which the award went to an actor and two directors.
The organizing committee announced the selection on Sep 29, 2026. Kim is due to receive the award at the 21st edition of the ceremony at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on Oct 8, 2026. The recipient has been announced; the presentation is still to come.
A writing career joins the list of honorees
Established in 2023, the Golden Bird Award recognizes work and creators that combine artistic achievement, broad appeal and influence on the drama industry. Its inaugural recipient was Choi Min-sik, the star of the Disney+ series Big Bet. Director Park Chan-wook followed in 2024 for HBO’s The Sympathizer, and Ben Stiller received the award in 2025 for the second season of Apple TV+ series Severance.
In its explanation of the selection, the committee emphasized Kim’s distinctive storytelling, her engagement with contemporary themes and her ability to reach audiences internationally. Those qualities run through a body of work that has expanded from romantic comedy into fantasy, historical drama and revenge thrillers.
The industry significance lies in that continuity. Kim’s name has remained a recognizable point of entry for viewers even as the distribution of Korean drama has shifted from domestic broadcast schedules to international streaming services. Honoring a writer gives that sustained creative contribution a place alongside the performances and directing achievements recognized in earlier years.
From a TV phenomenon to global streaming
Kim’s breakthrough was the 2004 SBS drama Lovers in Paris. The organizers cited a peak television rating of 57.6% for the series. Secret Garden, Descendants of the Sun, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, often known as Goblin, and Mr. Sunshine subsequently widened the range of settings and genres associated with her work.
The new award also marks a return to the Seoul event. Kim won its Hallyu drama writing award in 2011 for Secret Garden. Fifteen years later, she is being recognized with its highest honor.
The Glory brought her work to a different audience through the story of a school-bullying survivor pursuing revenge. According to Yonhap’s account of Netflix’s first engagement report, the series’ first season accumulated 622.8 million viewing hours during the first half of 2023, placing third in the report. The figure measures hours watched over that period, not individual viewers.
The series also won Best Drama Series at the 2023 Asian Academy Creative Awards. The event’s official winners list identifies Lim Ji-yeon as the winner of Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Glory.
Kim returned to fantasy romance with Genie, Make a Wish in 2025. The Seoul awards organizers said the series reached Netflix Top 10 charts in 51 countries. Separately, Netflix’s weekly report recorded 8 million views for the week of Oct 6, 2025–Oct 12, 2025, putting it at No. 1 on the non-English TV list in its second week in the Top 10.
A Korean television rating and a global streaming total are different measures and should not be treated as a single popularity scale. Together, however, they illustrate the changing distribution environments in which Kim’s stories have found audiences.
A record field for the 2026 awards
The 21st Seoul International Drama Awards drew 352 entries from 46 countries and regions, a record according to the organizers. The announced winners include the Norwegian series A Better Man, which took the international competition’s Grand Prize along with writing and acting honors. Thomas Seeberg Torjussen won for writing and Anders Baasmo for acting.
The Korean drama whose title translates as The Story of Mr. Kim, a Large Company Employee Who Owns a Home in Seoul, won both an international competition miniseries award and a K-drama program award. Its star Ryu Seung-ryong won an international competition acting award; that honor belongs to a different category from the K-drama acting prizes.
The K-drama winners also included the series whose Korean title translates as Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness, with Koo Kyo-hwan receiving its male acting award. Lim Ji-yeon won the corresponding female acting award for the drama titled Meotjin Sinsegye in Korean. These titles and category distinctions follow the organizers’ announcement.
Vince Gilligan and Gordon Smith won the international competition directing award for Apple TV’s Pluribus. RIIZE member ANTON was named the K-drama soundtrack winner for Close to Me from Yumi’s Cells Season 3.
An October ceremony and public festival
Actor and official ambassador Kim Nam-gil and MBC presenter Lee Jae-eun will host the ceremony. MBC and the awards’ official YouTube channel are scheduled to broadcast it live from 4:55 p.m. Korea Standard Time.
The surrounding program includes a pre-event at COEX Magok on Oct 6, 2026 marking 70 years of Korean television drama. A Drama Festa follows on Oct 9, 2026–Oct 10, 2026 around Banpo Hangang Park and the western lake of Seokchon Lake, with talks, soundtrack concerts and audience activities.
Source Seoul International Drama Awards organizing committee
Sources
Seoul International Drama Awards Golden Bird announcement
Seoul International Drama Awards winners and program
Netflix What We Watched first engagement report
Yonhap The Glory viewing results
Asian Academy Creative Awards 2023 Grand Final winners
Netflix Top 10 week of Oct 6, 2025