Inaugural Korea Short Drama Awards Names Five-Member Jury

The inaugural Korea Short Drama Awards, which carry a total prize pool of 20 million won, have named a five-member jury.

Cineplay (CEO Choi Tae-hyung) and the Korean Film Archive (Director Mo Eun-young) are co-hosting the first Korea Short Drama Awards. The jury is led by chairperson Min Kyu-dong and includes Korean Film Archive Director Mo Eun-young; Han Jung-soo, director and CEO of Yeondu Company; Kim Won-jin, director of MCA AI Creative Studio's Creative Headquarters and director; and actor Lee Yeon, who recently gained wide popularity for the role of Dobi-seo in 〈21st Century Daegunbuin〉.

Min Kyu-dong, president of the Korean Film Directors' Guild (DGK), will serve as jury chair. Since debuting in 1999 with 〈Memento Mori〉, he has worked across horror, romance, comedy, historical drama and action noir with titles such as 〈Antique〉, 〈All About My Wife〉, 〈Herstory〉 and, most recently, 〈Pagwa〉, earning a reputation as an "alchemist of genres." His latest film, 〈Pagwa〉, was officially invited to the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in 2025, reaffirming his international recognition. Since taking the DGK post in 2018, he has represented about 900 directors, including Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook and Hwang Dong-hyuk, and has brought a balanced perspective on both the business and art of Korean cinema. Min Kyu-dong said, "I've been watching established film directors such as Lee Joon-ik, Lee Byung-heon and Lee Won-seok take on short dramas and noting the possibilities and changes. The Film Archive's plan to archive short dramas shows this form has reached a point where it must be treated seriously. I want to meet works that are newly emerging on the boundary between creation and industry, technology and art."

Mo Eun-young, who began her term as director of the Korean Film Archive in March, brings extensive hands-on experience in film programming and festival management. She previously served as head of the Cinematheque Division at the Korean Film Archive, a programmer and executive committee member for the Seoul Indie-Anifest, and a programmer for the Seoul International Environmental Film Festival and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as executive director of the Seoul Independent Film Festival. The Korean Film Archive is the nation's only specialized audiovisual archive institution charged with collecting, preserving, restoring, researching and screening Korea's film and video heritage; it manages audiovisual records such as film and digital video systematically to pass cultural heritage to future generations. Last month, the Archive agreed to co-host the inaugural Korea Short Drama Awards and pledged archiving support for the winning short dramas. Mo Eun-young said, "We decided to co-host because we highly value the competition's purpose in terms of diversifying and expanding audiovisual content. To add meaning to that decision, the Film Archive is preparing archiving support for this year's award-winning short dramas. From now on, short dramas will be safely preserved as contemporary records that reflect the times and as valuable audiovisual materials."

Han Jung-soo, director and CEO of Yeondu Company and producer of the 2022 drama series 〈JoCoding〉 with coding YouTuber JoCoding, which accumulated 40 million views, joins the jury as well. The series won the Best Feature Film award at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival and the Japan International Film Festival. Han also released the short-drama series 〈Hanbeonman Chajura〉 on the short-drama platform Beaglu in 2024 and received praise. He said, "I've watched the dramatic changes and growth in the short-drama industry from the front lines over the past few years. I hope this competition, launched at a very timely moment, will serve as the foundation for a new leap forward in the domestic short-drama industry. Above all, I want to see a wide range of genre works that stimulate and challenge the creativity of established senior creators."

Kim Won-jin, director of MCA AI Creative Studio's Creative Headquarters and the director of 〈Aktal〉, which won the grand prize at the '2025 KT AI P.A.N' AI film contest held last year, will examine AI films that meet the submission criteria. Kim said, "Short dramas are no longer just short video content; they have become a new growth pillar for the global content industry. If film and television were once the storytelling forms that defined an era, short dramas are now the new storytelling language chosen by the mobile-native generation." He added, "In particular, advances in AI technology are lowering the barriers to entry for creation. Individual creators and small studios can now produce works aimed at the global market. I hope the Korea Short Drama Awards will not only discover new creators and works but also help raise the formal and aesthetic standards of the Korean short-drama industry."

Actor Lee Yeon will serve as the juror for the acting prize. She recently gained wide popularity for her role as Dobi-seo in 〈21st Century Daegunbuin〉. Lee won the Best New Actress award at the 14th Korea Drama Awards in 2023 for 〈Iroun Sagi〉. She first drew attention for her role as Ji-na (Lee Yeon), a daughter who suddenly declares her intention to enter religious life after giving up art school, in 〈Jeolhaegodo〉 (2021), which won the Korean Film Directors' Guild–Megabox Award at the 26th Busan International Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the 11th Wildflower Film Awards. She further established herself as a rising talent with her performance as MZ killer Young-ji (Lee Yeon) opposite the legendary killer Bok-soon (Jeon Do-yeon) in 〈Gil Boksun〉 (2023). Lee has worked across film and television, including playing Baek Sung-woo, a 13-year-old male middle school student, in the Netflix series 〈Juvenile Justice〉 (2022) and appearing in the recent theatrical release 〈Saebyeok-ui Tango〉. Lee said, "I'm honored to serve as a juror for the Korea Short Drama Awards. Serving as the juror for the actor category feels like a great responsibility and will also be a valuable learning experience for me personally. I look forward to meeting the wonderful future 'colleagues' who will show the distinctive tempo and rhythm of short dramas, along with fresh talent and individuality on par with established actors."

Further details, including the overview and submission guidelines for the first Korea Short Drama Awards, are available on Cineplay's official website (www.cineplay.co.kr).