What's Happening?

NCT Dream, BTS win big at Seoul Music Awards

by Joyce Remo

PUBLISHED ON January 21, 2023

THE South Korean award-giving body, Seoul Music Awards, honored many talented and promising singers and artists of 2022 on Thursday at the KSPO Dome.

During its 32nd edition, Seoul Music Awards celebrated the local and international achievements of many Korean idols including BTS, IVE, NCT Dream, and (G)-IDLE.

The award winners are selected based on a combination of criteria, including music sales, popular votes, and expert judges’ opinions

NCT’s third sub-unit, NCT Dream, won the Daesang or Grand Prize award during the ceremony, which was previously owned by the same group’s sub-unit, NCT 127.

Photo courtesy: SM Entertainment

NCT Dream consists of seven members including Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Chenle, Jaemin, and Jisung. They debuted in 2016 under SM Entertainment and are well known for their songs We Go Up (2018), BOOM (2019), Dive Into You (2021), and Candy (2022).

The internationally acclaimed boy group Bangtan Sonyeondan, or BTS, composed of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook clinched the most wins with three awards including Best Album, Bonsang (Main Award), and Idol Plus Best Artist awards.

Photo courtesy: BigHit Music

BTS debuted in 2010 and has received numerous awards locally and internationally including the 2021 American Music Award for Artist of the Year, Golden Disk Award Most Popular Artist Award from 2019 to 2023, and MTV Video Music Award for Best Group from 2019 to 2022.

The rookie girl group IVE won a Bonsang and Best Song Award for their top-charting LOVE DIVE (2022) while third generation KPop girl band (G)-IDLE received their Bonsang and Best Performance Award.

See the full list of winners in the prestigious Korean music awards below:

Daesang (Grand Prize): NCT DREAM

Best Album Award: BTS

Best Song Award: IVE

World Best Artist Award: PSY

Bonsang (Main Award): aespa, Kim Ho Joong, PSY, Kang Daniel, (G)I-DLE, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, NCT DREAM, Zico, Red Velvet, SEVENTEEN, Lim Young Woong, BTS, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, IVE, GOT the beat

Best Performance Award: (G)I-DLE

OST Award: MeloMance – “Love, Maybe”

Trot Award: Young Tak

Ballad Award: Younha

Band Award: Jannabi

R&B/Hip Hop Award: BE’O, BIG Naughty

K-pop Special Award: KARA

Legend Artist Award: BoA

Hallyu Daesang: EXO’s Suho

Rookie of the Year: TNX, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM

Discovery of the Year: Lee Seung Yoon

Popularity Award (Korea): Lim Young Woong