Article by Kevin Young
Photo credit Xue Liang
Hordes of adoring fans of international dramas were ecstatic to attend the prestigious 3rd Annual DramaFever Awards show which was presented by Toyota at the luxurious Hudson Theater near the heart of Times Square. This year Arden Cho, A Korean-American, YouTube songstress and actress known for her femme fatale role as Kira Yukimura on MTV’s Teen Wolf returned as a host alongside George Hu, A Taiwanese-American actor known for numerous Taiwanese dramas.
Cho and Hu shared their thoughts about the show.
“It feels great to be hosting the DramaFever Awards again. I’m a fan of international dramas too. I loved City Hunter and Secret Garden,” said Cho, “I haven’t been able to keep up with the newer ones but now I definitely will when I get the chance. The guys from 5urpise were telling me which dramas I should watch.”
“This is my first time hosting a show. There are a little perks that I have to work on but everything will be fine. I thought I was going to be nervous but at the same time I’m really excited,” said Hu, ” This is going to be very comforting to me because I’m back home in the states where I can speak fluent English the whole time.”
Special guests of the night included Fresh Off the Boat’s Hudson Yang, Running Man’s Kim Jong Kook, Mischievous Kiss 2: Love in Tokyo’s Yuki Furukawa, and the K-pop Idol group 5urprise. These stars all graced the red carpet strutting their fashion styles posing for media outlets. Screams of fan girls were heard as they walked the carpet.
Cho and Hu opened the show by parodying a famous scene from the K-drama Pinocchio where the two characters both sensually chew a piece of toast from opposite ends. Although Cho and Hu didn’t move in close enough to kiss fans were pleased by their antics.
Furthermore 5urprise performed their two singles, “Hey U Come On” and “From My Heart.” “Hey U Come On” is a light-hearted tune that was the perfect song to greet fans saying “hello.” While “From My Heart” is more of a personal vignette about love. The group’s theme is that they all specialize in acting yet they proved that they could still harmonize belting out notes.
The award winners are as follows:
Best Bromance: Seo Kang Joon and Ji sang Wook from (Sly and Single Again)
Rising Star: Lee Jung Shin (Temptation)
Fan Favorite: Jo In Sung from (It’s Okay, That’s Love)
Best Kiss: Gong Hyo Jin and Ji Hye Soo (It’s Okay, That’s Love)
Best Actress: Song Ji Hyo from (Emergency Couple)
Best Movie: Secretly Greatly
Best Chinese Language Drama: Fall In Love With Me
Best Japanese Drama: Mischievous Kiss 2- Love in Tokyo
Camry Boldest Moment: Surprise Walk to the Altar from (Emergency Couple)
Best Couple: Yuki Furukawa from (Mischievous Kiss 2- Love in Tokyo)
Best Actor: Jo In Sung from (It’s Okay That’s Love)
Best Variety Show: Running Man
Best K Drama: Emergency Couple
The results revealed that the K-Dramas’ Emergency Couple and It’s Okay, That’s Love were immensely popular battling it out within different categories. Emergency Couple’s leading lady even scored two awards as best actress and best variety show. Although Song wasn’t able to physically attend the show due to her hectic schedule she left a heartwarming video message to her fans indicating that she promises to make it to next year’s annual show if she wins an award again. Despite Song’s absence, Kim Jong Kook proudly took the award on behalf of Running Man’s cast.
“We didn’t expect a lot of people to like Running Man. It’s just a funny television game show. I guess we have a lot of international fans because laughter bonds people together. But what I like about the show is that we can show our Asian vibe to fans not familiar with the culture,” said Kim, “For this award I have to thank the whole running man team. Hopefully one day we can film an episode in the States. I would love to come to New York or Los Angeles for an episode.”
The shocker of the night was when Japanese Actor Yuki Furukawa took the stage to receive his awards. He gave an elaborate speech in Japanese thanking his fans. The nearby translator then revealed that he can’t translate Japanese leaving the crowd awestruck. Yet Furukawa revealed that he speaks English fluently delivering his speech in English this time around.
“I used to live in New York nine years ago. I never thought I would come back as an actor receiving an award for my craft. I just want to thank all my fans,” said Furukawa.
To conclude the night fans were given a sneak peek of what dramas are going to be aired this year. Of course there will be many more K-Dramas but now an emphasis is put on more Taiwanese, Japanese, and Spanish dramas. Maids, Blood, and Dream Knight are only some of the titles to come.
What started as a pure online ceremony blossomed into a live award show. This is only the 2nd year DramaFever held such an extravagant event yet compared to last year it grew now including a VIP cocktail reception and waiter service. With DramaFever’s handy platform non-Asian viewers can watch these foreign dramas with reliable subtitles. With over 1.5 million votes casted this year, DramaFever shows no sign of staggering. It continues to grow and enhance its annual show year after year.
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