The Korea Drama Festival is returning this year after a two-year break. The festival was put on hold since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event, which is organized by the city government in Jinju in South Gyeongsang and its provincial office supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, kicked off in 2006 to shed light on Korea’s hit drama series that aired during the year.

This year’s event will run for nearly a month from Oct. 8 to Nov. 3.

The opening event, which is an award ceremony, will take place at Gyeongnam Arts Center in Jinju. Awards under 13 categories will be presented to drama series that aired over the past year on different platforms.

Boy band Up10tion will stage a congratulatory performance during the awards ceremony.

Winners of the most-recent 2019 festival included Choi Soo-jong, who won Best Male Actor, Kim Min-jung, who won Best Female Actor and JTBC’s “SKY Castle” (2018-19), which won Best Drama Series.

A red carpet event will be organized at 5 p.m., an hour before the awards ceremony. Actors from numerous hit drama series including tvN’s “Alchemy of Souls,” “Ghost Doctor,” Netflix’s “Narco-Saints” and JTBC’s “My Liberation Notes” are expected to attend.

K-pop stars will put on a concert the following day at the arts center. Boy band Pentagon, girl group Lightsum, singers Woo-Side and Heo Joo are included in the lineup.

Until Nov. 3, different places in South Gyeongsang will celebrate the festival with forums, screenings, talk concerts and fringe performances.

For more information, visit kdfo.org.


BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]