The 2025 MAMA Awards dedicated its ceremony to mourning the victims of a deadly fire in Hong Kong, along with messages of solidarity, hope and healing.

Held at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on Friday and Saturday, the awards show aired live via Mnet, Mnet Plus and other global platforms, reaching viewers in more than 250 regions. Artists and attendees paid tribute to those affected by the fire that broke out at a high-rise apartment complex called Wong Fuk Court in the city’s Tai Po District on Wednesday, which remains under investigation. Many wore black ribbons and offered their condolences throughout the event.


The first day was hosted by actor Park Bo-gum. He opened the show with a moment of silence, saying, “I believe in the healing and unifying power of music. From this stage, I hope to offer comfort and give people strength to move forward, even just a little.” On the second day, host Kim Hye-soo also started off the event on a similar note, saying, “With the message ‘Support Hong Kong,’ we want to contribute to Hong Kong’s recovery.”

Appearing as a presenter for one of the night’s top awards, Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat wore a black suit and asked everyone in the venue to rise for a moment of silence. He expressed gratitude to MAMA for its support in the wake of the Hong Kong fire, then continued in Korean, “Let’s hurry, we have no time!”

Out of respect for the tragedy, the stage presentation of the upcoming Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" was scaled down. Originally, BoyNextDoor’s Leehan, Riize’s Wonbin, TWS’s Shinyu and ZeroBaseOne’s Park Gun-wook and Han Yu-jin were scheduled to bring the fictional Saja Boys group to life, but the performance was called off. Instead, actor Ahn Hyo-seop, who voices the film’s protagonist, narrated the segment. A separate performance featuring members of the virtual girl group HUNTR/X was carried out by BabyMonster’s Pharita, Ahyeon and Rora, who performed the song “Golden.”

Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, co-directors of "KPop Demon Hunters," were honored with the Music Visionary of the Year award, which recognizes works that exemplify creativity and industrial innovation across music, video and narrative. “This movie is a love letter to K-pop. It’s a story about the power of music — how it connects us and how it heals us," said Appelhans.

Over the two days, four grand prizes were awarded: G-Dragon won Artist of the Year, Rosé’s “APT.” (2024) was named Song of the Year, Stray Kids took Album of the Year for "Karma" and Enhypen received the Fans' Choice Award. The Rookie of the Year award went to Cortis and Hearts2Hearts.

Beyond the awards, a donation campaign by artists and entertainment companies helped raise significant funds for the victims and their families. G-Dragon, Stray Kids, i-dle, Jackson of GOT7 and Super Junior each donated 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000). IVE, BoyNextDoor, TWS, EXO-CBX, Yim Si-wan, Hyeri and aespa contributed 500,000 Hong Kong dollars each. Plave and Riize gave 250,000 Hong Kong dollars, while Kickflip donated 100,000.

On the corporate side, six HYBE labels — BigHit Music, Belift Lab, Source Music, Pledis Entertainment, KOZ Entertainment and ADOR — jointly donated 500 million won ($341,000). JYP Entertainment donated 2 million Hong Kong dollars, while YG Entertainment and Wake One, a CJ ENM label, gave 1 million Hong Kong dollars each. The Black Label joined with a donation of 500,000 Hong Kong dollars.

The funds will be used to support ongoing disaster relief, assist bereaved families and aid firefighters and volunteers working on recovery efforts.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HWANG JEE-YOUNG [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]