Park Chan-wook receives Golden Bird Prize at Seoul International Drama Awards 2024

Auteur Park Chan-wook clinched the Golden Bird Prize at this year's Seoul International Drama Awards for his significant impact on the drama industry with "The Sympathizer," according to the awards organizing committee on Monday.

Seoul International Drama Awards, hosted annually by the SDA organizing committee and the Korean Broadcasters Association since 2006, celebrates outstanding achievements in drama series from around the world.

This year’s awards ceremony logged a record number of entries, with 346 series from 48 countries that aired between June 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

In the International Competition category, the grand prize went to Brazil TV powerhouse Globo's original series "Justice: Misconduct." The series examines the flaws in the legal system through the stories of individuals who committed crimes for different reasons.

"Highly impactful work, offering an original and unique direction that deconstructs the chronological order of events," said judges via the press release issued by the SDA organizing committee Monday.

Netflix's "3 Body Problem," a small-screen adaptation of the widely acclaimed Chinese sci-fi novel of the same name, clinched both Best Miniseries and Best Screenwriter Award, while Indonesia's "Cigarette Girl" also took home the Best Miniseries Award.

"The Saint," which aired on Czech Television and CJ ENM's "Bruised Like a Peach" secured the Best TV Movie Award. Jirina Bohdalova, "The Saint"'s main lead, took home the Best Actress Award at the age of 93.

Director Park In-je won the Best Director Award for Disney+ original "Moving," while actor Song Kang-ho received Best Actor Award for his performance as male lead in Disney+ original series "Uncle Samsik."

In the International Invitation category, the top honors, the Golden Bird Prize, was presented to director Park, who served as co-showrunner and executive producer for HBO series “The Sympathizer.”

“The Sympathizer" marks Park's second international series following “The Little Drummer Girl,” which aired in BBC on 2018. “The Sympathizer" narrates the story of an anonymous narrator (Hoa Xuande), who acts as a spy for North Vietnam within the South Vietnamese Army.

The awards ceremony will be held on Sept. 25 at the Yeouido KBS Hall. The event will be broadcast live on SBS and on Seoul International Drama Award's official YouTube channel.