The black comedy thriller and the record-breaking period film will square off for the grand prize at South Korea's premier awards ceremony on May 8
Park Chan-wook's black comedy thriller "No Other Choice" and Jang Hang-jun's period hit "The King's Warden" topped the nominations for the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards with seven nods each, organizers announced Monday.
The two films will square off for the grand prize in the film category alongside Byun Sung-hyun's Cold War satire "Good News," Yoon Ga-eun's coming-of-age drama "The World of Love" and Lee Ran-hee's social realist drama "The Final Semester."
"No Other Choice" earned nominations for the grand prize, best director, best actor for Lee Byung-hun, best actress for Son Ye-jin, best supporting actor for Lee Sung-min, best supporting actress for Yum Hye-ran and best techinical achievement for cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung.
"The King's Warden," which has drawn over 16 million admissions since opening Feb. 4 to become the second most-watched film in Korean cinema history, picked up nods for the grand prize, best director, best actor for Yoo Hae-jin, best supporting actor for Yoo Ji-tae, best supporting actress for Jeon Mi-do, best new actor for Park Ji-hoon and the Gucci Impact Award.
The best director category also includes Byun Sung-hyun ("Good News"), Yoon Ga-eun ("The World of Love") and Kim Do-young ("Once We Were Us").
The best actor race pits Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Hae-jin against Koo Kyo-hwan ("Once We Were Us"), Park Jeong-min ("The Ugly") and Hong Kyung ("Good News"). On the best actress side, Son Ye-jin faces Go Ah-sung ("Pavane"), Moon Ga-young ("Once We Were Us"), Lee Hye-young ("The Old Woman With the Knife") and Han Ye-ri ("Spring Night").
In the television categories, "Low Life," "The Dream Life of Mr. Kim" and "Bon Appetit, Your Majesty" were among the nominees for best series, with Hyun Bin and Ryu Seung-ryong among the lead actor contenders.
Established in 1965, the Baeksang Arts Awards are one of South Korea's top entertainment awards and the only ceremony in the country that covers film, television and theater.
Now in its fourth year of partnership with Gucci, this year's edition adds a musical category for the first time.
The 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards takes place on May 8 at Coex, southern Seoul.
moonkihoon@heraldcorp.com
