The 2014 3rd APAN Star Awards (part of the annual Daejeon Drama Festival) was held a few days ago on November 15th and Jo In Sung was the big winner of the night for his performance in the critically-acclaimed It’s Okay, It’s Love, while two of his fellow castmates, Lee Kwang Soo and rookie actor Do Kyung Soo (D.O of EXO), also took home awards. To absolutely no one’s surprise, however, the show that earned the most nods was You Who Came From the Stars with a total of five – most notably Kim Soo Hyun winning the Actor Top Excellence award and both Kim Soo Hyun and Jeon Ji Hyun taking home the Hallyu Star award.

That’s not to say the night wasn’t without a few eyebrow-raising surprises – Kim Hee Sun (while I love her) winning the Actress Top Excellence for Feature-length Dramas for Wonderful Season over Ha Ji Won (Empress Ki) was unexpected, to say the least. I didn’t expect Kim Hee Ae to win Actress Top Excellence for Mini-series over Gong Hyo Jin either, though I wouldn’t say Gong Hyo Jin was robbed in this case – both actresses are excellent. But what about Jin Se Yeon winning a popularity award for Doctor Stranger? At least the love was spread out across the dramas nominated?

The APAN Star Awards ceremony was broadcasted on tvN on November 19th from 6-7pm.

WINNERS LIST
Daesang: Jo In Sung (It’s Okay, It’s Love)
Top Excellence, Actor (Mini-series): Kim Soo Hyun (You Who Came From the Stars)
Top Excellence, Actress (Mini-series): Kim Hee Ae (Secret Love Affair)
Top Excellence, Actor (Feature-length): Jo Jae Hyun (Jeong Do Jeon)
Top Excellence, Actress (Feature-length): Kim Hee Sun (Wonderful Season)
Excellence Award, Actor (Mini-series): Jung Woo (Answer Me 1994)
Excellence Award, Actress (Mini-series): Park Shin Hye (Heirs)
Excellence Award, Actor (Feature-length): Kim Ji Hoon (Jang Bo Ri is Here)
Excellence Award, Actress (Feature-length): Kim Ok Bin (Yoona’s Street)
Best Supporting Actor: Ryu Seung Soo (Wonderful Season)
Best Supporting Actress: Kim Hye Eun (Secret Love Affair)
Best New Actor: Do Kyung Soo (It’s Okay, It’s Love), Son Ho Joon (Answer Me 1994)
Best New Actress: Nam Bo Ra (Only Love), Kim Seul Gi (Discovery of Love)
Best Director: Jang Tae Yoo (You Who Came From the Stars)
Best Scriptwriter: Jung Sung Joo (Secret Love Affair)
Best Child Actor: Kim Hyun Soo (You Who Came From the Stars), Choi Kwon Soo (Wonderful Season), Kim Ji Young (Jang Bo Ri is Here), Yoon Chan Young (Mama)
Popular Star Award: Lee Kwang Soo (It’s Okay, It’s Love), Jin Se Yeon (Doctor Stranger)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Choi Jin Shil
Hallyu Star Award: Kim Soo Hyun, Jeon Ji Hyun (You Who Came From the Stars)
Best OST: Ailee (Fated to Love You OST)
Fashionista Award: Ji Hyun Woo (Trot Lovers), Kim Yoo Ri (Full Sun)
Best Manager Award: Lee Jin Sung of King Kong Entertainment
Best SNS Web Drama Award: Hungry Woman

Choi Jin Shil being posthumously recognized for her lifelong dedication to her craft was a particularly touching moment; her daughter was on stage to accept the award on her behalf.

The list of special performances on the night include: Chen (EXO) singing his hit title OST track “Best Luck” from It’s Okay, It’s Love, Ailee singing “Because of Tears” from the Secret OST, T-ara performing “Sugar Free” and Red Velvet performing their newest single, “Be Natural.” It’s a bit odd that Ailee didn’t sing “Goodbye My Love,” which is the OST track she actually won the Best OST Award for.

There was a moment of slight confusion during Chen’s performance of “Best Luck” (see second clip above) – due to a mistake by the APAN staff, the AR track (all-recorded, i.e. with the singer’s voice) was played by accident instead of the MR (music only) track. Chen was thus forced to halt his performance after the first verse out of respect for his discerning audience, after which he explained the mix-up, apologized for the mistake and started the performance again with the correct MR track. This incident definitely has a silver lining, however, since Korean and Chinese media have heaped praise upon Chen for his calm and professional handling of the awkward situation – particular note has been made of his polite and humble apologies for the mix-up (despite the fault lying with the staff) and the way his singing skills and explosive vocals were further highlighted by the switch from the AR track to full live.

Fashion-wise there was much left to be desired. Most of the ladies wore floor-length strapless dresses; Kim Hye Eun, who won for Secret Love Affair, probably had the nicest dress of the night which was a strapless grey embroidered number and Daesang winner Jo In Sung was the best dressed male of the evening, looking handsome in a black suit with a baroque patterned jacket. Kim Hee Sun of Wonderful Season had the most interesting frock – a navy full-length cape dress – although knowing that she is considered a fashion icon it is not surprising that she would be wearing something like the dress she wore (Hollywood actresses such as Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o also wore gowns of the same style earlier this year). Excellence Actress winner Park Shin Hye went for her usual conservative look, wearing a calf-length off-white sheath dress with scalloped edges, while Secret Door‘s Kim Yoo Jung arrived looking like Park Shin Hye’s younger doppleganger in a nude long-sleeved calf-length dress. Best OST winner Ailee turned up in a questionable fire engine red pant suit number paired with a lace camisole inside – the whole outfit overall did nothing for her body and made her look 10 years older. Thankfully she later changed into a long sleeve dress whilst performing “Because of Tears,” which was considerably better than her red carpet outfit. Lee Kwang Soo looked a tad more stretched out than usual in his navy taffeta suit with pants that floated a couple of centimetres above his ankles and Kim Ji Hoon looked like he might pop out of his suit jacket at any moment.

Notable mention goes to television announcer Choi Hee, whose make-up artist seems to have used foundation three shades too light on her face and who arrived in a pink birthday cake dress, girl group T-ara who all seemed to be dressed like they were going to their first high school dance, sports announcer Gong Seo Yeong whose dress appeared to be missing one-third of its bottom and was the most daring thigh slit of the night (which was filled with other thigh slits), and The Heirs‘ Choi Jin Hyuk should never wear anything other than grey or black suits and should probably get his hair styled instead of left straight.

From TVDaily, NewsSCJ, Hankyung, Dispatch, Entertainment Online