After Son Ye-jin returned to the screen for the first time in seven years with the film No Other Choice following the birth of her son, she and her husband Hyun Bin were named actors of the year. The couple, who recently both won the male and female lead awards at the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards, ranked among the actors of the year as Hyun Bin at No. 5 and Son Ye-jin at No. 8. No. 1 went to Lee Byung-hun, who starred in No Other Choice and K-pop Demon Hunters.
Korea Gallup surveyed 1,700 people nationwide (excluding Jeju) aged 13 and older from Nov. 11 to 28, 2025, asking up to two actors who were most active this year (open response); Lee Byung-hun received 25.8% support to take first place.
This year Lee Byung-hun met audiences as Jo Hun-hyun in the go-based film based on real events and real people, The Match, as Mansu in Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice, as the Front Man and Hwang In-ho in the Netflix web drama Squid Game Season 2 and 3, and he participated with voice acting for Charles Dickens in the Netflix animated film K-pop Demon Hunters and the North American hit Mofak Studio 3D animated film The King of Kings.
He, who for a time balanced domestic and international activities, returned to drama in 2018 with Mr. Sunshine (tvN), appeared in two films in 2020, Baekdusan and The Man Standing Next, in 2021 in the drama Our Blues (tvN), in 2022 in the film Emergency Declaration, and in 2023 in Concrete Utopia, continuing a prolific output. His 2009 Hollywood debut G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2012's Masquerade also earned him the title of actor of the year.
No. 2 is Ma Dong-seok (18.4%). He starred as Ma Seok-do in The Outlaws, a crime action film series inspired by real events planned to run to eight installments, and he has also been involved in planning, screenwriting and production. After the first film in 2017, the second in 2022, the third in 2023 and the fourth in 2024, the fifth installment is scheduled for release in 2026. The Outlaws 2 and The Outlaws 3 were the only films that year to reach 10 million viewers, and last year's The Outlaws 4 also drew over 10 million viewers along with Exhuma. Ma Dong-seok first entered the top 10 actors of the year in 2016 and has remained in the top ranks for nine years since, topping the list in 2018, 2023 and 2024.
Lee Jung-jae, who joined the ranks of global stars as Gi-hun in the Netflix web drama Squid Game Season (15.5%), is third; Hwang Jung-min (7.1%), who appeared in Cross and Veteran 2 in 2024, is fourth; Hyun Bin, who played Ahn Jung-geun in Harbin (6.4%), is fifth; Jo Jung-suk (5.5%), star of Korea's highest-grossing film this year My Daughter is a Zombie (5.64 million viewers), is sixth; Song Kang-ho (5.1%), who starred in the Disney+ web drama Uncle SamSik in 2024, is seventh; Kim Go-eun, who delivered a shocking performance as the shaman Hwarim in the occult mystery film Exhuma, the highest-attended film of 2024 with 11.91 million viewers, and Son Ye-jin, who returned to the screen after seven years as Miri in No Other Choice, are tied at eighth; and Choi Min-sik (4.6%), who played the geomancer Sang-deok in Exhuma, is 10th.
Son Ye-jin placed second in 2008's actors of the year after appearing in A Wife Has Married and The Unforgivable, and Jo Jung-suk, who was 11th last year after showing a comic cross-dressing performance in Pilot, has entered the top 10 for the first time this year.
Actors outside the top 10 who received 1.0% or more responses are Park Jung-min (3.7%), Yoo Hae-jin (3.6%), Ha Jung-woo (3.3%), Song Hye-kyo (2.8%), Kang Ha-neul (2.7%), Son Suk-ku (2.4%), Kim Hye-soo (2.2%), Park Bo-gum (2.0%), Ryu Seung-ryong (1.8%), Jung Woo-sung (1.5%), Kim Woo-bin, Ju Jihoon, Sul KyungGu, Han Suk-kyu (each 1.3%), Jung Haein and Jo Woo-jin (each 1.2%), and Kim Tae-ri and Jeon Do-yeon (each 1.1%), totaling 18 people.
Movie competition with OTT and short-form content intensifies
Leisure habits changed significantly before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is uncertain whether the heyday of 10-million-viewer films will return. The annual moviegoing experience rate among Koreans aged 13 and older fell from 77% in 2019 to 37% in 2022, rebounded to 60% in 2023 and 69% in 2025, but still lags behind the past. Meanwhile, annual usage of paid video services such as OTT rose sharply from 25% in 2019 to 67% in 2025.
The gap between film releases and OTT service releases has narrowed, and the boundary between films and drama has almost disappeared. Movie actors who were rarely seen on domestic broadcasting attract attention with bolder performances in global OTT content, or frequently take on planning, directing and producing themselves. Now films must compete with web dramas and web variety shows on OTT, and they must consider audiences who prefer short, intense short-form content.
Long-term dominance of male actors in the top ranks
In drama-focused acting, actresses often make up a majority of the top ranks for talent of the year. However, the top ranks for actors of the year have long been dominated by male actors. In 2007 Jeon Do-yeon topped the list with 49.7%, and in 2008 Son Ye-jin (No. 2), Kim Hye-soo (No. 3) and Jeon Do-yeon (No. 4) fiercely competed in the top ranks.
Since then, the highest ranking for an actress was Youn Yuh-jung's second place in 2021. In 2009 Ha Ji-won was fourth, in 2010 Kim Hye-soo seventh, in 2011 Kim Ha-neul fourth, in 2012 Kim Hye-soo third, in 2013 Kim Hye-soo seventh, in 2014 Jun Ji-hyun 11th, in 2015 Jun Ji-hyun fourth, in 2016 Jun Ji-hyun ninth, in 2017 Kim Hye-soo 12th, in 2018 Kim Hye-soo 14th, in 2019 Lee Ha-nee 10th, in 2020 Kim Hye-soo ninth, in 2022 Youn Yuh-jung fourth, in 2023 Kim Hye-soo sixth, in 2024 Kim Go-eun third, and in 2025 Kim Go-eun and Son Ye-jin tied at eighth.
[Photo] OSEN DB, SNS, Korea Gallup, capture from the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards
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