The ContentAsia Awards 2025 celebrated the best of Asian content, with Korean, Filipino, and Japanese talents and shows sharing the spotlight alongside other regional winners.
Jeongnyeon takes the gold in ContentAsia Awards 2025
The K-drama “Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born” clinched the Best Asian Drama Series Made for a Regional or International Market.
Produced by CJ ENM and streaming on Disney+, the series is a dazzling musical period piece that follows a young woman in 1950s Korea as she chases her dream of becoming a star in the all-female theater scene. Combining passion, ambition, and the struggles of a bygone era, “Jeongnyeon,” starring Kim Tae-ri, stood out as one of the year’s most compelling dramas.
J-dramas win silver and bronze
Two Japanese productions rounded out the category: Silver went to Fuji TV’s “Heart Attack,” a sci-fi drama about a love story in a post-pandemic world, while Bronze was awarded to “Swallows,” a a series based on a novel about surrogacy.
In the Best Asian Feature Film/Telemovie category, Prime Video’s Hindi film “Sharmajee Ki Beti,” directed by Tahira Kashyap, bagged the Gold award for its heartfelt portrayal of women across generations.
Philippine films celebrate wins
The Philippines also shone in this category, with “Marupok AF (Where Is the Lie?),” directed by Quark Henares, earning the Silver Award.
Meanwhile, “Hello, Love, Again,” starring Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo, bagged the Bronze award. The film also took home the Viewers’ Choice Award for Favorite Movie, proving its strong audience appeal.
Adding to the celebrations, its theme song, “Palagi,” performed by KZ Tandingan and TJ Monterde, secured a Silver award in Best Original Song for an Asian TV Series/Program or Movie.
Acting excellence, popularity recognized
Korean stars also stood out in the individual categories of ContentAsia Awards 2025. Bae Doona won Gold for Best Female Lead in a TV Program/Series for “Family Matters,” while Ryoo Seung-bum took Silver for Best Male Lead in a TV Program/Series.
From the Philippines, Paulo Avelino and Kim Chiu of the local adaptation of “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim,” won the country’s Favorite Actor and Favorite Actress awards, respectively.
Here are the other Asian actors also earned recognition as their country’s favorite:
- Singapore: James Seah (“Another Wok of Life”)
- Thailand: Panitan “Mikey” Budkaew (“The Sweetest Taboo”)
- Indonesia: Oka Antara (“Bad Guys”)
- Malaysia: Evertts Gomes (“Curang Tanpa Niat / The Office Wife”)
Meanwhile, here are the awardees as favorite actresses:
- Thailand: Film Rachanun Mahawan (“PLUTO”)
- Singapore: Jesseca Liu (“Unforgivable”)
- Malaysia: Arabella Ellen (“Dari Mata Turun Ke Hati”)
Philippine drama “Incognito” claimed the Favorite Drama Series Award, adding another feather in the cap of local content creators.
The ContentAsia Awards 2025 also recognized LGBTQ+ content, with GMMTV’s “Thamepo Heart That Skips a Beat” winning Gold, and Viu’s “4MINUTES” taking Silver.
Meanwhile, CJ ENM’s “I-LAND2” added to Korea’s tally with a Silver in the Best Original Reality Program category.
The complete list of winners are at the ContentAsia Awards 2025 website.
This article was written with the help of AI, and was reviewed and edited by the Hallyu Dorama team.