Namkoong Min was voted the top talent who shone in 2023
According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from November 2nd to December 4th, asking 1,769 people aged 13 and over nationwide (excluding Jeju Island) who the most active talent in 2023 was, actor Namkoong Min, who appeared in MBC’s drama “My Dearest”, took the first place with 20.2%.
Following him, Park Eun-bin (6.4%) took second place, and Song Hye-kyo (6.3%) secured the third spot.
Set during the Qing invasion of Joseon, MBC’s “My Dearest”, whose part 1 aired in August~September and part 2 aired in October~November, portrays the inspiring story of people who find hope and positivity even in the most challenging times. It ranked first in the Gallup Korea preferred broadcast video program list for October~November, especially receiving a great response from women.
Namkoong Min, who debuted with the movie “Bungee Jumping of Their Own” in 2001, has steadily built up his popularity with various works such as the movie “A Dirty Carnival” and SBS’s drama “Remember”.
In 2017, he earned the nickname “Trustworthy Actor” by winning “Top Excellence Award” at “KBS Drama Awards” and “SBS Drama Awards” simultaneously with KBS2’s drama “Good Manager” and SBS’s drama “Distorted”.
Subsequently, he won “Grand Prize” at “SBS Drama Awards” with SBS’s drama “Hot Stove League” in 2020 and at “MBC Drama Awards” with MBC’s “The Veil” in 2021, establishing himself as a trending actor.
He is showcasing unique characters every year, such as playing the role of righteous lawyer Chun Ji-hoon in SBS’s drama “One Dollar Lawyer” last year.
Second place goes to Park Eun-bin. After showcasing her accumulated acting skills in ENA’s drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” last year, she took on the role of the protagonist Seo Mok-ha in this year’s tvN drama “Castaway Diva”. Here, she personally sang all 11 songs shown during the character’s process of becoming a singer, earning admiration.
Since her debut in 1996, Park Eun-bin has been consistently active without a hiatus. In JTBC’s drama “Hello, My Twenties!”, she stepped away from her calm image to play the role of Song Ji-won, adept at drinking and indulging in vulgar language. KBS2’s drama “The King’s Affection”, in which she showcased cross-dressing acting, even won “Best Telenovela” at the International Emmy Awards.
Third place goes to Song Hye-kyo. This year, in Netflix’s web drama “The Glory”, she presented an unprecedented coldness as the victim Moon Dong-eun, who seeks revenge on high school violence perpetrators. The thrilling revenge plot, coupled with Song Hye-kyo’s first-ever 19+ acting, attracted significant popularity.
Born in 1981, actress Song Hye-kyo made her debut in 1996 at the age of fifteen through the “SunKyung Smart Model Contest”. After engaging in various acting activities, she rose to the top star ranks with the 2000 KBS drama “Autumn in My Heart”.
From fourth to tenth place are Ahn Eun-jin, Song Joong-ki, Choi Soo-jong, Kim Hae-sook, Han Suk-kyu & Kim Hye-soo (tied for 8th place). From 2007 to 2017, all the top-ranked works for “Talent of the Year” were terrestrial dramas, but since 2018, more non-terrestrial dramas have been featured. tvN dramas were dominant until last year, but this year, with JTBC’s advance and the influence of global OTT platforms, the competition to captivate viewers’ attention has become even more intense.
The response rate for this opinion poll is 29.8%, and the sampling error is ±2.3% points at a 95% confidence level. Detailed information is available on Gallup Korea’s website.
Source: Wikitree
