2023 has been a spectacular year for K-Dramas, with one after another. And thanks to these successful projects, many actors have been catapulted to global fame like never before. But which actors are at the top?
Gallup Korea, a research company based in South Korea, conducted its annual poll to find out which actors Koreans thought dominated 2023. The poll recorded a total of 1,769 responses from people over the age of 13 in mainland South Korea between November 2 and December 4.
1. Namgoong Min
The results declared Namgoong Min as the top-performing actor of 2023, with an overwhelming 20.2% of votes. The actor truly swept away audiences with his performance in MBC’s record-breaking drama, My Dearest.
2. Park Eun Bin
Coming in second place, with 6.4% of the total votes, is Park Eun Bin. The actress was last year’s first-place holder after her groundbreaking success with ENA’s Extraordinary Attorney Woo. This year, she made a solid comeback with tvN’s Castaway Diva.
3. Song Hye Kyo
In the third place on the list is Song Hye Kyo, with 6.3% of the total votes. The actress’s Netflix series, The Glory, quite literally left the world shaken at the beginning of 2023. The show’s massive popularity also resulted in global discourses around the issue of school violence.
4. Ahn Eun Jin
Ahn Eun Jin took the fourth place on the list, with 5.6% of the votes. 2023 has been a prolific year for her with back-to-back hits, Netflix’s The Good Bad Mother and MBC’s My Dearest.
5. Song Joong Ki
Song Joong Ki came in fifth place, with 3.2% votes. After delivering the global hit Vincenzo in 2021, he came back stronger than ever with JTBC’s Reborn Rich this year. He also worked in a movie, Hopeless.
The other five actors who ranked on the list are Choi Soo Jong (3%), Kim Hae Sook (2.4%), Han Suk Gyu (2.2%), Go Doo Shim (2.2%), and Kim Hye Soo.
Source: Gallup Korea
