On December 18, the 2025 FUNdex Awards announced its winners, determined by buzz, searches, and viewer energy. The biggest honors went to titles that didn’t just “rate well,” but also lived in people’s feeds. Are you ready to find out who captured the most public attention in 2025? Check out the complete winners of the 2025 FUNdex Awards below.
Winners of the 2025 FUNdex Awards
FUNdex isn’t based on a judge’s taste or a panel debate. It runs on 100% data, meaning the winners reflect what people actually watched, searched for, and talked about.
Good Data Corporation tracks online trends and searches. They also measure the FUNdex index, which shows how well a show connects with the audience.
FUNdex separates traditional TV shows from over-the-top (OTT) content because they attract viewers in different ways. The Grand Prize honors one category winner for making the biggest cultural impact of the year. In summary, FUNdex provides a clear snapshot of real audience attention at the end of the year.
The Biggest Winners: “When Life Gives You Tangerines” and Park Bo Gum
“When Life Gives You Tangerines” became the most popular show of the year. It won major awards, including the FUNdex Grand Prize for Best Program and Best OTT Original Drama. Moreover, its leads won top awards. IU won Best Actress, while Park Bo Gum took home the Best Actor award.
Park Bo Gum also received the FUNdex Grand Prize for Player. Although he didn’t win in the TV Drama Male Lead category, his nomination also highlights his overall performance throughout the year, not just one role.
“Resident Playbook” Won the Acting Buzz
Some shows won awards for their wild plots. However, “Resident Playbook” swept the awards due to its memorable performances.
The series took three major drama acting awards, with Jung Jun Won winning Best Actor (TV), Go Youn Jung winning Best Actress (TV), and Kang You Seok winning Best Supporting Actor (TV). These winnings say a lot about how viewers watched this show.
They were following the story and watching every expression, tone change, and emotional moment closely. FUNdex shows that audiences notice the details when an actor performs well.
Fan Power: Popular Star Awards
FUNdex is more than just data. Fans still get a chance to choose the winners. For the Popular Star Awards, fans can support their favorites through voting on Idol Champ and Celeb Champ, split 50/50 between the two apps.
The winners were Park Ji Hoon for K-Drama Actor (Weak Hero Class 2), Lim YoonA for K-Drama Actress (Bon Appétit, Your Majesty), Jin for K-Show Male Player (Kian’s Bizarre B&B), and An Yu Jin for K-Show Female Player (Earth Arcade 3).
The FUNdex awards show what captures people’s attention throughout the year, while the Popular Stars awards reveal who fans support. Data shapes the headlines, and fans pick the winners.
Full List of Winners
The winners are highlighted in bold text.
Grand Prize
FUNdex Grand Prize of Program
- “When Life Gives You Tangerines” (Netflix)
FUNdex Grand Prize of Player
- Park Bo-gum for “When Life Gives You Tangerines” (Netflix)
Program Categories
TV Drama
“Bon Appétit, Your Majesty” (tvN)
- “Love Scout” (SBS)
- “Our Unwritten Seoul” (tvN)
- “Buried Hearts” (SBS)
- “Resident Playbook” (tvN)
OTT Original Drama
“When Life Gives You Tangerines” (Netflix)
- “Weak Hero Class 2” (Netflix)
- “Squid Game” Season 2 (Netflix)
- “The Queen Who Crowns” (TVING)
- “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call” (Netflix)
TV Steady Variety Shows
“I Live Alone” (MBC)
- “I’m Solo” (ENA/SBS Plus)
- “Running Man” (SBS)
- “You Quiz on the Block” (tvN)
- “Point of Omniscient Interfere” (MBC)
TV Season/Mini Variety Shows
“Heart Pairing” (Channel A)
- “Earth Arcade 3” (tvN)
- “Island Bachelor Hero” (SBS)
- “Sixth Sense: City Tour” (tvN)
- “Around the World 4” (MBC)
TV Music/Dance Competition Variety Shows
“Boys II Planet” (Mnet)
- “2025 Korea vs Japan Music Showdown: King of Kings” (MBN)
- “Mr. Trot 3” (TV CHOSUN)
- “World of Street Woman Fighter” (Mnet)
- “Universe League” (SBS)
TV Current Affairs
“Unanswered Questions” (SBS)
- “100-Minute Debate” (MBC)
- “PD Notebook” (MBC)
- “Son Seok-hee’s Questions 2” (MBC)
- “Special Edition Ssulzun” (JTBC)
TV Culture/Information
“Midnight Horror Story 5” (MBC)
- “The Story of That Day That Keeps on Track” (SBS)
- “Master of Living” (SBS)
- “Morning Yard” (KBS1)
- “Korea Travelogue” (EBS)
OTT Original Shows
“The Devil’s Plan: Death Room” (Netflix)
- “Kian’s Bizarre B&B” (Netflix)
- “Better Late Than Single” (Netflix)
- “Singles Inferno 4” (Netflix)
- “Bloody Game 3” (Wavve)
Performer Categories
TV Drama Male Lead
Jung Joon-won (Resident Playbook)
- Park Bo-gum (Good Boy)
- Lee Jun-hyuk (Love Scout)
- Lee Chae-min (Bon Appétit, Your Majesty)
- Choo Young-woo (Head Over Heels)
TV Drama Female Lead
Go Youn-jung (Resident Playbook)
- Park Bo-young (Our Unwritten Seoul)
- Lim Yoon-ah (Bon Appétit, Your Majesty)
- Cho Yi-hyun (Head Over Heels)
- Han Ji-min (Love Scout)
OTT Original Drama Male Lead
Park Bo-gum (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
- Park Ji-hoon (Weak Hero Class 2)
- Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game Season 2)
- Lee Hyun-wook (The Queen Who Crowns)
- Ju Ji-hoon (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call)
OTT Original Drama Female Lead
IU (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
- Park Eun-bin (Hyperknife)
- Lim Soo-jung (Fine: Country Bumpkins)
- Jun Ji-hyun (Tempest)
- Cha Joo-young (The Queen Who Crowns)
TV Drama Supporting Actor/Actress
Kang Yoo-seok (Resident Playbook)
- Cynthia (Resident Playbook)
- Oh Jung-se (Good Boy)
- Choo Ja-hyun (Head Over Heels)
- Han Ye-ji (Resident Playbook)
OTT Original Drama Supporting Actor/Actress
Lee Jun-young (Weak Hero Class 2)
- Kang Yoo-seok (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
- Lee Yi-dam (The Queen Who Crowns)
- Jo Yu-ri (Squid Game Season 2)
- Lee Jun-young (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
TV Steady Variety Show Cast
Yoo Jae-suk (Hangout with Yoo)
- Kim Jong-kook (Running Man)
- Park Na-rae (I Live Alone)
- Seo Jang-hoon (Knowing Bros)
- Ji Ye-eun (Running Man)
TV Season/Mini Variety Show Cast
G-Dragon (Good Day)
- Park Bo-gum (The Seasons – Park Bo-gum’s Cantabile)
- Ahn Ji-min (Heart Pairing)
- Lee Je-yeon (Heart Pairing)
- Joo Byung-jin (Can We Love Now?)
TV Music/Dance Competition Variety Show Cast
Kyoka (World of Street Woman Fighter)
- Kim Gun-woo (Boys II Planet)
- Kim Yong-bin (Mr. Trot 3)
- Yoo Kang-min (Boys II Planet)
- Lee Sang-won (Boys II Planet)
OTT Original Show Cast
Kim Won-hoon (Office Workers Season 2)
- Kian84 (Kian’s Bizarre B&B)
- Lee Si-an (Single’s Inferno 4)
- Jung Hyeon-gyu (Devil’s Plan: Death Room)
- Jin (Kian’s Bizarre B&B)
FUNdex Netizen Popularity Awards
K-Drama Actor
Park Ji-hoon (Weak Hero Class 2)
- Choo Young-woo (Head over heels)
- Jeong Jun-won (Resident playbook)
- Ju Ji-hoon (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call)
- Lee Chae-min (Bon AppétitAppétit Your Majesty)
- Lee Jun-hyuk (Love scout)
- Park Bo-gum (When Life Gives You Tangerines, Good Boy)
- Park Hyung-sik (Buried Hearts)
- Park Jin-young (Our Unwritten Seoul)
- Seo Kang-joon (Undercover High School)
K-Drama Actress
Lim Yoon-ah (YoonA) (Bon Appétit Your Majesty)
- Cha Joo-young (A Distant Place)
- Cho Yi-hyun (Head Over Heels)
- Go Youn-jung (Head Over Heels)
- Han Ji-min (Love scout)
- IU (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
- Jun Ji-hyun (Tempest)
- Kim Hye-ja (Heavenly Ever After)
- Park Bo-young (Our Unwritten Seoul)
- Park Eun-bin (Hyperknife)
K-Show Male Player
Jin (Kian’s Bizarre B&B)
- Ahn Ji-min (Heart Pairing)
- G-Dragon (Good Day)
- Kian84 (Kian’s Bizarre B&B)
- Kim Won-hoon (Office Workers Season 2)
- Kim Yong-bin (Mr. Trot 3)
- Lee Sang-won (Boys II Planet)
- Lim Young-woong (Earth Arcade Season 3)
- Shim Haru (The Return of Superman)
- Yoo Jae-suk (Hangout with Yoo)
K-Show Female Player
An Yu-jin (Earth Arcade Season 3)
- Ji Ye-eun (Running Man: A Great Transformation)
- Kyoka (World of Street Woman Fighter)
- Lee Je-yeon (Heart Pairing)
- Lee Si-an (Single’s Inferno Season 4)
- Lee Su-ji (Office Workers Season 2)
- Lee Young-ja (Pursuing Old Encounters)
- Mashima Yu (Those Who Hit the Ball)
- Park Ji-yeon (Better Late Than Single)
- Park Na-rae (I Live Alone)
FUNdex Data PD Prize
- Show Program: “Moo No Plan”
- Drama Directing: Director Min Jin Ki (New Recruit 3)
- Drama Screenwriter: Screenwriter Yang Hee Seung (A Hundred Memories)
Congratulations to all of the 2025 FUNdex Awards winners!
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