[Sportschosun Reporter Jeong Bit] The handprinting event at the 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards was filled with sincerity and energy that no scripted production could ever capture.
The handprinting ceremony, held on the 7th at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall in Yongsan District, Seoul, was a warm and lively reunion, as intense as the midsummer heat.
Beyond simply leaving their handprints, the event felt like an extension of the celebration itself, with winners from the 4th Blue Dragon Series Awards — Ju Ji-hoon, IU, Kian84, Lee Soo-ji, Lee Kwang-soo, Yeom Hye-ran, Choo Young-woo, Kim Min-ha, Moon Sang-hoon and Mimi — joking freely with senior and junior actors and entertainers they had not seen in a long time.
Seeing the stars who made viewers laugh and cry over the past year gather in one place and relive that day’s emotions once again, the event could only end successfully amid laughter and applause, without a single major controversy. Now, we reveal the cheerful and affectionate atmosphere that only the host’s camera and eyes could capture, along with the vivid behind-the-scenes story.
In fact, their genuine affection for the Blue Dragon Awards was already running hot before the cameras even came out. The stars arrived earlier than the call time and exchanged warm greetings, asked about one another’s recent activities, and even made spontaneous offers to appear on each other’s shows, continuing their relaxed conversations in the waiting room.
The winners’ exceptional enthusiasm stood out especially during the short-form content shoot for the Blue Dragon official account in the waiting room before the main event. Even after the OK sign was given, the stars themselves checked what could be improved and gladly asked to retake the shots, saying, "Let’s do it one more time." As they volunteered to stand in front of the camera two or three times, the staff kept praising their dedication.
That pleasant energy from the waiting room burst fully onto the main stage. The photo time, accompanied by the sound of shutters, quickly heated up the venue. First, Mimi, IU and Kian84 stepped boldly forward, ignoring the usual blocking, and held free-form solo photo sessions, drawing a barrage of flashes.
MC Park Kyung-lim then asked, "Is there anyone who wants a solo photo time even more?" Lee Kwang-soo was the first to raise his hand and showed off model-like poses using his long limbs. Lee Soo-ji followed by lying down on the floor and striking a seductive pose, drawing laughter.
There were also behind-the-scenes stories about how the winners prepared their hands for the handprinting. Ju Ji-hoon said, "I even got my cuticles removed." Kim Min-ha replied, "I did the same as my senior, and I got my nails done too." Moon Sang-hoon looked at the palm lines left on the handprint and joked, "My life line is short. I want to come back here with a longer one."
The chemistry between senior and junior stars was also a delight to watch. IU and Yeom Hye-ran showed affection for each other like the mother and daughter in When Life Gives You Tangerines, while Kian84 and Lee Kwang-soo drew laughter from the audience by imagining a grand crossover of lodging variety shows through Kian's Bizarre B&B and Jaeseok's B&B Rules.
Amid the stream of spontaneous conversations throughout the event, Choo Young-woo, who won the Best New Actor award last year, brought fresh energy to the scene with his youthful, unpretentious charm among the senior stars. For actors who usually analyze scripts thoroughly before stepping in front of the camera, it was a sudden live stage that could easily have made a rookie nervous and flustered.
But Choo Young-woo won over fellow stars and organizers alike with his trademark honesty and unmistakably cute side. The first thing that made everyone laugh was his "harmless reaction." As soon as the liquid for the handprinting touched his hand, Choo Young-woo’s eyes lit up like a child’s and he kept exclaiming, "Wow! Wow!"
Even the senior and junior stars watching up close, along with staff members, burst out laughing at his pure reaction. Soon, everyone was copying Choo Young-woo’s "Wow!" and the tension in the room melted away.
Another interesting scene unfolded during the talk segment, led with wit by MC Park Kyung-lim. In fact, it was a surprise event caused by the host team’s strict decision not to share the script with the winners in advance.
When the script included a surprise question asking, "What was the promise you posted on social media right after winning?" Choo Young-woo was thrown into a panic, having to answer with no prior information. A year had already passed, so the memory could easily have faded, and it was the kind of unexpected situation that might have made even senior stars break into a cold sweat.
Choo Young-woo looked momentarily blank and asked, "What did I post again?" Instead of giving a polished answer, he honestly admitted his raw confusion. That only added to the charm of the live format with no script sharing, highlighting his unfiltered innocence and harmless appeal.
A surprising cute moment also appeared in the recent talk about the "doorframe man." When Park Kyung-lim jokingly told broadcaster Moon Sang-hoon, who was also present, "Your surname is Moon, so you're a doorframe man," Choo Young-woo, standing nearby, immediately protested in a cute way, saying, "So mean, so mean~". The unexpected aegyo from the tall, 190-centimeter-tall "doorframe man" made even the senior stars and reporters smile.
When asked about his own "doorframe man" charm points, he answered modestly and sincerely rather than with flashy praise, saying things like "I’m tall" and "double eyelids and dark skin." It was a moment that revealed the true nature of the easygoing and earnest young actor Choo Young-woo. Even on a sudden live stage, he never lost his composure and showed his sincerity in trying to communicate honestly to the very end.
The reason such raw charm came through so strongly is that the Blue Dragon handprinting event is run as a 100% live program, with no pre-shared script for the winners. Faced with spontaneous questions and situations under the host team’s strict secrecy, the stars revealed their unfiltered true selves and created yet another unforgettable memory.
Beyond leaving their handprints, this festival of unforced laughter and warm bonds now continues into the main awards ceremony. What stands out most is that the previous year’s winners, who heated up the handprinting event that day, will return en masse as presenters at the upcoming ceremony, shining once again on the stage.
The 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards main ceremony, where last year’s stars will personally hand trophies to the new winners, will open in grand style at 8:30 p.m. on July 31 at Paradise City Incheon. It will be broadcast live on KBS2 and reach viewers’ homes in real time.
Reporter Jeong Bit rightlight@sportschosun.com
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