kimjinkyung

Lee Ji-Eun (IU) during her acceptance speech for the Grand Prize at the 10th Asia Artist Awards, held in Taiwan on December 6, 2025.

kim jin kyung/star news korea

The 10th Asia Artist Awards delivered a milestone celebration of Asian entertainment at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung National Stadium on December 6, honoring achievements across both music and acting with an expanded format that drew 55,000 attendees to the sold-out venue. Stray Kids, IU, and IVE emerged among the ceremony’s biggest winners, each collecting multiple awards as over 3 million fans worldwide engaged with voting and livestreams across platforms including Weverse and MTN Korea.

Organized by StarNews and Money Today since its 2016 inception, the AAA has evolved into one of Asia’s most comprehensive entertainment awards, uniquely honoring both Korean actors and musicians in parallel tracks. This year’s ceremony featured performances from 23 music acts across approximately 300 minutes of programming, with IVE’s Jang Won-young returning as MC for her fifth consecutive year alongside actor Lee Junho.

Stray Kids Dominate Music Categories With Three Major Wins

Stray Kids pose on the red carpet at the 10th Asian Artist Awards in Taiwan on December 6, 2025.

lee dong hoon/star news korea

Stray Kids secured the evening’s most prestigious music honor, winning Artist of the Year (Daesang) in the singer category, while also claiming Album of the Year for “KARMA” and Best K-pop Record. The JYP Entertainment group’s production unit 3RACHA won Best Producer, bringing their total to four awards. Individual members Felix and Hyunjin collected additional honors, with Hyunjin winning AAA Best Choice (Singer) alongside ATEEZ’s Hongjoong, (G)I-DLE’s Shuhua, and LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon.

The “KARMA” album win marks Stray Kids’ second Album of the Year trophy at AAA, following their 2022 victory. The group’s dominance reflects their sustained commercial momentum throughout 2025, with the album generating significant streaming numbers and chart performance across global markets. Their Artist of the Year win positions them at the apex of K-pop’s current landscape, validating their evolution from mid-tier act to industry leaders over the past three years.

IVE And LE SSERAFIM Secure Top Female Group Honors

Le SSERAFIM pose with their awards at the 10th Asian Artist Awards in Taiwan on December 6, 2025.

lee dong hoon/star news korea

IVE claimed Song of the Year (Daesang) for “REBEL HEART” while member Jang Won-young collected three individual awards: AAA Asia Celebrity (Singer), AAA Spotlight, and AAA Fabulous. The Starship Entertainment group also won Best K-pop Record alongside Stray Kids and ATEEZ, demonstrating their continued dominance in the competitive girl group landscape.

LE SSERAFIM secured Music Icon of the Year (Daesang), with member Kim Chaewon winning AAA Best Choice (Singer). The Source Music group’s recognition comes after a year marked by both commercial success and controversy, with their AAA win validating their position among K-pop’s top-tier acts despite ongoing debates about vocal performance standards.

MEOVV won Best Music Video for “Hands Up,” while QWER claimed Best Band. CORTIS and KiiiKiii split Best Performance honors, highlighting the ceremony’s attention to emerging acts alongside established names.

IU’s Six Awards Span Acting And Music Achievements

IU collected six awards across both acting and music categories, the most of any individual artist. Her wins included Artist of the Year (Daesang) for Actor, Best Actress of the Year (OTT) for “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” Best Couple with co-star Park Bo-gum, AAA Fabulous, AAA 10 Legendary Solo (Female), and Hot Trend Award.

The six-trophy haul recognizes IU’s dual excellence across entertainment disciplines. Her world tour drew 500,000 attendees, setting the all-time record for a Korean female solo artist, while “When Life Gives You Tangerines” became one of 2025’s most culturally impactful dramas. The Netflix series topped Good Data Corporation’s rankings for seven consecutive weeks and achieved a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

G-Dragon won AAA 10 Legendary Solo (Male) despite not attending the ceremony, while WOODZ claimed recognition in his category.

Acting Categories Spread Recognition Across Multiple Winners

The acting awards distributed honors across various production types and platforms. YoonA won Artist of the Year (Daesang) for Best Actress in the TV category, while Lee Junho secured Best Actor of the Year (TV) for “Typhoon Family.” Both also collected multiple additional awards, with Junho winning AAA Fabulous and YoonA claiming Asia Star (Actor).

Park Bo-gum matched his “Tangerines” co-star IU with four wins: Best Actor of the Year (OTT), AAA Asia Celebrity (Actor), Best Couple with IU, and recognition in another category.

Park Bo Gum giving his acceptance speech for Best Actor at the 10th Asian Artist Awards in Taiwan on December 6, 2025.

kim hwi seon/star news korea

Moon So-ri won Actress of the Year (Daesang) for her portrayal of middle-aged Oh Ae-sun in “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” highlighting the ceremony’s willingness to honor character work over conventional lead performances.

Kim Yoo-jung won Best Actress of the Year (OTT) for “My Demon,” while Lee Jun-hyuk claimed Best Actor of the Year (OTT) for his work in undisclosed projects. The split OTT categories reflected the growing importance of streaming platforms in Korean content production and consumption.

ATEEZ Claims Performance Grand Prize

ATEEZ secured Stage of the Year (Daesang), recognizing their elaborate live performances throughout 2025. The KQ Entertainment group also won Best K-pop Record alongside Stray Kids and IVE, with member Hongjoong collecting AAA Best Choice (Singer). Their three total wins position them among the ceremony’s most-awarded acts, validating their reputation as one of K-pop’s premier performance groups.

ATEEZ pose with their trophies at the 10th Asian Artist Awards in Taiwan on December 6, 2025.

lee dong hoon/star news korea

The Stage of the Year category specifically evaluates live performance quality, choreography, stage production, and overall entertainment value. ATEEZ’s win reflects their investment in concert production across their global touring schedule, which has consistently drawn praise for visual spectacle and synchronized performance execution.

Rising Acts And Veteran Recognition

CORTIS won Rookie of the Year, while xikers claimed AAA Potential and ALLDAY PROJECT secured AAA New Wave (Singer). RIIZE won Performance of the Year (Daesang) alongside AAA Emotive (Singer), marking significant recognition for the SM Entertainment rookie group in only their second full year of activities.

Veteran acts maintained their relevance, with JJ Lin winning Asia Star (Singer) and MONSTA X collecting recognition in their category despite member I.M’s announced absence from upcoming tour activities. The inclusion of established acts alongside rising groups reflected the ceremony’s attempt to honor both legacy and emerging talent.

Technical And Special Categories Honor Diverse Contributions

Best OST went to “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters,” with Arden Cho winning Best Voice Performance for the same production. The recognition highlighted Netflix’s investment in high-quality K-drama soundtracks as a marketing tool for both series and music releases.

Special achievement awards distributed recognition across age groups and career stages. Choi Dae-hoon won AAA Scene Stealer for supporting work, while younger actors Kang Yo0-seok claimed AAA Emotive (Actor) and Choo Young-woo secured AAA Icon (Actor). The varied categories allowed the ceremony to honor performances that might not win major awards but demonstrated particular skill or impact.

Satoh Takeru won Asia Star (Actor), marking one of the few non-Korean wins at the predominantly K-entertainment focused ceremony. His inclusion reflected the “Asia” portion of the awards’ title, though Korean artists and productions dominated the winners list across nearly all categories.

Taiwan’s Strategic Importance For K-Entertainment Expansion

The ceremony’s move to Taiwan’s Kaohsiung National Stadium underscored the island’s growing importance as a market for Korean entertainment. The 55,000-capacity venue sold out entirely, including limited-view seats, demonstrating robust demand for K-pop and K-drama content among Taiwanese audiences.

Taiwan has emerged as a critical market for Korean entertainment exports, maintaining strong cultural ties through shared influences in fashion, technology, and pop culture. Its geographic position makes it accessible for both Korean and Southeast Asian audiences, while its enthusiastic fan base provides a bridge market for testing international appeal before expanding to larger territories like North America or Europe.

The two-day format—with the main ceremony on December 6 followed by ACON 2025 festival on December 7—allowed organizers to maximize fan engagement while generating additional revenue through extended programming. The ACON festival featured over 50 performances across 210 minutes, with acts including NEXZ, AHOF, Ash Island, ATEEZ, WOODZ, YENA, and Filipino boy band SB10.

Complete 2025 Asia Artist Awards Winners ListDAESANG (GRAND PRIZE)

  • Artist of the Year (Singer): Stray Kids
  • Artist of the Year (Actor): IU
  • Music Icon of the Year: LE SSERAFIM
  • Album of the Year: Stray Kids – “KARMA”
  • Song of the Year: IVE – “REBEL HEART”
  • Stage of the Year: ATEEZ
  • Performance of the Year: RIIZE
  • Best Actress of the Year (TV): YoonA
  • Best Actor of the Year (TV): Lee Junho
  • Actress of the Year: Moon So-ri
  • Best Actress of the Year (OTT): IU, Kim You-jung
  • Best Actor of the Year (OTT): Park Bo-gum, Lee Jun-hyuk

MUSIC AWARDS

  • Best K-pop Record: Stray Kids, IVE, ATEEZ
  • Best Music Video: MEOVV – “Hands Up”
  • Best OST: “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters
  • Best Performance: KiiiKiii, CORTIS
  • Best Band: QWER
  • Best Voice Performance: Arden Cho for KPop Demon Hunters
  • Best Producer: 3RACHA (Stray Kids)
  • Rookie of the Year: CORTIS

ACTING AWARDS

  • Best Couple: Park Bo-gum & IU (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
  • AAA Scene Stealer: Choi Dae-hoon

AAA AWARDS (MULTIPLE CATEGORIES)

  • AAA Fabulous: Lee Junho, IU, Jang Won-young
  • AAA Asia Celebrity: Park Bo-gum (Actor), Jang Won-young (Singer)
  • AAA Spotlight: Jang Won-young, Stray Kids’ Felix
  • Asia Star: JJ Lin (Singer), YoonA (Actor), Satoh Takeru (Actor)
  • AAA Best Choice: Lee Yi-kyung (Actor), Stray Kids’ Hyunjin (Singer), ATEEZ’s Hongjoong (Singer), (G)I-DLE’s Shuhua (Singer), LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon (Singer)
  • AAA Emotive: Kang You-seok (Actor), RIIZE (Singer)
  • AAA Icon: Choo Young-woo (Actor), CRAVITY (Singer)
  • AAA New Wave: ATEEZ’s Yunho (Actor), ALLDAY PROJECT (Singer)
  • AAA Potential: xikers
  • AAA 10 Legendary Solo: IU (Female), G-Dragon (Male)
  • Hot Trend Award: IU

POPULARITY AWARDS (FAN VOTED)

  • Male Actor: Lee Junho
  • Female Actor: Kim Hye-yoon
  • Male Solo: Lim Young-woong
  • Male Group: Stray Kids
  • Female Group: NiziU

PERFORMANCE LINEUP

The 2025 Asia Artist Awards will extend into December 7 with ACON 2025 festival, featuring additional performances from NEXZ, AHOF, Ash Island, ATEEZ, WOODZ, YENA, KISS OF LIFE, KiiiKiii, KickFlip, CRAVITY, xikers, SB19, and QWER, with livestreaming available on Weverse.

Performances on the 6th included ATEEZ, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, Stray Kids, MONSTA X, RIIZE, CRAVITY, MEOVV, xikers, CORTIS, KISS OF LIFE, KiiiKiii, QWER, WOODZ, YENA, JJ Lin, Ash Island, AHOF, KickFlip, CHANMINA, (G)I-DLE’s Shuhua, TWS, NEXZ, ALLDAY PROJECT