2026 Korea First Brand Awards winners: Lim Yoona, Yim Siwan, NCT Dream, Suzy, Btob’s Sungjae and more

K-drama actor, K-pop idols, YouTubers and K-variety releases were crowned winners on the basis of consumer participation at the 2026 Korea First Brand Awards.

Written by Ashima Grover

January 6, 2026 12:25 IST

2026 Korea First Brand Awards winners: Yoona, Siwan and NCT Dream (in picture).

The 2026 Korea First Brand Awards were held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at the Dynasty Hall of The Shilla Seoul. The annual ceremony honouring brand performance of K-pop idols, actors and other popular content on the basis of high consumer participation celebrated its 24th anniversary this year.

Rising K-drama stars Hong Kyung (Netflix’s Good News), Bon Appetit Your Majesty actor Lee Chae Min and Kim Min Ha of Typhoon Family reaped massive success at this year’s Korea First Brand Awards. Seasoned actors like Lim YoonA, Yim Siwan, Yook Sungjae, Ahn Hyo Seop, Lee Byung Hun, IU and others also took home triumphant wins for their contribution to the K-entertainment industry this past year.

Popular K-pop idol groups like aespa, NCT DREAM, RIIZE, ZEROBASEONE, CORTIS and DAY6 also secured their share of victories at the Tuesday event in Seoul.

2026 Korea First Brand Awards winners list – Music

Female Idol Rising Star (Indonesia): VVUP

Female Idol Rookie Award (Indonesia): Hearts2Hearts

Mixed Group (Indonesia): KARD

Male Idol (Indonesia): RIIZE

Band (Indonesia): Xdinary Heroes

Male Idol – Rising Star (Indonesia): XODIAC

Female Solo Singer (Indonesia): BIBI

Male Solo Singer (Indonesia): Seunghan (XngHan)

Female Idol (Indonesia): aespa

Male Idol – Rookie (Indonesia): CORTIS

Female Solo Singer – Rookie (Indonesia): TWICE’s Chaeyoung

Female Vocal (Indonesia): Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon

Male Idol (Vietnam): ZEROBASEONE

Female Vocal (Vietnam): Hansara

Female Idol (Vietnam): aespa

Male Idol – Rookie (Vietnam): CORTIS

Female Solo Singer (Vietnam): BLACKPINK’s Jisoo

Male Solo (Vietnam): NCT’s Haechan

Female Idol – Rookie (Vietnam): Hearts2Hearts

Women’s Vocal Category: Kwon Jinah

Men’s Vocal Category: BTOB’s Lee Changsub

Male Idol: NCT DREAM

Male Idol – Hot Trend: NCT WISH

Band – Rising Star: Xdinary Heroes

Male Idol – Rising Star: AMPERS&ONE

Female Solo Singer – Rookie: Dayoung

Male Solo Singer: NCT’s Doyoung

Female Idol: aespa

Mixed Group: ALLDAY PROJECT

Female Idol – Hot Trend: BABYMONSTER

Male Idol – Rookie: CORTIS

Female Solo Singer: Jeon Somi

Singer-Songwriter: Hanroro

Band Award: DAY6

Female Idol – Rookie: Hearts2Hearts

Hot Icon – Female: HUNTRIX from KPop Demon Hunters

Entertainment Idol: IVE’s Ahn Yujin

Male Celebrity YouTuber: Epik High

Female Radio DJ: OHMYGIRL’s Hyojung for ‘Volume Up’ (KBS Cool FM)

Male Radio DJ: HaHa for ‘Haha’s Super Radio’ (KBS Cool FM)

Male Advertising Model: Lim Young Woong

🏆 2026 대한민국 퍼스트브랜드 대상 🏆
<남자아이돌 부문> NCT DREAM
수상을 축하드립니다 💐#NCTDREAM #마크 #런쥔 #제노 #해찬 #재민 #천러 #지성 @NCTsmtown @NCTsmtown_DREAM @SMTOWNGLOBAL pic.twitter.com/xXbgyiTJzH
— 한국소비자포럼 Official (@kcforum) January 5, 2026