The 2025 SBS Gayo Daejeon‘s one-day music festival featuring K-pop greats like NCT’s Taeyong, NCT DREAM, Stray Kids, LE SSERAFIM, IVE, ATEEZ and more concluded on X-mas Day. But the year-end Korean entertainment parties are far from over. In the final home stretch before the 2025 calendar runs out of pages, and the new year is beckoned, there at least 8 more such musical festivities and awards ceremonies yet to kick off.
With less than a week to go, we already have more than enough quota of year-end celebrations on hand to keep up entertained through the final days of the year. From harmonious melodies and unforgettable performances aiming to set the stage ablaze at the MBC Music Festival to the honouring the greatest K-drama contributions this past year, it’s time to get our calendars in check.
Here are at least 8 year-end shows featuring notable South Korean figures from the entertainment world you can look forward to:
2025 year-end Kpop and Kdrama events yet to air
1. 2025 SeoulCon APAN Star Awards
Date: December 29
Right after the SBS Gayo Daejeon wrapped on Christmas, the first such show in line is the 2025 SeoulCon APAN Star Awards. The country’s major integrated K-drama awards show will take place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza Art Hall 1 in Jung-gu, Seoul. Kim Seung Woo and Park Sun Young will be hosting the ceremony that will see content, aired from November 2024 to October 2025 across all channels and the OTT space, battle it out for the spot.
Check out the full nominees list here.
2. MBC Entertainment Awards
Date: December 29
As a festival of entertainer, the 2025 MBC Entertainment Awards will lead with a ‘Wonderland’ concept. The show will bring on beatboxers WING and Hiss, dancer Leejung and Babyju, musical star Choi Jeong Won, Hong Jim Min and Kim Kung Sun for a variety of appearances. Star hosts Jun Hyun Moo and Jang Do Yeon will serve as the main MCs of the night.
The Nominees for the Best Couple category are:
- Jun Hyun Moo and Ku Sng Hwan for Home Alone
- Kian84, Dex, Pani Bottle and Lee Si Eon for Adventure By Accident 4
- Kim Yeon Koung and Inkushi for The Wonder Coach
- Joo Woo Jae and HaHa for How Do You Play?
- Boom and Yang Se Hyung for Half-Star Hotel in Lost Island
- Tzuyang and her manager Oh Soo Bin for The Manager
3. 2025 MBC Drama Awards
Date: December 30
Set to take place at MBC Media Center Public Hall in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu in Seoul, the K-drama event will see TV host Kim Sung Joo reprise his role as the award ceremony’s main MC for the seventh year in a row. Actress-singer Lee Sun Bin will also accompany him, marking her return to the show after eight years.
Rock band Jaurim is also expected to present a performance that evening. Meanwhile, the star-studded presenter lineup includes IU, Byeon Woo Seok, Lee Sung Kyung, Chae Jong Hyeop, Heo Sung Tae and Shin Ha Kyun.
The Best Couple Awards nominees for the MBC Drama Awards 2025 are:
- Lee Sun Bin and Kim Young Dae for To the Moon
- Jin Ki Joo and Seo Kang Joon for Undercover High School
- Roh Jeong Eui and Lee Chae Min for Crushology 101
- Kim Se Jeong and Kang Tae Oh for Moon River
- Lee Se Young and Na In Woo for Motel California
4. 2025 SBS Entertainment Awards
Date: December 30
With Jun Hyun Moo, Chae Tae Hyun and Lee Su Ji as the hosts of the night, the award show will take place at SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong, Map District.
While other big news will be shared on D-Day itself, here are the SBS Entertainment Awards Grand Prize / Daesang nominees:
Grand Prize
- Yoo Jae Suk
- Lee Sang Min
- Jee Seok Jin
- Shin Dong Yup
- Tak Jae Hoon
- Jun Hyun Moo
- Seo Jang Hoon
Program of the Year
- Running Man
- Kick a Goal
- Single for Men with Shoes Off
- One-Take-Out Project – My Turn
- Our Ballad
- Secretary Jin
- Whenever I Have a Chance
- My Little Old Boy
- Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny
5. 2025 MBC Music Festival / MBC Gayo Daejejeon
Date: December 31
Hot on the heels of his military stint completion, actor-singer Hwang Min Hyun will join SHINee’s Choi Minho and ALLDAY PROJECT’s Annie as the host of the music festival slated to ring in the new year.
The year-end K-pop schedule’s artist lineup is as follows:
- ATEEZ
- aespa
- Hearts2Hearts
- ILLIT
- BOYNEXTDOOR
- CORTIS
- ALLDAY PROJECT
- HANRORO
- LE SSERAFIM
- NCT DREAM
- NCT WISH
- RIIZE
- Stray Kids
- THE BOYZ
- ZEROBASEONE
- TREASURE
- TXT
- TXT’s Yeonjun
- YB
- TWS
- PLAVE
- LUCY
- MEOVV
- SHINee’s Minho
- NEXZ
- NMIXX
- KiiiKiii
- KickFlip
- IDID
- ITZY
- IVE
- izna
- BEATPELLA HOUSE
6. 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen
Date: December 31
Although this show in particular is Japan’s biggest TV music event of the year, the final party countdown to the new year will also see some K-pop idols step onto the stage. K-pop icons listed in the lineup include South Korean-Japanese rapper and singer Chanmina, and K-pop groups aespa and ILLIT.
Boy band &TEAM, which is a Japanese unit based in both Japan and South Korea and us handled by BTS’ ever-expansive agency’s Japanese label YX Labels, will also perform at the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
The full lineup is as follows:
Red Team
- Aina the End
- Aimyon
- Illit
- Lilas Ikuta
- Sayuri Ishikawa
- Hiromi Iwasaki
- aespa
- Candy Tune
- Fuyumi Sakamoto
- Mariko Takahashi
- Chanmina
- Yoshimi Tendo
- Nogizaka46
- Hana
- Perfume
- Humbert Humbert
- Fruits Zipper
- Misia
- Kaori Mizumori
- LiSA
White Team
- &Team
- Orange Range
- King & Prince
- Toshinobu Kubota
- Hiromi Go
- Sakanaction
- Junretsu
- Tube
- Number_i
- Leon Niihama
- Vaundy
- BE:FIRST
- Masaharu Fukuyama
- Akira Fuse
- Mrs. Green Apple
- Hiroshi Miyama
- M!lk
7. 2025 KBS Drama Awards
Date: December 31
To be held at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, the K-drama award ceremony will see Nam Ji Hyun, Moon Sang Min and Jang Sung Kyu host the year-end festivities.
On the other hand, actor Choi Soo Jong will take on the late Lee Soon Jae‘s role as a presenter at the 2025 KBS Drama Awards. As per the award show’s long-running tradition, the previous year’s Grand Prize recipient honours the succeeding winner of the major category alongside the KBS president.
Unfortunately, the 2024 Daesang winner Lee Soon Jae passed away in November. Choi was reportedly asked to step in since he took home the 2023 KBS Drama Awards Grand Prize.
2025 SBS Drama Awards
Date: December 31
The SBS Drama Awards is set to air live from SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu in Seoul. Shin Dong Hyup will reprise his role as the host for the ninth consecutive time. Chae Won Bin and Heon Nam Jun will join him for the task.
Here are the nominees:
Grand Prize / Daesang
- Park Hyung Sik for Buried Hearts
- Lee Je Hoon for Taxi Driver 3
- Go Hyun Jung for Queen Mantis
- Yoon Kye Sang for The Winning Try
- Han Ji Min for Love Scout
SBS Drama Best Couple 2025
- Park Hyung Sik and Hong Hwa Yeon for Buried Hearts
- Choi Woo Shik and Jung So Min for Would You Marry Me
- Yook Sungjae aka BTOB’s Sungjae and Kim Ji Yeon aka WJSN’s Bona for The Haunted Palace
- Jang Ki Yong and Ahn Eun Jin for Dynamite Kiss
- Lee Joon Hyuk and Han Ji Min for Love Scout
- Ha Yoo Joon and Park Ji Hu for Spring of Youth
