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Acclaimed South Korean screenwriter Eun-sook Kim has been selected as the recipient of the Golden Bird Prize, the highest honour at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2026, becoming the first screenwriter to receive the prestigious recognition.

Announced by the Seoul Drama Awards Organizing Committee (SDAOC), the award recognises Kim’s outstanding contribution to Korean television drama and her role in bringing K-drama storytelling to international audiences.

Introduced in 2023, the Golden Bird Prize celebrates creators and productions that have made a significant impact on the television industry through artistic excellence, originality and global appeal. Previous recipients include actor Choi Min-sik for Disney+ series Big Bet (2023), director Park Chan-wook for HBO’s The Sympathizer (2024) and Ben Stiller for Apple TV+’s Severance Season 2 (2025).

With a career spanning more than two decades, Kim has created some of South Korea’s most successful and internationally recognised dramas. Her breakthrough came with *Lovers in Paris*, which achieved an exceptional 57.6% audience rating in Korea, followed by popular series such as Secret Garden, The Heirs, Descendants of the Sun and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.

Her work has consistently explored different genres and themes. Descendants of the Sun combined romance with stories of war and disaster, while Guardian: The Lonely and Great God reimagined Korean folklore through contemporary fantasy. Historical drama Mr. Sunshine explored Korea’s past, while Netflix’s The Glory marked a departure from her traditional romantic storytelling with an intense revenge thriller addressing school violence and trauma.

The Glory became a major international success, recording 622.8 million viewing hours on Netflix during the first half of 2023, ranking third among all titles on the platform during that period. The series also won Outstanding Korean Drama at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2023.

Kim continued her international success with Netflix’s 2025 fantasy romantic comedy Genie, Make a Wish, which follows a genie awakening after a thousand years and a woman who struggles to experience emotions. The series entered Netflix’s TV Top 10 in 51 countries and reached No. 1 on the platform’s weekly Global Top 10 for non-English television series.

The 2026 recognition also marks a return to the Seoul International Drama Awards for Kim, who previously received the Outstanding Korean Screenwriter Award in 2011 for Secret Garden, 15 years before receiving the event’s highest honour.

According to the organising committee, Kim was selected for her distinctive creative universe, her ability to develop stories reflecting contemporary society and her influence in expanding the global reach of Korean drama.

The Seoul International Drama Awards 2026 ceremony takes place on Thursday, October 8, at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. The event will be broadcast live on MBC and streamed simultaneously on the official Seoul International Drama Awards YouTube channel from 4:55 p.m. KST.