Stray Kids, LE SSERAFIM, TXT, IVE win big at 2025 K-World Dream Awards: Complete winners list, blue carpet highlights, and more

The 2025 K-World Dream Awards, one of the largest annual celebrations of Korean music and K-pop, hosted some of the industry's most popular acts and newcomers. The gala ceremony at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul recognized artists in various categories, ranging from music to rookies and popularity awards.

The 2025 K-World Dream Awards commenced on Thursday, August 21. The blue carpet ceremony began at 4:30 pm KST, followed by the main awards show at 6:30 pm KST.

The annual event, now in its ninth year since its launch as the Soribada Best K-Music Awards in 2017, brought together leading names from the K-pop and entertainment industry. The event was broadcast to global audiences through HelloLive via a paid streaming service.

Several award recipients were confirmed prior to the live broadcast. Notable winners included G-DRAGON, IU, DAY6, and BLACKPINK’s Rosé, each receiving recognition in the K-World Dream Best Music Award category. During the ceremony, TXT was also announced as the winner of the ‘Global Music Artist’ Award.

Full winners list of the 2025 K-World Dream Awards: TXT, Stray Kids, IU, Rosé, and more honored

The 2025 K-World Dream Awards, on August 21, honored some of the industry’s most successful and rising artists with major wins across multiple categories. The night celebrated the established legends, from G-DRAGON, IU, and BLACKPINK’s Rosé to groups such as SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER.

It also spotlighted rookies like Heart2Hearts. The 2025 K-World Dream Awards' winners were selected based on a combination of digital music platform Soribada’s internal data. It also involved fan participation through online and mobile voting, as well as evaluations by industry professionals and critics.

Here is the complete winners list at the 2025 K-World Dream Awards:

Best Music Award: G-DRAGON, IU, DAY6, BLACKPINK’s Rosé
Best Album (Pre-announced): SEVENTEEN, NCT DREAM, ENHYPEN, aespa, PLAVE
Best Digital Music: IU
Super Rookie of the Year: AHOF, KickFlip, Heart2Hearts, KiiiKiii
K-World Global Music Artist Award: TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT)
Listener’s Choice: BTOB, Paul Kim
Best OST: HUNTRX
Best Band: LUCY, Xdinary Heroes
Female Solo Popularity Award: IVE’s Jang Wonyoung
Group Popularity Award: Stray Kids, UNIS
Best Boy Group (Popularity): Stray Kids
Best Music Video: ILLIT, tripleS
Bonsang: ILLIT, Xdinary Heroes, NCT WISH, IVE, Stray Kids, LE SSERAFIM, QWER, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT)
K-World Class Award: TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), LE SSERAFIM, Stray Kids, IVE
Journalist Pick Artist Award: NCT WISH, LE SSERAFIM
K-World Dream Best All-Rounder Musician: Kang Daniel
K-World Dream Best Performance: CRAVITY
K-World Dream New Vision Award: FIFTY FIFTY, Close Your Eyes

Star-studded performances, actor presenters of 2025 K-World Dream Awards

This year’s performance lineup also featured prominent K-pop groups and artists. The list included Stray Kids, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, BTOB, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), Kang Daniel, and CRAVITY, among others. Although the event focused on live performances and show appearances, it was especially geared towards commemorating successes within the Korean music industry.

Besides musical performances, the ceremony invited some actors to be presenters. They included Byeon Woo-seok, Kang You-seok, Go Bo-gyeol, Ryu Kyung-soo, Mun Ka-young, Shin Ji-yeon, Im Soo-hyang, and Jung Yu-mi, whose presence contributed to the event's star power.

For the unfamiliar, the K-World Dream Awards is South Korea's yearly music awards ceremony that honors great performances in K-pop. The show started in 2017 and was initially produced as the 'Soribada Best K-Music Awards' by the digital music portal Soribada. In 2022, the ceremony resumed with new organizers and was renamed the K-Global Heart Dream Awards.

Two years later, in 2024, it went through another rebranding to take on its present name, the K-World Dream Awards.

About the author

Adrija Chakraborty is a writer at Sportskeeda with a Master's degree in English literature, which provided her with a strong foundation in research, analysis, and writing. Currently, she covers all things K-drama trends. In school, Adrija served as an editor for her school magazine and has published many stories that received delightful responses.

Adrija's passion for pop culture, especially K-pop and K-dramas, developed during her university years. Writing blog posts and articles on these topics, which received positive feedback, helped her build a portfolio and opened doors to opportunities in the pop culture writing industry. This also allowed her to combine her academic background with her love for K-pop and K-dramas.

Accuracy is key for Adrija, and she maintains this by thoroughly researching and cross-verifying information from multiple credible sources.

Adrija loves BTS, whom she admires not only for their music but also for their resilience, passion, and dedication.
In her free time, Adrija enjoys watching K-dramas, reading books in different languages on various topics, singing, painting, and cooking.

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Edited by Riya Peter