MBC held its 2021 MBC Drama Awards on December 30th, honoring some of the year's top dramas. Kim Sung Joo hosted the show, which was broadcast without an audience to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Namgoong Min received the Grand Prize (Daesang) for his outstanding performance as a former intelligence agent seeking vengeance in MBC's blockbuster drama "The Veil." At a time when MBC drama ratings were stagnating in the single digits, Namgoong Min's acting skills and range received critical and popular acclaim, bringing "The Veil" ratings close to 10%. (9.8 percent).

"The Red Sleeve," a historical romantic drama that dominated the ratings and attention at the end of the year, came in under the wire in 2021 (airing from November 12 to January 1). The drama won the most awards at the 2021 MBC Drama Awards, including Top Excellence Awards for stars Lee Junho and Lee Se Young, Lee Deok Hwa's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Best Couple Award, Jang Hye Jin's Best Supporting Actor Award, Kang Hoon's Best New Actor Award, and the Best Screenwriter Award.

"It always feels strange to accept an award at the end of the year," Namgoong Min stated in his remarks. I've been to the MBC Drama Awards previously, albeit it's been a long time. At the time, I was just pleased to be there for the awards, but when I got home and lay down alone in bed, I felt strangely numb. It wasn't a bad sensation. I'm not sure what I was feeling. Since then, a lot has happened, and I'm incredibly pleased to be receiving such a prestigious honor.

"I began calling the director every day two months before the drama began filming. With his brightly beaming face, I believe the director led us well and energetically on set. It was a drama that required a long time to make from a technical standpoint. I recall thinking as we approached the midway mark that I wanted we had more time. But it was due of the cast and crew that we were able to finish it well.

"I'm the sort to plan everything out ahead of time, but there was so much to plan for 'The Veil,' that it didn't work out. I was under a great deal of pressure. When I went to set, though, the lovable actors from 'The Veil' would appear as their true roles, which gave me a lot of strength. I was physically and mentally fatigued, yet I was able to persevere until the conclusion."

"Ah Reum, thank you for always being by my side, I love you," he added to his thanks to Jin Ah Reum, his girlfriend.

See the complete list of winners below!

Daesang (Grand Prize): Namgoong Min (“The Veil”)

Drama of the Year: “The Red Sleeve”

Top Excellence Award for a Mini-Series (Actor): Lee Junho, Lee Se Young (“The Red Sleeve”)

Top Excellence Award for a Daily Drama: Cha Seo Won, Uhm Hyun Kyung (“The Second Husband”)

Excellence Award for a Mini-Series: Lee Sang Yeob (“On the Verge of Insanity”), Jang Young Nam (“The Veil”)

Excellence Award for a Short-Form Drama: Jung Moon Sung (“Moebius: The Veil”), Kim Hwan Hee (“Here’s My Plan”)

Best Couple: Lee Junho and Lee Se Young (“The Red Sleeve”)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Lee Deok Hwa (“The Red Sleeve”)

Best Supporting Actor: Jang Hye Jin (“The Red Sleeve”), Kim Do Hyun (“The Veil”)

Best Screenwriter: Jung Hae Ri (“The Red Sleeve”)

Best New Actor: Kang Hoon (“The Red Sleeve”), Kim Ji Eun (“The Veil”)