The Korea Grand Music Awards (Korean: 코리아 그랜드 뮤직 어워즈) is an annual South Korean music awards ceremony that honors achievements in various categories of Korean popular music, such as K-pop and trot, domestically and internationally. The awards ceremony was established by Ilgan Sports, who previously created the Golden Disc Awards in 1984 and organized it until 2020, in celebration of the newspaper's 55th anniversary.[1] It was created with the purpose of honoring artists who have played a role in spreading Korean culture around the world and bringing together the past, present, and future artists of Korean popular music. The winners will be selected based on expert judge evaluations, digital music and album sales, and mobile fan voting.[2]
The first ceremony was held on November 16–17, 2024 at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea. The ceremony's production headed by Han Dong-chul, the CEO of Funky Studio who formerly directed the MAMA Awards.[3]Hanni of NewJeans and Nam Ji-hyun were announced as the hosts for the ceremony's first day, while Winter of Aespa and Nam would be the hosts for the second day. The line-up of artists in attendance were consists of Aespa, Ateez, Zerobaseone, NewJeans, NiziU and Taemin among others.[4][5] It was live stream via Kiswe.[6]
^Lee, Geum-jun (13 February 2024). "'코리아 그랜드 뮤직 어워즈' 탄생…11월 첫 개최 선언" ['Korea Grand Music Awards' is born... First held in November announced]. ET News (in Korean). Retrieved 13 February 2024.
^Moon, Wan-sik (13 February 2024). "'제1회 코리아 그랜드 뮤직 어워즈'(KGMA) 11월 개최" ['1st Korea Grand Music Awards' (KGMA) to be held in November]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved 13 February 2024.
^Yoon, Ki-baek (28 August 2024). "뉴진스 하니 제1회 KGMA MC 발탁… 에스파·제베원 등 1차 라인업 공개" [New Jeans Hani Selected as 1st KGMA MC… 1st Lineup Revealed Including Espa and Jebeone]. Edaily [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
^ abChoi, Hee-jae (11 September 2024). "남지현X에스파 윈터, 제1회 KGMA서 호흡…둘째날 MC" [Nam Ji-hyun X aespa Winter, working together at the 1st KGMA… MC on the second day]. Edaily [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved 11 September 2024.
^Yoon, Ki-baek (4 November 2024). KGMA, 'BTS 콘서트 중계 플랫폼' 키스위 통해 200개국 생중계 [KGMA broadcasts live in 200 countries through 'BTS concert broadcast platform' Kiswe] (in Korean). Edaily [ko]. Retrieved 4 November 2024 – via Naver.