Golden Disc Awards celebrates 40th anniversary with Jennie, Stray Kids in Taipei

The Golden Disc Awards, Korea’s longest-running annual K-pop awards show, will celebrate its 40th anniversary on January 10 with a star-studded lineup featuring Jennie, Stray Kids, IVE, Enhypen and Le Sserafim.

Hosted by HLL JoongAng, the awards show is set to take place at the Taipei Dome in Taiwan, the city’s largest indoor arena, with a capacity of 40,000, making this year’s edition one of the biggest in the event’s history.

The red carpet begins at 5 p.m. on January 10, and the main ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. The Korea JoongAng Daily will be covering the event live beginning at 4 p.m.

This year’s lineup includes a total of 18 K-pop acts. The first slate of performers, announced on Nov. 26, 2025, included Le Sserafim, IVE, NCT Wish, Enhypen, Allday Project, izna, ZeroBaseOne, Zo Zazz and Cortis. The second lineup, unveiled on Nov. 27, 2025, added Monsta X, BoyNextDoor, Stray Kids, ARrC, Ateez, Jennie, Close Your Eyes, KiiiKiii and TWS.

The upcoming ceremony will mark Jennie’s first performance in Taipei as a solo artist, as well as Stray Kids’ first show in the city.

Starting with the 40th edition, the Golden Disc Awards will present three major honors: the newly added Artist of the Year, alongside the existing Song of the Year and Album of the Year. The eligibility window for this year’s nominees ran from November 2024 to the end of October last year.

Presenters for the ceremony include Ahn Hyo-seop, who voiced the main antagonist Jinu in Netflix’s smash hit animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025), Byeon Woo-seok, who starred in the tvN drama “Lovely Runner” (2024) and Song Joong-ki, known for his roles in “Descendants of the Sun” (2016) and, more recently, “My Youth” (2025).

This year’s sponsors include Upbit, Korea’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, and portal operator Naver.

To mark its 40th anniversary, the Golden Disc Awards has undergone a rebranding. A new emblem keeps the signature disc motif but adds a soundwave design to represent the show’s evolution and the influence of music.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]