The 2025 MAMA AWARDS in Hong Kong features a stellar lineup, with hosts Park Bo-gum and Kim Hyesoo, promising an unforgettable festival.

The '2025 MAMA AWARDS' held in Hong Kong is raising expectations with the best lineup in history. Today (11th), a press conference for the '2025 MAMA AWARDS' was held at the CJ ENM Center's talent studio. The 'MAMA AWARDS' began in 1999 as Mnet's 'Video Music Awards' and declared itself the first Asian music awards in Korea in 2009, changing its name to 'Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS'. Later, as the influence of K-POP expanded from Asia to global, it was rebranded to 'Mnet AWARDS' in 2022 to match the changes in the global music market. Especially as Mnet celebrates its 30th anniversary, it will visit Hong Kong again, hosting the event at the Kai Tak Stadium with over 70,000 seats. The '2025 MAMA AWARDS' has adopted 'UH-HEUNG' as this year's award ceremony concept. On this day, Producer Lee Yong-joo, in charge of Chapter 1's direction, explained, 'This means a cry to accept all of oneself among various regions, races, and cultures, and to live without fear of being oneself.' He added, 'K-POP in 2025 will shine more than ever, with 'Heung' (fun) within it.' The festival is expected to be richer and more meaningful through the award ceremony with trend leaders from various fields gathering to celebrate the luxurious performance stages of K-POP artists. Park Bo-gum and Kim Hyesoo have been confirmed as hosts, with the producer emphasizing that the hosts are 'storytellers' connecting with fans worldwide. It was also announced that actress Michelle Yeoh will participate as a global presenter, drawing attention. The producer added, 'MAMA AWARDS has opened new paths, and now that K-POP is mainstream, the meeting of Michelle Yeoh and 'MAMA AWARDS' is even more meaningful.' A greeting video from host Park Bo-gum was also released. Park Bo-gum stated, 'This is my seventh greeting as the host of 'MAMA AWARDS'. Every year, it gives me new tension and excitement. It is particularly moving to meet again in Hong Kong. This year has been a year where the whole world has been more excited about K-POP than ever. We are preparing something really special for you at this moment.' In response, Producer Lee Yong-joo expressed, 'Park Bo-gum first attended as a presenter in 2016, and since then, we have been together. I believe there is no host who understands 'MAMA' as well as Park Bo-gum. He fulfills the role of a messenger conveying the concept as a host. Our affection is deep, and since we have deep affection, we are together again this year. I believe he will show us a wonderful appearance this year.' The reason for casting Kim Hyesoo was also shared. The producer explained, 'I wanted to cast Kim Hyesoo for a long time, but I didn't reach out because she was the MC for the 'Blue Dragon Film Awards' at that time. She was an 'icon of the Blue Dragon', so I just watched from afar. Recently, as the Blue Dragon came to an end, I thought about who could convey a new Korean concept in Hong Kong, and since a senior had stepped down from the Blue Dragon MC, I wanted to meet her. Although I couldn't meet her directly, I explained a lot about the power of music. The senior also liked music. For example, during a meeting, the senior directly called the scriptwriter of a previous program and conveyed a message saying, 'I believe the power of music allows an artist to give a great impression in a 5-minute stage. Thank you for preparing the stage.' That scriptwriter is now the main scriptwriter. I feel it is not a coincidence but a connection, and I am really looking forward to her participation.' On this day, Producer Ma Doo-sik also teased a special stage. Producer Ma stated, 'Of course, there will be a stage from the BUMSUP team, and Park Bo-gum is also scheduled to take the stage. The theme will be 'K-Hip', and a stage filled with 'K-Heung' (fun) will be presented.' Furthermore, a special collaboration between 'K-POP Girls! Demon Hunters' and 'MAMA AWARDS' was also teased. Producer Ma said, 'We will go back and forth between animation and reality,' and stated that the historic confrontation between Saja Boys and HUNTR/X will be recreated on stage, raising expectations. Additionally, Chapter 1 will prepare a special stage for SUPER JUNIOR, celebrating their 20th anniversary, while Chapter 2 will feature Stray Kids debuting a stage for their soon-to-be-released track. In response to recent reactions claiming 'Korean fans are being neglected' due to the series of overseas events, Park Chan-wook, the head of the business department, explained, 'The 'MAMA AWARDS' has a vision of creating a world united by music. In that context, we first held it overseas in 2010, meeting K-POP fans worldwide.' He added, 'The event was held in Korea during the COVID period. Now, we are considering further advancing globally.' Regarding the selection of Hong Kong, Park stated, 'While we cannot say there are no expectations for the Chinese market, the reason for selection is that it is the city where 'MAMA AWARDS' was held the most times from 2012 to 2018. It is also a region easily accessible to K-POP fandoms worldwide. Additionally, a new landmark has been established in Hong Kong, so we had high expectations that 'MAMA AWARDS' could create a new stage with unique staging and differentiated production there.' This year's presenter lineup includes 25 world-class individuals leading trends in 2025, such as Ko Yoon-jung, Noh Sang-hyun, Noh Yoon-soo, Park Hyung-sik, Shin Seung-hoon, Shin Ye-eun, Shin Hyun-ji, Arden Cho, Ahn Eun-jin, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Kwang-soo, Lee Do-hyun, Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Jun-young (Jun of UKISS), Lee Jun-hyuk, Im Si-wan, Chang Do-young, Jeong Yeo-bin, Cho Se-ho, Cho Yu-ri from IZ*ONE, Cho Han-kyul, Choo Ji-hoon, Cha Joo-young, Choi De-hun, and Girl's Day's Hyeri. Icons covering diverse areas of K-culture, from those who expanded K-content globally to those who have shown fresh charm and stars with K-POP DNA, are expected to participate. On November 28, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, BABYMONSTER, BOYNEXTDOOR, BUMSUP, ENHYPEN, Heart2Hearts, i-dle, IVE, MEOVV, MIRROR, NCT WISH, SUPER JUNIOR, TREASURE, and TWS will perform, while on November 29, aespa, ALLDAY PROJECT, CORTIS, BIGBANG's G-DRAGON, IDID, izna, JO1, KickFlip, KYOKA, RIIZE, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and ZEROBASEONE are confirmed to appear. The '2025 MAMA AWARDS' will be held on November 28 and 29, based on local time, at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, and will be broadcast live through various platforms, including Mnet Plus.