Kim Gun-woo, known as a center trainee in 'Boys Planet', is drawing attention as he appears on the show without being edited out, amidst past controversies regarding his character.
On the 17th, Mnet's new audition program 'Boys Planet', a K-pop world-scale debut project, aired its first episode. This program is divided into K Planet, which focuses on Korean, and C Planet, which is based on Chinese, competing against each other. They are engaged in fierce competition for the debut group.
On the OTT platform Tving, which aired simultaneously with Mnet, the real-time viewing share reached nearly 75% among all live channels at the same time, proving its popularity by ranking first in real-time trending searches.
The broadcast featured a rank determination battle among K Planet participants. Each team performed, and ranks were assigned to individuals, with participants deemed unnecessary for rank assignment by the masters being immediately eliminated as 'No Star'.
Among them, Kim Gun-woo emerged as the center of K Planet, capturing the attention of the participants. His tall stature and handsome visuals drew admiration from both the participants and the masters.
Kim Gun-woo participated in this broadcast as an ordinary person from Jeonju without an agency. During the rank determination stage, he expressed, "As desperate as I am for debut, I will show my best at every moment," which caught the attention of vocal master Lee Seok-hoon, who remarked, "His speech and eye contact are like a class president's style."
Kim Gun-woo's profile boasts an impressive background. He has trained as a trainee at well-known domestic agencies such as Source Music (8 months), Cube Entertainment (3 years), and Bill Entertainment (1 year). He also appeared on the MBC entertainment program 'All-Seeing Assistant' as a trainee. He candidly shared, "I thought I was close to debuting while appearing on broadcasts, but I kept failing right at the doorstep, which made me wonder if this path was not meant for me, and if I was just clinging on stubbornly."
He continued, "I felt that there was no place to retreat or escape, so I decided to challenge myself. 'Boys Planet' is my last chance to achieve my dream," revealing his desperation.
Kim Gun-woo performed 'SWEAT' from the project group Zero Base One in 'Boys Planet' Season 1. Master Lim Han-byeol expressed admiration, saying, "Where have you been until now?" and noted, "You can see the uniqueness of friends who have trained for a long time in Kim Gun-woo's attitude on stage. He seems desperate rather than enjoying the stage, which can sometimes diminish the vibrant charm of the participants."
Kim Gun-woo expressed satisfaction, saying, "I think I started off well in this broadcast, which I challenged again with courage, realizing that I am still a valuable person."
Meanwhile, Kim Gun-woo was embroiled in a character controversy ahead of the premiere. On the day of the broadcast, an online community posted a revelation about his character during his trainee days. The author of the post described Kim Gun-woo as "the king of B Entertainment (Bill Entertainment)" and made accusations mixed with personal attacks.
As a result of Kim Gun-woo's actions, some trainees reportedly could not endure and voluntarily withdrew, paying penalties.
It was also claimed that there was severe favoritism from the company towards Kim Gun-woo, and he allegedly looked down on some company staff. The author of the post revealed that they received psychiatric treatment from August to November of last year, providing evidence.
In response, the 'Boys Planet' team stated, "The production team recognizes the seriousness of the matter and is currently verifying the facts regarding the revelations." They added, "We are also reviewing whether this matter has any legal implications."
'Boys Planet' airs every Thursday and Friday at 9:20 PM.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
