The TOP 7 of the '2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition' will engage in a thrilling 'brain game' between Korea and Japan, which they have never experienced before, in the first round of the finals.
The MBN entertainment program '2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition', which aired for the first time on the 2nd to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations, recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 4.9% and a peak rating of 5.6%, securing the top spot among all entertainment programs aired on Tuesday across terrestrial, general programming, and cable channels, proving its scale as a unique international music competition.
In the second episode, airing on the 9th at 9:50 PM, the preliminary round, which brought freshness with a new format called 'Ranking Battle', will conclude with the performances of Park Seo-jin-Yu Dai and Enok-Takuya, and the finals will commence with a best-of-three format.
In particular, the outcome of the match between the top duo of Korea and Japan, Park Seo-jin and Yu Dai, who declared, "I will lead our team to victory," is drawing attention, as well as which country will benefit from the first round of the finals.
Meanwhile, MC Shin Dong-yeop caused a stir by announcing the shocking 'Impromptu Selection' rule before the 'first round of the finals' stage. The 'Impromptu Selection' method allows both teams to decide on their match-up contenders on the spot through a strategy meeting just before the performance. Shin Dong-yeop explained, "It will be a nail-biting brain game and a game of intuition," leaving both the Korean and Japanese celebrity judging panel and the TOP 7 speechless, expressing their tension with comments like "We need to come up with a proper strategy," "I'm sweating," and "This is really nerve-wracking."
However, the Korea-Japan TOP 7 quickly began strategizing based on the skills of each member they explored during the preliminary 'Ranking Battle', saying things like "Since it's the beginning, we should go with a fast song" and "We need to play our cards quickly." It raises curiosity about what strategies the Korea-Japan TOP 7 will employ to create the match-ups.
In the first round of the finals, an unprecedented clash of extreme genres emerged, leaving the celebrity judging panel and audience in deep thought. In the '2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition', not only solo stages but also unique performances such as duets and trios have been formed. In this context, the Japanese team of Shin-Shoo-Takuya performed as a male R&B trio, and even Shin Dong-yeop, who was listening to the performance, exclaimed, "The combination is great... it's amazing." On the other hand, Kondo praised the Korean team's duet performance, saying, "Everything was perfect. It was outstanding."
As the judging time approached, the celebrity judging panel and audience expressed their dilemma, saying, "It's too different, so it's difficult." Shin Dong-yeop remarked, "It doesn't feel like choosing between Jjamppong or Jajangmyeon, Kimchi Stew or Doenjang Stew," and added, "Since the stages are so extreme, it seems difficult to judge," representing the infinite expansiveness of genres that can only be felt in the '2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition'. It raises interest in who the Korean team contestants were and what kind of unprecedented diversity of stages will appear in the first round of the finals.
Meanwhile, the MBN '2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition', commemorating the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations, will air on the 9th at 9:50 PM.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
