In the ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’, Korea achieved a dramatic comeback against Japan after a thrilling and intense battle, recording a second consecutive victory.
The MBN entertainment program ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’, which aired on the 30th at 9:50 PM to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations, recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 4.7% and a peak rating of 5.5%, maintaining its position as the number one Tuesday entertainment program for five consecutive weeks across general and cable channels.
The third round of the finals aired that day was the last match held in a best-of-three format, creating a continuous series of close contests that heightened the tension from the very first stage. In the face-off between Enok and Takuya, Enok showcased heartfelt emotions with ‘About the Loneliness of Love’, but Takuya won by a narrow margin of just 2 points with ‘You and My Man’, bringing Korea and Japan to a 1:1 tie.
In the subsequent match between Kim Jun-soo and Shin Nosuke, Kim Jun-soo dominated the stage with ‘Heung’, winning with an overwhelming score of 82 to 18. However, in the next stage, Japan's Shin performed ‘Every Day, Every Moment’ fluently in Korean, moving the audience, and then 강문경 (Kang Moon-kyung) sang ‘Osaka Shigure’ in Japanese, defeating him 33 to 67 and bringing the competition back to square one.
In the fourth stage, Korea's Choi Soo-ho boldly challenged Japan's reigning king Yudai, performing Korea's first horror song ‘Chang-gwi’ with a shocking performance that sent chills down everyone’s spine. Yudai attempted his first Korean song with ‘Drowning’, unleashing his signature high notes and eliciting enthusiastic cheers from the judges, who remarked, “It felt like he was challenging with high notes.” However, the result was a narrow victory for Choi Soo-ho at 51 to 49, allowing Korea to take a 3:2 lead.
In the fifth stage, Japan's Masaya aimed to “defeat Korea's number one” by choosing Park Seo-jin, delivering an emotional rendition of ‘I Will Go to You Like the First Snow’ in Korean. However, Korea's reigning king Park Seo-jin showcased a powerful performance of ‘Arirang Mokdong’ using drums and janggu, receiving praise that “it seems like he was trying to release all his pent-up feelings today,” and won by a 2-point margin.
Finally, with Korea leading 4 to 2, Korea's Shin Seung-tae faced Japan's Shu, delivering an emotional performance of ‘Love.. That Guy’ with his powerful tone. However, Shu, showcasing a clear tone and delicate emotions with ‘Dry Flower’, claimed victory over Shin Seung-tae, finishing the stage with a score of 4:3 between Korea and Japan.
The scores from the celebrity judging panel, totaling 100 out of 200 points, were revealed, causing excitement in the venue. In a situation where the results could be overturned due to the close scores from the national judging panel, an upset occurred in the match between Choi Soo-ho and Yudai, which had been a close contest. In the final results combining the celebrity judging panel scores, Yudai achieved a dramatic victory, flipping the scores to 1:2 in favor of Japan. The match between Enok and Takuya also confirmed Takuya's victory, widening the score gap to 1:3, creating a tense atmosphere among the Korean celebrity judging panel and the audience.
In a situation where Japan only needed to win once to end all contests, Kim Jun-soo defeated Shin Nosuke, giving Korea a breath of relief. In the match between Park Seo-jin and Masaya, which had everyone on edge with a 2-point margin, Park Seo-jin solidified the victory, creating an unscripted drama that tied the score at 3:3. Ultimately, the match between Shin Seung-tae and Shu became the decisive point, where Shin Seung-tae, who had lost to Shu in the national judging panel scores, overwhelmingly won against Shu in the celebrity judging panel scores, resulting in a remarkable turnaround. In the end, Korea achieved a miraculous comeback victory of 4:3 against Japan, concluding the ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’.
The ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’ created a stage for genre expansion that transcended borders and generations, blending various genres of music from trot and R&B to rock and J-pop. Japanese singers challenged Korean songs, while Korean singers passionately performed Japanese songs, creating a new stage. The emergence of fresh genres and artists also gathered MZ fans from both Korea and Japan. The Korea-Japan TOP7 provided encouragement and support behind the scenes during breaks, expressing sentiments such as “It was not competition, but exchange” and “We have become closer like brothers,” emphasizing that this stage was a cultural sharing platform that transcended fierce competition.
Thus, the ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’ showcased the power of music and culture that transcends genres through the fierce performances of top artists from both Korea and Japan. Although this stage concluded with Korea's two consecutive victories, the underlying value of ‘exchange’—learning and respecting each other's music and growing together—remains even more significant. Furthermore, it left a profound meaning in that it opened up possibilities for the future of Korean and Japanese popular music and provided an opportunity for more artists to share each other's languages and emotions.
The production team stated, “The ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’ had moments of intense competition filled with tears and moments where the power of song transcended borders and moved hearts. Thanks to the heartfelt performances until the end and the support of the viewers, ‘Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’ will be remembered as a new milestone in the history of music exchange between the two countries.” They added, “We applaud all the participants and express our deep gratitude to the viewers who stayed with us until the end.”
Meanwhile, on the 7th, the long-awaited MVP announcement and best awards ceremony of the ‘2025 Korea-Japan King of Kings Competition’ will be broadcast, along with a gala show featuring the Korea-Japan TOP7.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
