Korea's Got Talent season 1 explained

Network:tvN

Korea's Got Talent is a South Korean reality television show that was first broadcast on 4 June 2011 on tvN. The show is based on the Got Talent series format, originating with Britain's Got Talent. This is the show's first series in Korea. The judges are Kolleen Park, Jang Jin and Song Yun-ah.

The show started accepting applicants on 9 February 2011 via ARS, the official website, and smart phone apps. The show held regional auditions nationwide starting in Busan on 2 April 2011.[1]

The show became famous around the world after a video of Sung-Bong Choi's appearance gained worldwide media attention.

For prizes, the semi-finalists will have the opportunity to sign with Sony Music, and the winner will receive US$100,000.[2]

Auditions

Auditions were held in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, and Incheon.

Semifinal

The semi-finals are live shows with an audience. They air at 11 pm to midnight. The winner of the audience vote and a judge's choice from between the second and third place act go through to the top 10 final. In the second round, it was revealed that the judges would rank each act from 1st to 8th at the end of their performance. This has caused errors from the judges ranking one act too high thus putting a better act too low, like Jang Jin's error with I Big Harmonica Ensemble.

1st Semifinal

Audience Voting: 96,457

OrderPerformerAct DescriptionVoting PercentageBuzzes
Kolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang Jin
Daejeon MonstersMartial Arts/B-boy Dance Troupenot revealed (5th–8th place)
Im Chae-HungWhistlernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Kim Hong-JunComediannot revealed (5th–8th place)
Kim Ha-JunSand Animation12.0% (3rd place)
Hwang Yeong-CheolBeat Boxernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Jong Sin-YeopFire Dancer12.2% (2nd place)
Cutie FaceChildren's Dance Troupe6.3% (4th place)[3]
Choi Sung-BongOpera Singer56.0% (1st place)

2nd Semifinal

Audience Voting: 38,321

OrderPerformerAct DescriptionVoting PercentageBuzzesJudges Ranking
Kolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang JinKolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang Jin
MonsterMGDance Troupenot revealed (5th–8th place)
Sung Gyu-JingOpera Singer11.6% (3rd place)
World Taekwondo Skipping AcademyTaekwondo/Skippingnot revealed (5th–8th place)
Park Jin-YeongBelly Dancernot revealed (5th–8th place)
MusahwaeObject Breakingnot revealed (5th–8th place)
Kim Tae-HyunChild Singer23.9% (2nd place)
I Big Harmonica EnsembleHarmonica Playing30.1% (1st place)
Nanjang AnpanTraditional Korean Show10.4% (4th place)

3rd Semifinal

Audience Voting: 33,736

OrderPerformerAct DescriptionVoting PercentageBuzzesJudges Ranking
Kolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang JinKolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang Jin
THE BESTBallroom Dance Duetnot revealed (5th–8th place)
Jo Hoon-SikSinger/Action Dancernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Seo Jong-HwanDrummer/Beat Boxernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Jang Han-ByolSingernot revealed (5th–8th place)
EscapeMagicians13.7% (3rd place)
FusionMCB-boy Dance Troupe19.8% (2nd place)
Lee Seung-AnMusul Martial Art9.3% (4th place)
Kim Chan-YangDance31.8% (1st place)

4th Semifinal

Audience Voting: 46,428

OrderPerformerAct DescriptionVoting PercentageBuzzesJudges Ranking
Kolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang JinKolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang Jin
ChumseoliDancing/Actingnot revealed (5th–8th place)
Ryu Sang-EunSingernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Lee Jin-GyuMind Readernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Yun Jong-KiTwo handed Yo-yo Artistnot revealed (5th–8th place)
IUVComedians/Lipsyncing24.7% (2nd place)
Rainbow Cheerleading SquadCheerleading9.2% (4th place)
Joo Min-JeongRobotic Dancing36.9% (1st place)
Cheon Sae-Bit48-string Gayageum Player10.6% (3rd place)

5th Semifinal

Audience Voting: 38,755

OrderPerformerAct DescriptionVoting PercentageBuzzesJudges Ranking
Kolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang JinKolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang Jin
VivaglamDance Troupenot revealed (5th–8th place)
Yang Dae-YongPianist/Comediannot revealed (5th–8th place)
Song Su-JongSingernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Park Soo-JinBelly-Dancernot revealed (5th–8th place)
Kim Tae-HyunChild Drummer15.1% (3rd place)
Kim Min-JiSinger29.4% (1st place)
Park Ki-HoonRobotic Dancing14.4% (4th place)
Kim Jong-HwanB-Boy Dancer28.5% (2nd place)

Grand final

Audience Voting: 135,221

There was a placement draw held to determine the performance orders.The live finale began with Kim Ha-Joon's sand animation of the story of Japan crushing Korea's dreams, and finishing with the phrase, 'Dokdo is our territory'. Kim Tae-Hyun then sang Michael Jackson's 'Heal the World'. Kim Jong-Hwan performed a B-boy dance followed by an ABBA Medley Harmonica Performance by I Big Harmonica Ensemble. Kim Min-Ji sang 'You Raise Me Up', and then IUV lip-sync'ed a medley of songs, finishing with Cinderella, their audition song. Kim Chan-Yang displayed a sword fighting dance, and then World Sensation Choi Sung-Bong sang an encore of his DaeJeon audition performance, Nella Fantasia. Joo Min-Jeong displayed a Poppin Dance in her gold uniform, and Magicians Escape performed a magic trick where one man would go into a box, but then turns out to be a woman at the end.After 10–15 minutes of voting, the top 3 were announced. They were: IUV, Joo Min-Jeong and Choi Sung-Bong. IUV was overwhelmed with tears and despite finishing in third, they were very happy and thanked the crowd and South Korea. Then Joo Min-Jeong was announced as the winner, with her mother in the audience. Choi Sung-Bong finished 2nd. Joo Min-Jeong received 300,000,000 Korean Won, almost US$300,000. She also received a new car (Renault Samsung QM5 SUV). Choi Sung-Bong as well as other top 40 singers were given the opportunity to sign with Sony Music.

OrderPerformerAct DescriptionVoting PercentageBuzzesJudges Ranking
Kolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang JinKolleen ParkSong Yun-ahJang Jin
Kim Ha-JoonSand Animationnot revealed (5th–10th place)
Kim Tae-HyunChild Singernot revealed (5th–10th place)
Kim Jong-HwanB-boy Dancenot revealed (5th–10th place)
I Big Harmonica EnsembleHarmonica Playersnot revealed (5th–10th place)
Kim Min-JiSinger4th place
IUVLipsync/Comedians3rd place
Kim Chan-YangAcrobatic & Modern Dancernot revealed (5th–10th place)
Choi Sung-BongOpera Singer2nd place
Joo Ming-JongPoppin Dance1st place, Winner
EscapeMagiciansnot revealed (5th–10th place)

Notes

  1. Web site: "Korea's Got Talent" to Air Early June. Soompi. 8 June 2011. 24 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110724161447/http://www.soompi.com/news/koreas-got-talent-to-air-early-june. dead.
  2. Web site: tVN to produce "Korea's Got Talent". Allkpop. 11 June 2011.
  3. This was a joke buzz after the performance.