Active King of Singers Season 1 Triumphs Over Rivals in MBN’s Korea-Japan Top 10 Show
On January 29th, the 47th episode of MBN’s hit music variety show, Korea-Japan Top 10 Show, aired at 9:50 PM and achieved a peak viewership rating of 6.4% (5.7% nationwide according to Nielsen Korea). This marked the sixth consecutive week it ranked #1 among all Tuesday entertainment programs across terrestrial, general, and cable channels.
The episode showcased a playful yet intense three-way showdown involving the ‘Four Disciplinarians’ (Yun Soo-hyun, Park Gu-yoon, Kim Yang, and Bin Ye-seo), the Active King of Singers Season 1 and Season 2’s TOP7 lineups. The ‘disciplinarians’ entered with a mission to ‘straighten out’ the supposedly relaxed attitudes of current active singers — hilarity and nostalgia ensued.
Hosted by MC Daesung, who took on the role of a news anchor for the fictional MBN Top Ten Show News, the broadcast began with satirical headlines uncovering the declining discipline among the younger artists. For example, Son Tae-jin joked about Jeon Yu-jin‘s late-night college habits, while Shin Sung reported on Jin Hae-sung‘s post-competition radio silence.
The ‘disciplinarians’ burst onto the stage performing ‘Can’t Help Being Bad’, already setting an assertive tone. Park Gu-yoon exclaimed, “Today’s the day. The kids hit TOP7 and suddenly got arrogant!” Yet even he couldn’t maintain the stern facade, later apologizing humorously to Enoch for calling them ‘kids.’ In a notable highlight, Jeon Yu-jin and Yun Soo-hyun took part in a ‘discipline checklist’ Q&A moment that humorously confirmed their ‘declined discipline’ status—with Jeon Yu-jin admitting to white lies to her mother and being “too hyper even by her standards.”
Musically, the standout battles captivated viewers: Maijin pulled off an unexpected win over both Jin Hae-sung and Shin Sung, while the emotional finale by Kim Yang performing ‘Our Father’ left many, including Park Seo-jin and Lin, visibly emotional. Another show-stealer was the duet between Lin and Kang Moon-gyeong, who delivered a spiritually charged rendition of ‘Your Heart,’ winning the audience and the duet battle alike.
In another touching moment, Park Seo-jin showed deep gratitude toward mentor Park Gu-yoon by bowing deeply, recalling how he coined the nickname ‘God of Janggu’ during their first performance together. This blend of sentiment and comedy ran throughout the show, with vein-popping notes and dance punishments adding flair.
Fan reactions poured in online celebrating the authentic energy and humor: “Jeon Yu-jin checking her own discipline score is too cute — stays true to her innocent image,” “Did Lin and Kang Moon-gyeong just deliver a duet from heaven? Unreal vocals!” and “Park Seo-jin bowing to Park Gu-yoon made me cry. He deserves the king title!”
Korea-Japan Top 10 Show airs every Tuesday at 9:50 PM KST on MBN, blending legendary talent, friendly competition, and nostalgic comedy into Korea’s top-rated weekday spectacle.
