There was no second Lim Young-woong in ‘Burning Trotman’ or ‘Mr. Trot’.

There was no one to replace Lim Young-woong in ‘Burning Trotman’ or ‘Mr. Trot 2’. On one side, the winning candidate dropped out due to a past criminal record, and on the other side, there are no hot characters. They excitedly expressed their desire to find a second Lim Young-woong, but in the end, both sides seem to have ended in failure.

Hwang Young-woong of ‘Burning Trotman’ left the show just moments away from winning. Although he was predicted to be the top performer, after his record of violence and injury was revealed, viewers demanded his departure. Of course, the production team, led by PD Seo Hye-jin, tried to force the finals, but Hwang Young-woong himself left on his own. With public opinion worsening day by day, Hwang Young-woong eventually gave up both his money and his dreams.

In the place where Hwang Young-woong left, Son Tae-jin, Shin Seong, Gong Hoon, Min Soo-hyun, Park Min-soo, Kim Jung-yeon, and Enoch remain. Initially, 8 people were selected, so even if Hwang Young-woong leaves, there will still be enough people to be 7, but the problem is a hot topic.

Shin Seong and Kim Jung-yeon are already from 'Mr. Trot 1' and feel like used rookies. Enoch and Park Min-soo seemed to gain popularity until the middle of the broadcast, but lost strength toward the end. They both placed 7th and 8th, respectively, in the first round of the finals. In fact, it is difficult to see him as a candidate for the championship.

The only ones that have a chance are 2nd place Min Soo-hyun and 3rd place Son Tae-jin in the first round of the finals. Min Soo-hyun is a trot singer who has been active for 9 years. Although he is called a traditional Trot powerhouse, he has been overshadowed by Hwang Young-woong and has not seen the light of day.

Son Tae-jin is the maternal nephew of singer Shim Soo-bong. Shim Soo-bong, who had not been active in broadcasting for a long time, appeared as a judge on 'Burning Trotman' despite difficulties for his family. Accordingly, some expressed the opinion that if Son Tae-jin wins the championship, he may be embroiled in 'suspicion of pushing' or 'controversy over fairness'.

The situation at ‘Mr. Trot 2’ next door is not so bright either. The competing program 'Burning Trotman' may be a delight as it is noisy every day with 'ex-convict' Hwang Young-woong and 'broadcast' PD Seo Hye-jin, but it is a bit early to be relieved. This is because there is no character with Lim Young-woong’s level of power in ‘Mr. Trot 2’. To put it simply, everyone has different skills, visuals, and star quality.

Therefore, the ‘winning candidate’ changes every time. There are several candidates for the championship mentioned so far. The main characters are Park Ji-hyun, Choi Su-ho, Kim Yong-pil, Hwang Min-ho, Jin Wook, Jin Hae-seong, Park Seo-jin, Ahn Seong-hoon, Na Sang-do, and Park Seong-on. There is only one program, but there are as many as 10 candidates for first place. To put it positively, it means that the overall skill has improved compared to the previous season, but to put it conversely, it means that no one stands out.

Among the people mentioned above, Kim Yong-pil, Hwang Min-ho, and Park Seo-jin were eliminated, reducing the number of candidates for the championship to seven. Considering Lim Young-woong's 'extremely popular popularity' last season, a very different picture appears to have been drawn. In the case of Lim Young-woong, he almost never missed first place from the middle of the broadcast to the finals. Both in terms of popularity and skill. At least Young Tak and Kim Ho-jung appeared as competitors threatening the throne.

It's hard to even guess who will win this season. No one can predict whether it will be 'Jang Yoon-jeong's student' Park Ji-hyun, 'Continuous Jin' Choi Su-ho, or 'Elementary School Student' Park Seong-on. The ranking of viewer votes also changes every week. A contestant who was in first place the previous week may be pushed out of seventh place the following week, or an unexpected person may enter the rankings. Viewers' reactions continue to be mixed.

In the end, there was no one who could surpass the original Lim Young-woong. Neither the MBN and TV Chosun production crews nor the audition participants were able to overcome the barrier of No. 1 Lim Young-woong.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr