'Mr. Trot 2' creates controversy, is it only the participants who suffer the damage?

≪Tae Yuna’s Oh Ye≫
‘The era of content overflow’. For readers who are wondering what to watch, reporter Tae Yu-na and Ten Asia will serve as an ‘entertainment guide.’ It adds fun to watching the program by delving into hot issues in the entertainment industry, as well as watching points, major characters, and behind-the-scenes stories.

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They pride themselves on being an original Trot audition, but are only focused on getting noticed. They raised eyebrows by blatantly checking and belittling competing programs while flaunting their own achievements, and their attempts to fill the number of students only aroused controversy over master qualifications. However, all damages are borne by the participants. The indiscriminate judging, intentional directing, and editing not only resulted in the elimination of the contestants but also damaged their image.

Even before its broadcast, 'Mr. Trot 2' was compared to 'Burning Trotman' as a rival program. This is because 'Flaming Trotman' is a new trot competition program introduced by Seo Hye-jin, who created the 'Miss Trot' and 'Mr. Trot' series, after leaving TV Chosun and joining hands with MBN. In terms of viewership ratings, 'Mr. Trot 2' was a landslide victory. The ability to surpass 20% from the first episode was largely due to the channel and program awareness accumulated so far.

However, the rise of ‘Burning Trotman’ is also unusual. It is narrowing the gap with 'Mr. Trot 2' by breaking its own highest figures each episode. On the other hand, the increase in 'Mr. Trot 2' is significantly smaller than that of 'Burning Trotman'.

Are you conscious of this? In a press release on the 5th, the 'Mr. Trot 2' side blatantly disparaged 'The Burning Trotman' in an attempt to highlight their achievements. They said that the number of clip video views for episodes 1 and 2 was a total of 15,254,562, and "'Flaming Trotman' recorded 6,641,288 video views for clips 1 and 2, which is less than 'Mr. Trot 2'. 'Mr. “Trot 2’ showed an overwhelmingly high number of views, over 2.5 times more,” he said. He added, "The average number of views per episode was 27,787 for 'Burning Trotman', which was nothing compared to the performance of 'Mr. Trot 2'."

It is unusual for a publicity press release to explicitly state that it was “incomparable.” This is a rude behavior that can only be seen as being overly conscious of the ‘Flaming Trotman’.

Additionally, 'Mr. Trot' has even sparked controversy over the qualifications of its master corps. Comedians with no expertise in music or people who have nothing to do with trot have lost their discernment as they overuse hearts without properly evaluating them. This result is also the result of the production team's greed. As if it were a competition for numbers, in order to form a lineup of 15 judges, which is more than the 'Flaming Trotman', people who were not qualified were also placed in the master position. As if conscious of this, 'Mr. Trot 2' introduced Joo Young-hoon and Park Seon-ju as new masters in the recent recording, but it is unclear whether they will be able to appease the hearts of angry viewers.

In addition, 'Mr. Trot 2' recently featured Park Ji-hyun and Yeonggwang, who are Jang Yoon-jeong's students and juniors at her agency, while hiding their close relationship, raising suspicions of preferential treatment. Their skills definitely deserved the All Heart award, but the label of 'Jang Yun-jeong's disciples' actually became a major weakness for them. In fact, it is true that the production team did not reveal it rather than the participants hiding it. There was no way they didn't know that Park Ji-hyun was from Jang Yoon-jung's agency. He must have felt that the title with a story, ‘Youth Fisherman’, would be more attractive than this.

As the controversy over the program grows, it is ultimately the performers who participated in 'Mr. Trot 2' who suffer the most damage. Like Kim Seon-geun, who left KBS and participated in 'Mr. Trot 2', everyone is working with desperation and goals. It is a pity that their cruelty is overshadowed by controversy.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr