"Korea's Got Talent" Announces Second Season Broadcast in June 2012

The trend of audition-reality programs is not likely to remain in 2011, as cable network tvN has already announced the second season of “Korea’s Got Talent” in June 2012. Local news agencies report that auditions will open after midnight on New Year’s Day, January 1.

The open call for participants is expected to yield a new crop of contestants with talents as wide a variety as singing, dancing, magic, vocal simulation, instrument playing and any other performance arts. As with the first season, applicants will be accepted through ARS. Large-scale national and regional competitions of candidates who qualify for the next level are scheduled to begin in February.

Candidates are selected through their live performances in front of a panel of experts.

“Regardless of the genre or variety, anyone with talent in the Republic of South Korea has a chance of winning,” a statement from tvN said. “This show is intended to discover the hidden talents in the country.”

 The grand winner stands to get an opportunity for a contract under Sony Music and a 300 million won (around 260,000 USD) cash prize.

The first “Korea’s Got Talent” grand winner is body-popper Joo Min Jung, with opera singer Choi Sung Bong coming in at second and comedy act IUV in third place. The first season rated an average of 3% in viewership ratings, and rose to as high as 5%, which is a satisfactory performance for a cable network show.

“Korea’s Got Talent” is the Korean edition of the worldwide “Got Talent” franchise of Fremantle Media. The audition-reality program is differentiated from others in that it does not limit the talent search to only one aspect of performing arts.

“Korea’s Got Talent Season 2” is slated to premiere on June 29.

Meanwhile, check out the Season 1 winners on their finals’ night performances:

Joo Min Jung

Choi Sung Bong

IUV

Video credit: Korea’s Got Talent @YT