It’s that time of year when fans look forward to their favorite K-pop idols competing in the “Idol Star Athletics Championships.” But as can be expected with the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, the competition was a little different this year. Instead of idols showing off their athletic prowess in head-to-head competitions, they were competing safely (while socially distanced) in two separate formats: eSports and with their cute dogs!
KOCOWA aired both in a LIVE stream, so viewers in the Americas can watch it at the same time as viewers in South Korea. Two eSports episodes aired on Oct. 1 and three dog-agility episodes aired on Oct. 2.
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October 1:
“2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special”
Aired in Korea on MBC, the eSports special was hosted by trot singer Hong Jin-Young and Super Junior‘s Shindong. The network explained to viewers why they’ve decided to go ahead with their special ISAC programming:
Gaming is popular with fans and is something favorable to air during our contact-free competition with our participating athletes. Both our hosts are well-known aficionados of eSports. They are clever and will offer fun commentary for our viewers.
MBC said that to ensure that all of the participants are safe, they will film this outdoors. Each of the idols were in individual booths to protect themselves from each other.
October 2:
“2020 Idol Star Dog-agility Championships – Chuseok Special”
Red Velvet‘s Joy and emcee Jun Hyun-Moo hosted this ISAC spinoff, which was adorable as the Animal Planet’s annual “Puppy Bowl” in the U.S. A dog agility competition, the pets appeared with their celebrity owners as they made their way through various obstacle courses. Many fans were familiar with idols’ fur babies look.
Come on, as if it matters! This was a cute-fest no matter who wins. MBC reports that the dogs have been training for months and asks for viewers to cheer them on:
“Please look forward to the idols and their loving dogs as well as the work of Joy and Jun Hyun-Moo.”
There were 11 teams competing:
- GOT7’s Youngjae
- MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul
- LOONA’s Heejin
- LOONA’s Choerry
- (G)I-DLE’s Shuhua
- Cosmic Girls’ Soobin
- Golden Child’s Jaehyun
- Golden Child’s Bomin
- Lovelyz’s Jisoo
- UP10TION’s Kim Woo-Seok
- Former Wonder Girls member and soloist, Yubin
The competition was held outside, with idols (and their pups) separated from each other.
These shows definitely provided a little levity during Chuseok, which is one of South Korea’s most important holidays. It could be likened to Thanksgiving in the United States. Koreans travel to their hometowns to celebrate with their family members and also honor the memories of their ancestors. Many will also take the time to visit the tombstones of their family members to pay their respects. There is usually a huge spread of food to share, with songpyeon — a not-overly-sweet Korean rice cake that’s addictively good — always on the table.
Hope everyone enjoyed their chuseok holiday!
