Dancer Joo wins ’Korea’s Got Talent’

Dancer Joo Min-jung wins tvN’s “Korea’s Got Talent” on Saturday. / Courtesy of tvN

‘Korean Paul Potts’ Choi becomes runner-up

By Chung Ah-young

Dancer Joo Min-jung, 17, won tvN’s “Korea’s Got Talent” on Saturday, beating fierce competitor Choi Sung-bong, who is sometimes called “the Korean Paul Potts or Susan Boyle.”

Joo earned the largest number of votes from viewers in the competition’s grand finale, which aired live Saturday night. The winner receives 300 million won and an automobile.

Joo was highly acclaimed for her powerful and dynamic dance sequences. In previous auditions and semifinals, she had been dubbed “the queen of poppin dance” for her extraordinary dance skills and garnered the largest votes in the online preliminary survey before the grand final. Poppin dance

Singer Choi Sung-bong gets second place at “Korea’s Got Talent” on Saturday. / Courtesy of tvN

is a kind of street dance that originated from funk styles which were popular in the 1960s-70s in the United States.

“I am very glad to win the program as I did just what I want. I appreciate my parents and my dance tutor,” she said.

Choi, the second-place winner, who took the jury by storm with his impressive performance of “Nella Fantasia” in the semifinal, received rave reviews from the jury for his “more comfortable and stable performance” in the final round.

The 22-year-old aspiring singer entered the global spotlight when his semifinal performance of “Nella Fantasia” on June 4 went on to be viewed by YouTube users worldwide. He was dubbed the Korean Susan Boyle, a British singing star who made her debut through “Britain’s Got Talent,” by CNN.

Not only his stunning singing talent but also his life story captivated the audience and the jury. He ran away from an orphanage at the age of five and lived on selling gum on the street and did manual labor.

“I am happy to be second place. I will show a better performance later on after I make more efforts in singing,” he said.
In the final, visually impaired vocalist Kim Min-ji, sand animation artist Kim Ha-joon and comedy duo IUV competed. IUV ranked third.
The grand finale episode was aired through YouTube worldwide on Saturday.

Based on the “Got Talent” series after “Britain’s Got Talent,” the Korean rendition premiered June 4 with celebrated judges — musical director Kolleen Park, film director Jang Jin and actress Song Yun-ah.

The show has struggled with low ratings and high production costs, as well as a high degree of anticipation compared to the original version, which generated top stars such as Paul Potts and Susan Boyle.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr,

관련 한글 기사

주민정 우승 "여자라는 생각을 하지 않았다"

20일 오후 11시 서울 경희대 평화의 전당에서는 tvN '코리아 갓 탤런트(이하 코갓탤)' 파이널 무대가 펼쳐졌다. 생방송으로 진행된 이날 현장에서는 3,000여 관객들이 몰려들어 열띤 응원전도 전개됐다.

TOP10 결승 진출자들은 각기 다양한 재능을 뽐내며 코갓탤의 절정이라 할 수 있는 파이널 무대를 달궜다. 그 결과 대망의 우승컵은 바로 ‘팝핀여제’로 불리는 주민정(17)이 안았다.

최성봉(2위)과 아이유브이(3위)를 밀어내고 꼭대기에 우뚝 선 주민정은 100% 문자투표로 탄생한 우승자에게 주어지는 상금 3억원과 부상으로 크로스오버 자동차를 챙긴다. 소니뮤직과 음반계약을 할 수 있는 혜택도 누린다.

이날 황금색 의상을 입고 나와 파워풀하면서도 절도 있는 댄스로 눈길을 사로잡으며 우승을 차지한 주민정은 눈물을 쏟으며 "하고 싶은 것을 하고 싶어서 나왔는데 이렇게 우승해 기쁘다. 부모님과 춤을 가르쳐 준 선생님께 감사의 메시지를 전한다“는 소감을 밝혔다.

이어 "춤을 추면서 여자라는 생각을 하지 않았다. 남자들보다 잘하기 위해 항상 몇 배 이상으로 노력했다“고 그간의 힘들었던 과정을 소개했다. 실제로 주민정은 ‘코갓탤’을 준비하면서 매일 밤을 새워가며 선생님과 연습한 것으로 알려졌다.

1차적인 꿈을 이룬 주민정은 “미래에는 댄스학교를 세우고 평생토록 기억되는 사람으로 남고 싶다”는 원대한 포부도 밝혔다.

'코갓탤'은 지난해부터 프로그램 기획에 들어가 4월 본격적으로 지역 예선에 돌입, 6월 첫 방송됐다. 매 무대마다 기대 이상의 재능을 가진 이들이 등장, 시청자들을 울고 웃게 했다는 평가를 받았다.

한편, 이날 '코갓탤' 파이널 결승전은 유튜브 공식채널을 통해 전 세계에 생중계됐다.

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