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.