INTERVIEW 'Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace' producer explains new competitive format

“Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace" features seven groups competing to be crowned the top-performing team. Courtesy of CJ ENM

Mnet’s “Road to Kingdom” returns for its second season, now rebranded as “Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace,” with a refreshed format that showcases emerging boy groups vying for prominence in the intensely competitive K-pop landscape.

Producer Jo Woo-ri of Mnet's music show "Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

The show follows rising K-pop boy groups as they compete for the title of top performer, aiming to make their mark in the industry. The new season, which wraps on Thursday, invited seven boy groups — The New Six, The CrewOne, 8Turn, ONEUS, Younite, Cravity and Tempest — with the final prize of 100 million won ($71,600) and a chance to be on the KCON 2025 stage.

The revamped format introduced an “ace” system, where one standout member from each participating group performs solo stages, in addition to the group performances.

Producer Jo Woo-ri explained that the new system was designed to elicit more compelling performances from the participating groups, many of whom have not yet received substantial public attention.

“There were many different opinions (about the format). While I fully understand those saying we should focus on the group rather than individuals, the reality is that this is the strategy that smaller entertainment companies, which these teams are from, employ … (The teams) don’t have enough recognition to be accepted as a whole group. So they typically put one member who seems more promising and appealing at the forefront as the focal point,” she said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at CJ ENM headquarters in Mapo District, Seoul.

“This is a pre-existing strategy, but I brought in the ‘ace’ concept thinking about how we could make these members more appealing to people and create opportunities for them to show their potential.”

Scenes from “Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

For each round, the teams select different members as the aces to prove their performing skills as K-pop artists. Jo noted that, despite initial skepticism about the solo stages, viewers gradually began to appreciate the show’s core intention of highlighting the talent and potential of lesser-known groups.

“It would have been easier and simpler for us to stick to team-only performances, but introducing the ‘ace’ format set some high initial barriers for viewers," she explained. "Now, seven episodes in, it seems people have adapted and are even recognizing the ace members more vividly,” she said.

“Even if viewers don't remember the show itself, they might recall details like ‘the team with yellow-haired Myungho from 8Turn’ or ‘the team with Hwan Woong from ONEUS, who excels at dancing,’” she remarked. “If our format helped create one memorable trait for audiences to identify these teams, then I believe we've achieved our goal.”

The producer stressed that her goal wasn’t high viewership ratings, but rather to build a platform where the participating groups could gain recognition and leverage for greater popularity.

“This program was never aimed at achieving high ratings. If we had targeted that, we would have needed to cast huge stars,” she said.

“In reality, all the participating teams are from what we call small and medium-sized agencies - teams that haven't really had their moment to shine yet. So inherently, there's a limit to how high the ratings could go. However, you can think of this show as one that provides these members an opportunity to take a leap forward and make their mark.”

Since the show aimed to bring struggling groups into the limelight, the producer emphasized that she ensured each group had its own unique story to tell.

“We selected teams that could each show unique aspects of the current K-pop scene. There's a team that was born through a survival program but is struggling, a team that worked hard but ended up merging with another company’s group as the last resort … For ONEUS, it's not easy to come on the show for the second time (since the first season). Especially with their seven-year contract renewal period approaching, which is a critical time for K-pop groups, the producer shared that the groups themselves reached out, seeing this as potentially their last chance to make an impact.

“There isn't a single team without such a story. I believed each team had its own unique story to tell... That's why we cast them — to let each team share its individual journey.”