“Idol Star Athletics Championships” will return in January despite harsh criticisms

MBC is allegedly carrying on with its bi-annual plan of holding the Idol Star Athletics Championships.

The competitive sports variety program will invite hot and rookie K-Pop artists to participate and this will mark the 7th year for the show.

Recording for the winter edition is reported to be taking place over two days, January 18th and 19th, and is expected to air during the Lunar New Year break. Details about the filming venue and the sports events have yet to be confirmed.

From the long recording hours to the inevitable participant injuries, fans have continuously shown disapproval for the show’s existence. The Idol Star Athletics Championships was recently named as the top five Korean programs which should be cancelled, alongside Laws of the Jungle, We Got Married, Dream Team, and the Mnet Asian Music Awards by netizens. However, the show develops the well-roundedness of the K-pop singers and discovers new talents year after year.

Despite criticisms, the program saw good results in viewership ratings last September, ranking #1 on the first day of broadcast (9.2% ratings) and #2 on the second day of broadcast (9.9%).

Source: OSEN