tvN STORY ‘Handsome Trot’ has been unveiled.

The first episode of ‘Handsome Trot’, which first aired on the 21st, featured the first round of 12 unexpected stars, including MMA fighter Choo Sung-hoon, actors Jang Hyuk, Choi Dae-chul, In Kyo-jin, Ji Seung-hyun, Jung Gyu-woon, Tae Hang-ho, Hyun Woo, Kim Dong-ho, Lee Tae-ri, former national fencing team member Kim Jun-ho, and Han Jeong-wan, heralding the beginning of a challenge for trot singers.

The opening showed the first meeting of the 12 stars who are serious about trot. The stars, who did not know each other‘s identities, could not hide their joy as they mentioned their connections from working together on their respective works. But that was short-lived, as Fighter Choo Sung-hoon, famous for his appealing vocals, appeared, the scene began to stir with people saying, “Isn’t this foul play?” The appearance of actor Jang Hyuk, who started out as a rapper and has been in the industry for 29 years, also surprised everyone.

Among the 12 stars gathered in one place, we were also able to see the duet stage of MCs Jang Min-ho and Lee Chan-won of ‘Handsome Trot’. The challengers could not hide their exclamations, saying, “This is different”,” at the relaxed stage of the two who appeared singing ‘I‘ll Live Well’. Jang Min-ho and Lee Chan-won will not only be MCs, but also Trot Ducing (Trot + Producing), acting as strong supporters for the stars. The 12 stars will compete in ’T4’, which is decided by the Trot Duers’ choices in each round.

The first person to step onto the stage for ‘Handsome Declaration’ was actor In Kyo-jin. In Kyo-jin said of his wife So Yi-hyun‘s advice, “Think of it as a scene from a play and enjoy the stage.” The strong support of his father In Chi-wan, who debuted late as a trot singer, was also a great help. On this day, In Kyo-jin selected ‘The Woman of Casbah (originally by Yoon Hee-sang)’ and showed off his easygoing stage manners despite it being his first stage, drawing enthusiastic cheers. In particular, he enjoyed the joy of becoming the first T4 when Lee Chan-won and Jang Min-ho pressed the ’T’ button in succession near the end of the stage.


Amidst the fierce competition, fencing gold medalist Kim Jun-ho took the stage as the second handsome protagonist of the inaugural ceremony. Kim Jun-ho, whose ‘love for trot’ is extraordinary, even his close friend, fencing gold medalist Oh Sang-wook, acknowledged it, showed tremendous determination ahead of his first stage. Even without the production team knowing, he went to the original singer Geum Jan-di and practiced passionately. On this day, Kim Jun-ho sang ‘The Love That Makes Me Live (original song by Geum Jan-di)’, giving a lingering performance and becoming the second T4. Ji Seung-hyun, who gave a standing ovation, said, “I was touched because the tension on stage seemed to have been sublimated into the love in the song.”.

The tension reached its peak as the third challenger also ascended to T4. The main character was none other than Kim Dong-ho, an actor with 21 years of experience in musicals. He was chosen as Lee Chan-won’s ‘one pick’ after watching the practice video. He selected ‘The Woman of Samba (original song by Seol Woon-do)’, showing off his top-notch trot skills and splendid stage manners, leading to a standing ovation this year. In particular, behind his perfect stage was the strong support of his wife, who was a former idol. Former Hello Venus member Yoonjo helped her husband Kim Dong-ho with his Spartan-style(?) practice, from choreography training to stage manners, and thanks to him, Kim Dong-ho became the protagonist who reached T4 in the shortest time.

The protagonist of the next stage was the original nation‘s little brother, actor Lee Tae-ri, famous for his role as Jeong-bae in ‘Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic: Soonpoong’. Having lived trapped in the frame of correct answers, he said that the challenge of ‘Handsome Trot’ was a ‘deviation’ and performed ‘Parallel Lines (originally sung by Moon Hee-ok)’ on stage. He received Lee Chan-won’s T button with dazzling dance moves that aroused his dancing instinct, but unfortunately failed to ascend to T4. At the end of the broadcast, the stage of Fighter Choo Sung-hoon, who showed off his unexpected skills, was revealed, surprising even the trot singers. Choo Sung Hoon, who selected Na Hoon-a‘s ‘Why Are You Crying?’, took the last remaining T4 spot with great praise that “Everything was Na Hoon-a” with his extraordinary skills, announcing the birth of ‘Trot Fighter’. With the consecutive appearances of skilled performers, there has been a series of surprises, raising curiosity about whether there will be any changes in T4 for next week’s broadcast.

‘Handsome Trot’ presented thrills with a feast of stages that exceeded expectations from the first broadcast. It also conveyed emotions by depicting the stars‘ sincere hearts toward trot and their intense practice processes. With unique characters such as ‘Trot critic’ Jang Hyuk, ‘Chubaragi’ Ji Seung-hyun, ‘Agency CEO’ Tae Hang-ho, Jang Min-ho and Lee Chan-won led the first broadcast with fantastic chemistry that alternated between cool evaluation and warm encouragement.

Meanwhile, the final four ‘Handsome Trot’ will be given the special privilege of receiving a song from a famous composer and debuting as trot singers.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter projecthong@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.