BBC have teamed up with K-pop agency SM Entertainment on a new reality series, Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience, which will air this summer.
Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience will be a six-part reality series that follows five contestants from the UK as they undergo the rigorous K-pop training system in South Korea, according to BBC. The contestants will train for a hundred days at SM Entertainment in hopes of becoming a new global boyband.
SM Entertainment is one of the biggest K-pop companies in South Korea. The agency has produced a number of the industry’s most popular groups over the last two decades, including Girls’ Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet and NCT, among others.
In addition to their training in vocals, dance and performance, the contestants will also be immersed in South Korean and K-pop culture and receive life coaching lessons. The process will be overseen by Hee Jun Yoon, who is described by BBC as “the creative force behind some of the biggest K-pop bands of the last 20 years”.
“Cameras go behind closed doors at SM Entertainment for the first time to witness the band working with the world’s greatest choreographers, singing songs from the best songwriters, and being tutored by some of the most revered experts in the K-pop business,” reads the summary for the series.
The series is created by Moon&Back Media, which was involved in the production of hit music talent shows like The X Factor, and has worked with bands like One Direction. It is launched in collaboration with South Korea’s SM Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment.
“This unique acquisition will showcase a sense of exactly what it takes to make it in the world of K-pop. Witnessing the band come together and be put through their paces promises to be a very exciting prospect for audiences,” says BBC Head of Entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight.
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SM Entertainment CEO Daniel Jang adds: “Through this UK boy group project, we anticipate a palpable synergy between SM Entertainment’s prowess in K-pop production and Moon&Back Media’s expertise in developing music-genre TV shows. This collaboration will yield exceptional content that will captivate pop music fans, not only in the UK, but worldwide.”
The series will air on BBC and BBC iPlayer later this summer. At the time of publishing, BBC has not announced a premiere date for Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience.
In other K-pop news, boy band ENHYPEN have made a comeback with their second studio album ‘Romance: Untold’ and its title track ‘XO (Only If You Say Yes)’.