Six Foreigners Who Made Waves on Korean Survival Shows: From MISAMO to Zhang Hao 

The performance of foreigners in Korea’s music industry is becoming increasingly remarkable. It is no longer rare to find foreign members in K-pop idol groups. 

If their skills and charm are backed up, they can garner more attention than the average Korean members. This change is particularly evident in survival audition programs. In the recently concluded Mnet’s “Boys Planet,” Zhang Hao, a Chinese contestant, became the first foreigner to win a Korean idol audition.

Let’s take a look at other foreigners who have challenged Korean survival auditions and achieved high rankings.

Chinese trainee Zhang Hao confidently took first place out of 98 contestants and became the center of the debut group

Zhang Hao (22), a Chinese trainee, won first place out of 98 trainees on Mnet’s “Boys Planet,” which concluded on April 20th, and became the center of the group ZEROBASEONE. 

After a short training period of one year and three months, he successfully debuted with the determination, “Please look forward to the passion of musical genius Zhang Hao!” He also earned the title of “the first foreigner to win first place in a domestic idol survival audition program.”

The first foreigner to win a Korean audition show: Baek Chung Kang, “the gem of China”

Baek Chung Kang (Bai Qinggang), from Jilin Province in China, won the final round of MBC’s “Star Audition: The Great Birth” in 2010. He was dubbed “the first foreigner to win a domestic survival audition program” and “a gem with explosive vocals” and made a splendid debut with his song “Yearning” in 2011. He then actively worked in Korea and China.

A unit formed with Japanese members: The origin of “Misamo” that started from “Sixteen”

JYP Entertainment’s girl group TWICE was formed through Mnet’s survival audition program “Sixteen.” The group consisted of nine members, including five Koreans and Japanese members Mina, Sana, and Momo, and Taiwanese member Tzuyu. 

Among them, Mina, Sana, and Momo have formed the group’s first  subunit, “Misamo,” and will officially debut in Japan in July.

Even with a Korean agency, Maria is currently in a legal battle for the truth

American singer Maria (22) showcased her trot skills that were just as good as Koreans on TV Chosun’s trot audition program “Mister Trot 2” and became popular. 

She ranked 12th in the program, achieving the best result among foreign contestants. In 2021, she signed an exclusive contract with a Korean agency and started promoting in Korea. However, in February of last year, she announced the termination of her exclusive contract, saying, “The relationship of trust with the agency has been broken.” Both sides are still engaged in a fierce legal battle.

Source: Wikitree.