The coach made a statement that shocked a contestant; Korean netizens criticized Mnet for “playing with other’s dreams”
In the signal song evaluation round of ‘Girls Planet 999: Girls’ Generation’, coach Lim Han Byul didn’t pick Kim Da Yeon, the No.1 trainee in the K group, for the TOP9.
On August 20, Mnet aired the episode of ‘Girls Planet 999: Girls’ Generation’ in which the trainees were preparing for the connect mission.
2 teams were competing with each other by performing BLACKPINK’s “HOW YOU LIKE THAT”. Team 1 consisted of 4 of the TOP9 members chosen by the coaches, including Choi Yoo Jin, Shen Xiaoting, Cai Bing, and Seo Young Eun.
Kim Da Yeon, the trainee who ranked first in the K group in the audition round at the beginning of the show, was in team 2. However, this team didn’t have any members from the TOP9.
After 2 teams were confirmed, they started to prepare for the next evaluation. During this round, coach Lim Han Byul was surprised at the formation of 2 teams; he asked, “Your team must have been really nervous because of Team 1. Right?”
In particular, Lim Han Byul pointed to Kim Da Yeon and praised her; he said, “I think I understand why you won the 1st place (in the signal song evaluation round).”
He added, “I didn’t pick Kim Da Yeon for the TOP9 on purpose. She would go in there later anyway.”
Kim Da Yeon burst into tears after she heard the compliments.
Kim Da Yeon shared her feelings honestly, “I was really pressured because I didn’t make it to TOP9 even though I ranked 1st in K group. However, after hearing these words from the coach, I feel so emotional right now.”
A huge burden was put on Kim Da Yeon when she knew that the No.1 from J group, Ezaki Hikaru, and the No.1 from C group, Chen Xiaoting were chosen in TOP9.
Viewers who watched the episode sympathized with her and expressed their discomfort with the show.
Internet users left their comments: “They didn’t let her in the TOP9 on purpose. Does it make any sense?”, “What do you mean when you said she would go in anyway?”, “Being the No.1 K group’s trainee but didn’t make it to TOP9, she must have hurt a lot and lost her confidence.”
Some people once again suspected the fairness of this audition program, saying “Who would believe this Mnet’s survival show will be a fair competition?”
Netizens are paying attention to the show and wondering whether Mnet could regain the trust of fans.
