• “The Red Sleeve” Cast and Crew Receive Travel Vouchers From MBC President As Part Of His Viewership Ratings Promise

    MBC President Park Seong Jae announced that he would keep the ratings promise for “The Red Sleeve”.

    On December 2nd, President Park Seong Jae shared his thoughts on the final episode of MBC's 'The Red Sleeve', which achieved a viewer rating of 17.4%.

    President Park Seong Jae said, "As the president, I’m grateful to be able to present a great drama to viewers. "

    He continued, "It is difficult to travel abroad now, so we will fulfill our promise by adding options such as travel vouchers so that the production team as well as the cast can travel around Korea or travel abroad later."

    Previously, at the online production presentation of 'The Red Sleeve' held in November of last year, President Park Seong Jae announced that he would give overseas travel rewards to former actors and staff if the drama's ratings exceeded 15%.

    After that, Lee Joon Ho and Lee Se Young have also mentioned the MBC President’s 15% rating promise on the radio broadcast of “Hope Song at noon".

    The Red Sleeve” started with 5.7% nationwide ratings and surpassed double-digit ratings in four weeks, ending at 17.4% nationwide thanks to enthusiastic favorable reviews from viewers, achieving a remarkable three-time increase in rating from the first episode.

    In addition, based on the TV topic index surveyed by Good Data Corporation, “The Red Sleeve” topped the drama category for the seventh consecutive week and have never missed the top spot after its first broadcast.

    In addition, since the fourth week of November, 2021, when people started to tell each other more about the drama, it has became the No.1 drama on the online video service (OTT) platform Wave Drama, No.1 paid VOD for three IPTV companies (KT, SKB, LGU+), and most viewed SMR clip.

    Source[1]

  • Hwanhee’s Agency Hits Back Against Shocking Claims of Favoritism on ‘King of Singers Season 2’—Vows to Defend His Reputation

    Hwanhee's agency, BT Entertainment, is firing back after serious fairness allegations were raised regarding the popular show ‘King of Singers Season 2’. They’ve denied all accusations and promised strong legal action for defamation.

    On February 5th, the agency issued a statement through their official fan cafe, saying, “We want to correct the false claims.”

    They explained that Hwanhee was initially approached to join the show in August 2024 by the production team. However, after checking with the event planning company, Dion Communication, they confirmed Hwanhee had no connection to the show or any related performances.

    Despite this, the agency pointed out that certain media outlets published unverified articles, wrongly suggesting that Hwanhee’s involvement could compromise the fairness of the program.

    BT Entertainment was quick to defend their artist, stressing the damage done to both Hwanhee's reputation and the agency itself due to these false claims. They added, "This has caused great harm to Hwanhee, who joined the program after careful consideration."

    The statement didn’t stop there. BT Entertainment made it clear that they won’t stand for any further defamation. They said, “We are taking legal action against these baseless reports” and emphasized their commitment to protecting Hwanhee from any further harm.

    They also reassured their fans, stating, “We will take swift action against any future misinformation to avoid any further harm to Hwanhee and his supporters.”

    This controversy started after a media outlet raised concerns on January 23rd about Hwanhee’s participation in the show. The report claimed that BT Entertainment’s CEO, who is also a director at Dion Communication, had invested 1.1 billion KRW in the ‘King of Singers Season 2’ concert, leading to suspicions of favoritism towards certain contestants.

    In the meantime, ‘King of Singers Season 2’ continues its intense competition, with Hwanhee making it to the semifinals. Fans are watching closely as he currently holds 1st place in the first round of the semifinals, cementing his position as a strong contender to represent Korea in the Korea-Japan King of Kings battle.

    Source: [1]