A young man’s passionate journey has hit a brief pause just before the semi-finals.
This is the story of Choi Jong-won, the very first trot trainee from JYP, who took on the challenge of MBN’s trot audition ‘Unknown Legend – Trot Men’s Hierarchy War’ (hereafter ‘Unknown Legend’).
While he didn’t reach his ultimate goal of the finals, what he left behind wasn’t a sense of defeat, but a clear path of growth. Rather than focusing on the simple result of his elimination, we should look at the sheer scale of the “potential” he proved on stage.
His journey first garnered significant attention in the music industry when he signed with Init Entertainment, a subsidiary of JYP Entertainment, through KBS 2TV’s ‘The Tantara’. The fact that JYP, the cradle of K-pop idols, chose trot proves that the genre has become a killer content that appeals even to the 2030 generation. Choi Jong-won stands at the forefront of this generational shift and market expansion.
Currently studying Taekwondo at Yong In University, he first caught eyes during the preliminary rounds with his striking visuals and disciplined performance. However, it wasn’t a flashy dance stage that truly engraved the image of “singer Choi Jong-won” in the public’s mind. The atmosphere shifted completely when he sang Na Hoon-a’s ‘Broken Wall Clock’ during the wild card round. This performance, prepared for his father who passed away after a battle with cancer two years ago and his mother who had lost her smile, was filled with a young man’s deep sorrow. Instead of relying on flashy appearances, he chose a direct approach by revealing his deepest pain. This sincerity, recognizing that heavy emotion is the essence of trot over mere technique, led to high scores from the public.
Throughout the competition, he broke away from the standardized idol mold to embody the deep breathing unique to trot. This is because he isn’t just “experiencing” the genre lightly, but possesses a firm determination to establish himself as a true trot singer.
