Shin Dong-yup has issued a warning to the celebrity judging panel of the Korea-Japan Singer Match.
MBN’s ‘2026 Korea-Japan Singer Match’ revealed on May 12 that an “unprecedented situation” occurs when MC Shin Dong-yup has to step in and restrain the celebrity judges who are overflowing with extreme enthusiasm.
With only the final results remaining, MC Shin Dong-yup delivers a witty remark to the judges who simply cannot contain their excitement. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch thanks to the nerve-wracking battle between the Top 7 of both nations, including the head-to-head clash between Korea’s King Hong Ji-yoon and Japan’s King Bon Inoue.
In particular, right after the performances ended, the celebrity judges burst into cheers and stood up in unison, prompting Shin Dong-yup to stop them by saying, “Please sit back down.”
In the 5th episode of ‘2026 Korea-Japan Singer Match’, Korea’s number one active singer Hong Ji-yoon and Japan’s number one active singer Bon Inoue face off in their first and final showdown. For this ultimate battle, Hong Ji-yoon chooses a traditional Japanese Enka as her winning move, while Bon Inoue selects MAMAMOO’s ‘Decalcomanie’, adding a special meaning to the competition. After their incredibly close performances, judge Yudai expressed how difficult the scoring was, shaking his head and saying, “This is too hard.”
The production team stated, “The grand final battle that will determine the fate of both Korea and Japan finally takes place today, the 12th. Please tune in to see if Korea will complete a legendary three-peat following 2024 and 2025, or if Japan will taste a sweet victory and avenge their losses from the past two years.”
Meanwhile, ‘2026 Korea-Japan Singer Match’ is the world’s only music competition between Korea and Japan where the Top 7 from ‘Active Singer – Gahee (Japan Edition)’ produced by Crea Studio and the Top 7 from Korea’s ‘Active Singer 3’ compete, putting their national pride and mission on the line.
