Injury, scandal surround TV sports special
The 26-year-old singer reportedly collided with Kim Dong-hyun, a mixed martial artist, while playing futsal.
Fortunately, the singer didn’t break any bones but is now wearing a cast on his knee.
According to some fans who were present at the filming, there were no medical staff on hand that day.
But broadcaster MBC refuted such claims, saying that the broadcasting station offered an ambulance and on-the-spot medical service to Xiumin.
This is not the first time K-pop acts have gotten hurt during the filming of the show. More than 10 singers have been injured, including Lee Gi-kwang of Beast, Minho of Shinee, Seolhyun of AOA and Bora of Sistar.
Since the show is notorious for frequent injuries, many K-pop star fan clubs have petitioned to end the show.
For the special TV show, which airs during the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays, K-pop idols compete in various sports from archery to ssireum, or traditional Korean wrestling.
The TV show also found itself in the middle of an ongoing controversy Tuesday after a Taiwanese TV broadcaster sneaked into Goyang Stadium and filmed Tzuyu, a member of K-pop girl group Twice. The group and its management company, JYP Entertainment, have been drawing criticism from all sides after Tzuyu was shown waving the flag of her home country, Taiwan, on a popular TV show.
The Taiwanese broadcaster used footage of Tzuyu in its news show.
“Idol Star Athletics Championship” is one of the most popular seasonal TV shows because it features hundreds of K-pop stars. For this year, about 300 singers are reportedly taking part in the show.
The TV show will hit the air sometime during the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts this year on Feb. 8.
By Sung So-young
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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