'I-LAND2' to air in first half of 2024 to debut new K-pop girl group

Teaser image for Mnet's upcoming idol audition program, ″I-LAND2″ [MNET]

"I-LAND2," the second season of Mnet's idol audition program, will air in the first half of 2024 to debut a next-generation K-pop girl group, the cable network said Monday.

Mnet and WakeOne Entertainment, CJ ENM's in-house entertainment agency, also opened applications for desired participants to the audition the same day.

The application will be opened to anyone born before Jan. 1, 2011, regardless of their nationality, and the application can be submitted through the show's official website starting today. Application submission ends on Aug. 6.

"We spent a lot of effort and time to further advance our unique [show] format of 'I-LAND2,' and we will return with new tries and show designs. I hope you look forward to the program," Mnet said in a press release on Monday.

The final contestants will debut as a girl group under agency WakeOne Entertainment, home to many idols that debuted through Mnet's audition programs, including boy band ZeroBaseOne, winners of "Boys Planet" and girl group Kep1er, winners of "Girls Planet 999" (2021).

The first season of "I-LAND," which aired in 2020, saw the cable network working with Belift Lab, an entertainment agency established through a joint venture between CJ ENM and HYBE, to debut the boy band Enhypen.

The show was nominated for the 2021 International Emmy Awards for best non-scripted entertainment program.

Enhypen has seen global success since its debut in 2020. The boy band recently dropped its fourth EP, "Dark Blood," on May 22 and plans to embark on its second world tour, "Fate," with performances at the KSPO Dome in July.

"I-LAND2," the sequel and the girl group counterpart of the show, was teased in 2021, seeking applicants, but no updates followed. With Belift Lab starting its own girl group audition show, "R U Next?" with JTBC, "I-LAND2" was speculated to be canceled.

To find out more about "I-LAND2" and more, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]