Upon watching today's episode of "Mask King"...

"Mask King (복면가왕)" does not fail to surprise. Today's episode was full of so many surprises with a satisfactory range of performers - from Miljenko Matijevic of Steelheart, the first foreign singer on the show, to girl group singers SoJung and Hani.

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Top: SoJung of Ladies Code; Middle Three Pictures: Miljenko Matijevic of Steelheart; Bottom:  Hani of EXID

If you've read my previous blog post you'd know how concerned and skeptical I was of the show hosting a foreign singer. Today's episode, which revealed the "Quiet Lightning Man" to be Miljenko Matijevic, proved me wrong. I don't really know of any other singers from outside of Korea who would be able to make an appearance on this show, seeing as Matijevic is a veteran rocker so popular among Koreans. (But then I'm not that knowledgeable about singers allover the world). It wouldn't be an understatement that his appearance on the show was very captivating, and "Mask King" rightfully snagged #1 on viewer ratings among the shows that aired at the same time. 

But it wasn't Matijevic and then the surprise was over. Before Matijevic, another singer made a surprise appearance: Ladies Code SoJung. I had tears in my eyes when her identity was revealed. If you follow K-pop, you should know about the hardship Ladies Code went through in the year 2014. Honestly speaking, I didn't have any interest in the group until the accident. I am delighted that the group has finally returned on stage with a new album, without the addition of new members. To go back to SoJung, her voice remained echoing in my head even after she ended her performance. I want to hear more of her voice and I plan on listening to Ladies Code's new song (as soon as I'm done studying for midterms, of course). The celebrity audience thought she was a much older, highly-experienced, professional singer but she's none other than another girl group member. It was truly prejudice-breaking.

But that wasn't all! The female singer who beat Matijevic and made it to round 3 was revealed to be a girl group singer as well - and EXID's Hani, too! Again, I haven't really followed K-pop for a long time, but Hani is famous enough for me to know who she is and EXID is famous enough for me to know as well. But Hani is well-known for her beauty and dance skills, even I knew that. Her vocals? She wasn't really known for that until she was on this show. I especially enjoyed her performance of JYP's "Honey". Again, the celebrity audience members guessed her to be an experienced, older singer but they were very wrong. I chime in with the other Korean viewers - prejudice can be a scary thing. You don't expect girl group members to sing so well, it's a stereotype. I think "Mask King" is a wonderful show that gives back hope to so many people in the entertainment industry. 

It's been very amusing how hard-to-guess and unpredictable the singers behind the masks have been. I'm excited to see who else will come on the show and take up the challenge to not only beat the "Mask King" but also to continue breaking the public's prejudice.