MBC '2025 Chuseok special Idol Star Athletics Championships' (directed by Noh Seung-wook, Lee Min-ji, Kim Ik-hwan, hereafter "ISAC")'s grand event has come to an end.
This year in dancesport, it drew attention with a dazzling performance comparable to a professional competition. Nova of "X:IN (Exin)", with 15 years of Latin experience, overwhelmed the audience with nonstop high-difficulty performances and secured victory with a score of 29.3 out of a possible 30. This score surpassed the previous ISAC dancesport record of 29.2 set by Kep1er member Xiaoting, marking the highest score in the show's history and demonstrating a professional-level completeness that elevated ISAC dancesport's standard and prestige. Nova of "X:IN (Exin)", who took home the gold medal, said, "It was my dream to appear on ISAC since before my debut," expressing a special sentiment about the win. It was once again a moment that proved ISAC is a stage where idol stars can showcase their skills and passion beyond simple entertainment.
In the mixed team pistol shooting, it was a big match between top domestic idol agencies: SM, WakeOne, Starship, and ISAC's special combination "Rookies." "Rookies" is the "2025 ISAC limited exclusive team" composed of four rookies who debuted this year: Minje of "KickFlip", Zueon of "AHOF", Lee Hyun of "Baby DONT Cry", and Hyerin of "HITGS." In the semifinals, WakeOne defeated SM and Rookies defeated Starship to advance to the final. WakeOne's Bang Ji-min of "izna" and Minje of "KickFlip" from Rookies displayed final-worthy performances by shooting the "X-ten," and after a fierce, back-and-forth contest, Rookies (KickFlip's Minje, AHOF's Zueon, Baby DONT Cry's Lee Hyun, HITGS's Hyerin) claimed the gold medal, defeating ZEROBASEONE's Kim Ji-woong & Sung Hanbin and izna's Bang Ji-min & Choi Jeong-eun, becoming the inaugural ISAC mixed pistol shooting champions.
Next, the highlight of ISAC and the "flower of track and field," the 400m relay, featured fierce races for the idol stars' pride. The women's 400m relay attracted attention with many super rookies making their first appearance this year. In particular, host Jun Hyun-moo mentioned a behind-the-scenes moment where he was surprised by the main runner of "Hearts2Hearts" dashing off to receive a boxed lunch during a break, marking them as a strong contender. In heat 1 of the preliminaries, "Hearts2Hearts" maintained a solo lead from the start and finished first in the heat, while last year's silver medalists Kep1er advanced to the final in second place in the heat. In heat 2, "FIFTY FIFTY" and "Queenz Eye" advanced to the final. "Hearts2Hearts," which kept the lead from start to finish with fantastic teamwork, proved the "boxed lunch power" and claimed the gold medal, writing a dark horse reversal that shook the ISAC stage in their first appearance.
In the men's 400m relay, thrilling matches that made viewers sweat unfolded. As a contest for the men's pride, there were repeated overtakes from the preliminaries. In heat 1 of the preliminaries, after a close battle, AMPERS&ONE and KickFlip advanced to the final. In heat 2, last year's gold medalists &TEAM made a critical mistake by dropping the baton but still finished second in the heat to advance to the final alongside LUN8. Making up for their preliminary error, &TEAM showed overwhelming speed in the final and achieved back-to-back 400m relay wins with a time in the 58-second range, proving once again they are the strongest in track and field.
According to viewership measurement firm Nielsen Korea, MBC's ISAC part 3 recorded a 2049 rating of 0.7%, a key indicator of channel competitiveness, ranking first among all programs broadcast at the same time. All episodes aired during the Chuseok holiday period ranked first in the 2049 rating in their time slot, demonstrating its unrivaled presence as the representative holiday entertainment program. In particular, Carmen of the trending rookie group "Hearts2Hearts" crossing the 400m relay finish line first to secure her team's gold medal saw a peak minute rating of 4.8%, delivering a thrilling emotional moment to viewers.
MBC's "2025 Chuseok special Idol Star Athletics Championships" is a flagship holiday entertainment program where Korea's top idol stars challenge a variety of sports events and generate yearly record-breaking buzz. Broadcast over three days from the 6th to the 8th, the 2025 ISAC featured a variety of events—track (60m dash, 400m relay), dancesport, ssireum, penalty shootout, and the newly added pistol shooting—offering a sports festival the whole family could enjoy during the Chuseok holiday. Meanwhile, after 15 years as a representative holiday entertainment show, MBC's ISAC, amid the global attention on K-pop, expanded idol stars' stages from music into sports while bringing joy and emotion to global fans, proving the strength of K-content.
[Photo] Courtesy of MBC
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