'Produce 101 Season 2' alumnus Kenta's whereabouts after seven years are revealed.
On the 9th, KBS1's Neighborhood Charles will air an episode chronicling idol Kenta's new challenge.
Earlier in 2017, Kenta debuted as a K-pop idol, melting the hearts of Korean girl fans through Mnet's audition program 'Produce 101 Season'. After a short seven-month period, activities with the six-member project group ended, and in the last broadcast he re-debuted as a new two-member duo dreaming of a second leap.
However, after the broadcast it was difficult to see Kenta on television for several years. The place where he was found again was an airport in Japan. Beyond activities in Korea, he is also active in Japan; this episode looks at the everyday life of Kenta, a Japan-born K-pop idol who is different from seven years ago.
Recently, Kenta, who is more active in Japan than in Korea, visits Japan once or twice a month. Unlike in the past, he uses public transportation alone without a manager or car, and instead of staying at hotels he relies on friends' homes. The program reveals what might have happened to Kenta, who was so popular he topped music shows after his debut, over the past few years.
Although it seemed he would receive makeup and prepare for a performance, the place waiting for Kenta was not a music show but a live commerce broadcast site. His passion for the broadcast is no different from when he stood on stage as an idol. Thanks to the previous broadcast, Kenta is challenging a new field beyond the stage.
Also, Kenta, who has now been living in Korea for 11 years, visited his hometown in Gunma Prefecture, about an hour from Tokyo, to see his mother with longing. His mother, who in a 2018 Neighborhood Charles broadcast had come all the way to Korea to lavishly prepare hometown dishes for her son, passed away in 2020 from a chronic illness. Kenta recalls the happy times with his mother who cannot return, and he visits the places where he grew up listening to K-pop and nurturing his dreams.
After his debut, Kenta went through many difficult times and heard worried advice such as "wouldn't it be better to return to Japan?" But no matter how hard it was, he could not let go of his long-held dream thanks to fans who still supported him and waited silently.
Kenta is taking slow but precious steps back toward his fans through rare variety show filming, preparing solo songs, and a small concert in Japan. Even after unexpected growing pains since his 'pretty-boy idol' days seven years ago, idol Kenta's new challenge, which does not stop, will be revealed on KBS1's Neighborhood Charles airing at 7:40 p.m. on the 9th.
[Photo] Provided by KBS
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