BELIFT+ is said to be under the auspices of Big Hit Labels as a subsidiary, like Source Music and Pledis Entertainment. I-LAND is the first project of BELIF+. Through the survival show, the formation of a new boy group will be aired on television in several episodes. I-LAND participants will compete and work together to solve each challenge, under the direction of a professional mentor and producer. Interestingly, there are famous names chosen as I-LAND‘s mentors. Rain and Zico lined up as producers, while actor Nam Goong-min as a story or screenplay writer to support the concept of I-LAND music. Meanwhile, Bang Si-hyuk who is the owner of Big Hit Entertainment took the role of general producer. I-LAND itself has released several photos of participants or trainees on the official Twitter account. There are 12 participants who competed in the program, before debuting as a new idol named I-LAND. Are you curious about Mnet’s latest survival show I-LAND? If so, let’s dive right into the sea of information below! In this article, Channel-Korea will tell you everything about Mnet’s latest survival show I-LAND. So, stay tuned!
Audition
CJ Entertainment and Big Hit Entertainment launched a new program titled I-LAND which is a reality show or survival program from observations by Mnet who followed the birth process of the next generation of K-Pop idols. They will debut a new boy group by opening auditions for men who were born from 1997 to 2008. I-LAND auditions were held from March 2019 in various countries, starting from Seoul, the United States, Japan, and many more. Later, the surviving contestants will make their debut as members of the band named I-LAND.
I-Land Announcement and Controversy
After the success of Produce 101, Mnet immediately aired its most recent survival program titled I-LAND. The enthusiasm of fans grew when Mnet began to release the contestants who would participate in this program. However, I-LAND was overshadowed by the controversy over the voting results that befell Produce 101. As is known, producer Ahn Joon-young has been arrested by police after it was proven that he had cheated on the results of the final round of voting for the series Produce 101. The fact that the I-LAND program is stuck in the shadow of Mnet’s big scandal over Produce 101 is very disappointing for K-Pop fans. The reason is, this might make fans less likely to trust the voting system of Mnet anymore. As planned, CJ ENM and Big Hit Entertainment will start their joint project in 2020 to debut a new boy group. And on May 8th, 2020, they revealed a project titled I-LAND. This will be BELIF+’s first project (the name of the CJ ENM and Big Hit Entertainment collaboration company). This program was created to find and train global K-Pop artists, and has become a hot topic because it brings together two names that have a very big influence in the music industry. I-LAND is an observation reality show that follows the process of the birth of a new generation of K-Pop artists. Based on posters and teaser videos released, the program premiered on June 26th, 2020. This program combines the ability of CJ ENM content production knowledge to produce artists from Big Hit Entertainment, showing the contestants’ processes in competing and cooperating with each other.
I-LAND Controversy
The I-LAND program has now begun production and has been on the air since June 26th, 2020. However, the collaboration program of Mnet, CJ ENM, and Big Hit Entertainment was dragged into the controversy of enslaving and injuring staff before the program aired. According to an exclusive report from Sports Chosun media, I-LAND‘s production team has complained about the unreasonable amount of work and also neglected safety on the set. “Production costs are lacking because of all the transportation we need to arrange, the goods we have to buy, the props we have to move and the people we have to rent to move them,” said an insider. “One of the staff had to drive until dawn even though he had not slept enough in the previous days and was finally involved in a small accident. However, because the name of a rental car was also made on behalf of the staff, the insurance premium had to be paid by a staff member and they also had to pay compensation for the accident,” said an insider. “Bosses do not take any responsibility or action. Staff also buy and transport props. There is an increasing number of complaints because staff must use their personal cards for this purchase,” added the insider. The biggest problem that the I-LAND production team faced was negligence for the safety of everyone involved from staff to participants. The insider shared details about the design of dangerous sets and even injuries caused by a lack of safety precautions, but not many changes occurred. “The stage on the set has a dangerous design where even the most skilled and agile dancers can injure themselves. Issues about security on the set have already been raised at internal meetings, but they are ignored,” said the same insider. “Therefore, 3 days before the shooting started, one staff member fell off the stage, which caused bleeding, but no follow-up steps were taken. On the first day of shooting, one of the participants had an accident on stage and had to be taken to the emergency room department for a broken arm, making it difficult for him to appear on the show,” added the insider. “After that, they did not take security measures, but only slightly modified the stage and received written security notices from several witnesses. To reduce production costs, they did not use cleaning services or planning teams and even outsourced PD,” the insider continued. “But in the end, PD outsourcing is boycotting. If there is a shortage of labor, the right thing to do is reduce the scale of the show, or hire more people,” added the insider. Finally, insiders revealed that I-LAND staff were ordered to collect petitions in support of Ahn Joon-young and Kim Yong-beom, who are currently on trial for their role in the voting manipulation scandal surrounding the Produce 101 series.
About Story Teller and Producer
Actor Nam Goong-min has been asked to join the program. On May 11th, 2020, a source from I-LAND confirmed by stating, “Nam Goong-min will appear in the program as a storyteller to explain the world of I-LAND.” Nam Goong-min will also play the MC of the I-LAND program. In addition, Rain and Zico will be producers in Mnet’s newest reality show, I-LAND. The two musicians were first rumored to be joining the program on May 20th, 2020. As a first-generation K-Pop idol, Rain has quite a long stage experience, reaching 22 years. In the program, he will share experiences and tips on stage with the participants. While Zico has 9 years of experience as an idol with the ability to create and produce songs. And the owner of Big Hit Entertainment, Bang Si-hyuk occupies the position of general producer.
