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The 2024 Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC) is returning full steam ahead of Chuseok, aka Korean Thanksgiving Day. Famous for assembling leading and up-and-coming K-pop celebrities in its lineup, this MBC sports gameshow will make a long-overdue comeback after a two-year hiatus.
The lineup for the 2024 ISAC has been confirmed to include several K-pop names. The show's comeback is stirring excitement among viewers, as they will see their idols showcase their athletic talents. The show aims for a holiday-season release in mid-September.
While the first edition solely focused on track and field events, ISAC has since broadened its scope to include sports such as rhythmic gymnastics, futsal, esports, golf, relay races, and various other indoor and outdoor activities.
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The list of the K-pop stars who have been confirmed as participants is as follows:
- THE BOYZ
- Oh My Girl members Hyojung and Seunghee
- Billlie
- Drippin
- Rocket Punch
- TripleS
- Weeekly
- Lightsum
- VANNER
- Fantasy Boys
- Blitzers
- The Wind
- ICHILLIN'
- ATBO & JUSTB
- Cignature
- 82MAJOR
- Candy Shop
- EVNNE
- UNIS
- EASTSHINE
- LUN8
- JD1
- DKB
- NOWADAYS
- BEWAVE
- AMPERSANDONE
- WHIB
- Wooah
- Yves
- The KingDom
- Hee-jin of ARTMS
- DXMON
The filming for the upcoming run of the Idol Star Athletics Championships is slated for August.
What is the Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC), and who has appeared in it before?
ISAC or Idol Star Athletics Championships (Korean: 아이돌스타 육상 선수권 대회) was inaugurally aired in the year 2010 as a Chuseok special. The show airs during major holiday seasons in the country, including Korea's Lunar New Year (winter) and the fall harvest festival of Chuseok.
While the popular gameshow was known to be broadcast twice every year, the COVID-19 pandemic brought it to a halt, and it returned in 2022.
The show in 2022 was held on Chuseok as well, including male team members like Kim Woo-seok, DKZ, CIX, Stray Kids, ONEUS, TAN, and more. While the female team members boasted names like Kwon Eun-bi, Choi Ye-na, BVNDIT, LABOUM, LIGHTSUM, and others.
Meanwhile, the 2023 version was not held. As per an MBC official's statement released on January 6, 2023, to Maeil Business Newspaper's Star Today. The representative stated:
"We will not be preparing an The Idol Star Athletics Championships for this Lunar New Year holiday"
The same representative also disclosed that MBC was not planning a production schedule for the decade-long show and was instead said to be focusing on broadcasting other shows. This led fans to believe that ISAC had come to a close after 10 long years of entertaining audiences and K-pop fans.
Much to everybody's surprise, MBC's June 2024 announcement of renewing the program this year enraptured the show's dedicated audience. According to Ilgan Sports' reports released on June 20, an MBC representative confirmed the news, stating:
"It is true that ISAC will be making a return set for this year's Chuseok. We are planning to record the program in August."
The 2024 Idol Star Athletics Championships will have new MCs, including presenter Jun Hyun-moo, NMIXX’s Haewon, Sieun of STAYC, singers Lee Chan-won and Kang Daniel, and rapper Din Din.
The hype surrounding the MBC program is largely due to its list of star-studded names in past seasons, including famous figures and K-pop celebrities. The multi-sports gathering previously saw BTS, NCT 127, SEVENTEEN, Super Junior, TWICE, Stray Kids, Sistar, SHINee, and more as attendees.
While venues from the earlier years included the likes of Jamsil Arena, Mokdong Stadium, Goyang Gymnasium, and Samsung World Gymnasium, this year's venue has not yet been announced.
The anticipation for ISAC's comeback keeps elevating, considering the many "sports idol" celebrities who were discovered by it in past seasons. Stars like Highlight's Yoon Doojoon, SHINee's Minho, BTOB's Minhyuk, and others have been the recipients of this title.
TWICE's Tzuyu and Red Velvet's Irene have previously impressed audiences with their archery skills. While, in 2015, BTS' Jungkook famously awed fans with his victory in the 400-meter relay race at the event.
