2011 10Awards│Top 10 Entertainers of the Year - Part 1

There was no legend. The strong players who had seemed invincible proclaimed the end to their days which meant both confusion and opportunity for others. And this was because although Kim Byung-man ended his popular segment on KBS’ “Gag Concert” while looking for a role he could play in another program, Choi Hyo-jong, unfazed by the chaos, took on the opportunity handed to him and became the new mascot to the show. The same goes for Jeon Hyun-moo who established a new position for himself by fusing his two identities and Ahn Young-mi who digged into the reaction the audience gave her. That is why the Top 10 Entertainers of the Year that 10Asia chose are not just the names that provided fun for their viewers but also created sucess stories for themselves.

During the past four years, Kim Byung-man has shown the nobleness of a challenge-taker through "Gag Concert" and the wonder of an effort-maker through the "Kiss & Cry" segment of SBS' entertainment show "I Like Sundays." And we knew he would be good but not this good. It was possible because Kim's hard work and fighting spirit proved to be a strong link between people's expectation off the stage and what they saw on stage. SBS' "Law of the Jungle" too would have been impossible to make without him. To Kim who speaks with the language of his body which makes others laugh and cry, entertainment is not what he pretends to be but how he lives his life and for him, life and comedy are synonyms. Hence, the phrase "Just do it," may at times seem irresponsible and even violent but when it meets Kim, it becomes beautiful poetic diction which affirms life.

When it comes to reality shows, it has always been up to the producers to create the setting and that fact remains unchanged. But producer Na Young-suk of the "Two Days and One Night" segment of KBS' "Happy Sunday" has willingly thrown himself into that setting instead of just looking at it from behind the lens of the camera. Him being set as the type of person who hates going to locations that he will have a hard time at has made deciding on the simplest locations an interesting game and him bidding on all 80 members of his crew going into water added tension to the program. While Lee Seung-gi and Lee Su-geun lead the show and Uhm Tae-woong acts funny with talk about kaiser, producer Na ran around in all directions possible to fill in the gaps that the hosts somehow did not. Producer Na deserves to receive much credit for the good shape that "Two Days and One Night" has stayed in despite MC Mong, Kim C and Kang Ho-dong's absence from the show.

The winner to tvN's "Comedy Big League" was Yoo Se-yoon, Jang Dong-min and Yoo Sang-moo but the team that reached out to the public as powerfully as "Gag Concert" did was the one formed by comediens Ahn Young-mi, Kim Mi-ryeo, and Jung Ju-ri. Ahn Young-mi in particular, who completed her presence as the godmother of the theatrical stage with a single line based on her acting skills honed from when she was a cast member of "Gag Concert," immediately overpowered viewers in another act where she plays a devilish motorcycle gang member. Her sharp observation skills and extraordinary ability to express herself has brought the birth of a unprecedented character. What more needs to be said when she is capable of making one see a vision of a Harley Davidson motorcycle by simply crying out, "It's a Harley!"

Whatever we expected from him, he did better. And his abilities as an entertainer has already been proven. But he continued to exceed our expectations by an extra step. He was the 'arrogant guru' who always read the flow of matters in MBC's "Golden Fishery," a comedian armed with acting skills which doubled the fun of the situations he created in "Comedy Big League" and a presence that made even the most nonsensical comments convincing in Mnet's "Beatles Code." And more than anything, he is UV which is creating present progressive history. A figure which makes the public look forward to his appearance and with such a calm face, easily leaps beyond such expectations. And now, he is remapping the entertainment industry in the air he has soared into.

MBC's "Infinite Challenge" is still the best entertainment show and the "Running Man" segment of SBS' "I Like Sundays" is finally underway but MBC's "Come Play" and KBS' "Happy Together 3" failed to continue with its reputation from the previous year or even fell back. If it was absolutely necessary to calculate how well or bad he did, it could be said that he stayed where he reached last year. But it cannot be said that he should have done better or reached further than where he currently stands because he is not running a race by himself but like Jeong Hyung-don said, "All six of our names are within the letters of Yoo Jae-suk's name" -- hence a pace maker who leads and pushes forward everybody else. Hence he may be running at a slower pace and seem more worn out compared to the past but he still stands at the front of the race in entertainment. That is probably enough to show you how hard he has run all these years.

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10 아시아 Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@
10 아시아 Reporter : Yoon Hee-Seong nine@
10 아시아 Reporter: Kim Hee Ju fifteen@
10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Ga-on
10 아시아 Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@