On July 9, SM Entertainment announced its plans to work with Disney Korea on a reboot of the classic musical sketch comedy show, "The Mickey Mouse Club." According to a report published by Sports Chosun, the Korean version of the show would be hosted by Super Junior's Leeteuk and would feature nine trainees that have previously been promoted as SM Rookies.
SM Rookies Mark, Donghyuck, Jaemin, Jeno, Ji Sung, Lami, Hyerin, Hina and Ko Eun will appear on the upcoming program.
Sports Chosun noted that the program will feature SM Rookies members who have previously appeared under the banner SR15G. "The rookies who have appeared as SR15G (SM Rookies 2015 Girls) Hyerin (age 13), Hina (age 15), Ko Eun (age 16) have appeal with their fresh new faces," said the writer for Sports Chosun. "Hyerin brings refreshing, youthful charm from the U.K., Hina is a dance prodigy who can fluently speak in Korean and Japanese while Ko Eun is excellent at singing and dancing."
Previous SM Rookies include Irene and Wendy, who successfully debuted with Red Velvet.
The article then noted the '90s American version of "The Mickey Mouse Club," which aired on the Disney Channel from 1989 through 1996. Alumni from the '90s reboot of the show included former NSYNC members Justin Timberlake, J.C. Chasez, as well as, pop queens Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
"The Mickey Mouse Club" was launched in 1955, as a family variety show, whose members included screen star Annette Funicello.
Efforts by Disney to work with K-pop follow successful releases in Asian market including the Bollywood film, "Khoobsorat."
The latest version of "The Mickey Mouse Club" will combine music with sketch comedy and variety show games. The program is scheduled to air on July 23 at 8 p.m. KST.
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About the writer: Adrienne Stanley is a contributing editor for KDramastars. She is also a contributing writer for KpopStarz, MTV Iggy, Viki and CJ Entertainment's KCON blog. Her passions include a love of K-pop and Asian drama. When she is not writing, she is hanging out on Twitter (@retrogirladdy).
