In light of the tragic sunken ferry incident in South Korea, most of the entertainment industry will be on hold for the next few days.
Although it was reported early on yesterday that most of the passengers and crew had already been rescued off the ship, it was later revealed that that was not the case. Currently, at time of writing, there are still currently about 290 missing passengers with many of them being high school students who had been on a trip from school to Jeju Island. Rescue efforts are still under way and with many citizens still awaiting the news about the whereabouts of their loved ones, most of the broadcast stations will be concentrating their efforts on covering the incident and its aftermath.
As such, 'M! Countdown' and 'Music Bank' have already announced their cancellation for this week. This means the comeback schedules or activities of several artists will be affected. As for 'Music Core' and 'Inkigayo', they are currently discussing a possible cancellation as well, but nothing has been decided yet. [Update - 'Inkigayo' has been canceled]
In addition to 'M! Countdown', Mnet's 'M! Countdown Begins', and 'Block B's 5 minutes Before Chaos' have also been canceled.
tvN has also canceled their sitcom 'Potato Star', and is also expected to cancel 'SNL Korea', and 'Comedy Big League'.
SBS has also revealed that they will be replacing 'Oh My Baby' and 'One Night of TV Entertainment' with a 2 hour news special instead. The station has also put a hold on their dramas like 'Three Days'.
Several shows from MBC such as 'Real Story Noon', 'Radio Star', 'Showtime Burning the B2ST' and its dramas such as 'Cunning Single Lady' have also been canceled.
KBS will also delay their airing of 'Golden Cross', 'Pitapat Romance', 'Happy Together', in addition to 'Music Bank'.
In addition to the broadcast stations, the movie industry is also halting much of their planned schedules. Several premieres, screenings, and interviews have already been canceled or delayed.
A Pink and BoA have also revealed that they will be delaying their planned events in light of the incident, and joining them are other groups like EXO, Block B, and MBLAQ. EXO have postponed their interviews and are looking into making changes to their comeback schedule, while Block B announced through their fan cafe that they will be postponing their album release. MBLAQ's fan event with MWave was also canceled. Although not an actual event, T-ara's Jiyeon had planned to release her teaser earlier but Core Contents Media has expressed that they have decided to push it back.
It's said that other idol groups who were planning to make their comeback with a bright and lively song around this time frame are looking to adjust their schedules as they do not feel that it is appropriate to release a happy dance track when many out there are grieving or anxiously awaiting news of their children, relative, or friend. [Update - FIESTAR and Park Jung Hyun (Lena Park) have also delayed their releases.]
Rescue efforts have been going on night and day to reach all those who had been aboard the ship. So far, about 179 have been rescued while 6 deaths have been reported. Our hearts go out to those who have lost their loved ones or are awaiting news. We hope that there will not be any more casualties and that the 290 missing will be found and brought home soon.
source:allkpop
