Top Gear Korea
| Top Gear Korea | |
|---|---|
 Top Gear Korea title card | |
| Genre | Motoring |
| Directed by | Seo Seung-han |
| Presented by | Kim Jin-pyo (2011–) Yeon Jung-hoon (2011–2012) Kim Kap-soo (2011) Jo Min-ki (2012) Park Jun-gyu (2012) Ryu Si-won (2013) Danny Ahn (2013–2014) Alex Chu (2013-2014) Yoo Kyung-wook (2014-2015) Ahn Jung-hwan (2016–) Hong Jong-hyun (2016–) Park Young-woong (2016–) "The Stig" (Bil Li-ship) |
| Opening theme | "Jessica" |
| Ending theme | "Jessica" |
| Composer | Dickey Betts |
| Country of origin | Republic of Korea United Kingdom |
| Original language | Korean language |
| No. of series | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 71 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | CJ E&M BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | XTM, TVN |
| Release | 20 August 2011 – present |
| Related | |
| Top Gear (2002 TV series) Top Gear (USA) Top Gear Australia Top Gear Russia | |
Top Gear Korea (Korean: 탑 기어 코리아) is the South Korean adaptation of BBC's popular Top Gear show. Officially announced on 21 June 2011, the show follows a similar format with the British version and season 1 included 3 presenters: singer and professional driver Kim Jin-pyo (김진표), actor Yeon Jung-hoon (연정훈), and actor Kim Kap-soo (김갑수).[1] It premiered on cable channel XTM on 20 August 2011.
The show uses a circuit in Ansan city, which is not used for racing but just for tests and social events, as the main test facility and the Power Lap Time. It was built for a Champ Car event that was cancelled less than three weeks before it was to have been held. Korea International Circuit, the venue of the Korean Grand Prix and Taebaek Racing Park are used for some episodes.
History
The first season aired from 20 August – 30 December 2011.[2] Met with both positive and negative reviews, the show had a peak viewership rating of 1.28%, considered to be quite good for Korean cable.[3]
The second season aired from 8 April 2012 to 17 June 2012. Kim Kap-soo was replaced by actor Jo Min-ki (조민기).[4][5]
The third season (titled Top Gear Korea New Season) aired from 7 October – 16 December 2012. Jo Min-ki was replaced by actor Park Jun-gyu (박준규). In one of the episodes, presenter Kim Jin-pyo drove a Chevrolet Spark through a 360-degree vertical loop.[6]
A serious incident occurred during filming of the fourth season, in which a helicopter crashed into the Arizona desert. As part of a racing sequence between a Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 and a Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter, the car and the helicopter would race alongside each other to the finish line. During a practice run, as they reached the finish line, the aircraft wheeled around 180° before impacting the ground. Nobody was seriously injured.[7][8] The BBC posted the video online, both in its unaltered state and open-captioned in English, the show is part of their franchise and is co-produced by the company.
Guests
Guests are featured each week in the Star Lap Time segment, akin to Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. The car driven in this segment is the Volkswagen Golf.
Season One
| Celebrities | Notes |
|---|---|
| Kim Su-ro | Kim Su-ro's timing was 2:07.06. He was the first celebrity to be featured in this segment. |
| Kim Ok-bin | Kim Ok-bin's timing was 2:00.56. |
| 2AM’s Jo Kwon and Seulong | Jo Kwon's timing was 2:08.36, while Seulong's timing was 2:04.56. |
| Alex | |
| H.O.T's Tony An and Moon Hee-jun | Tony's timing was 2:01.16, while Moon Hee-jun's timing was 1:58.93. |
| Ahn Jae-mo | Ahn Jae-mo's timing was 1:57.00. |
| Lee Won-jong | Lee Won-jong's timing was 2:01.96. |
| Boom | Boom's timing was 1:59.83. |
| Kim Min-joon | |
| Lee Se-chang | Lee Se-chang's timing was 1:57.83. |
| Haha | Haha's timing was 2:00.53. |
| Huh Gak | Huh Gak's timing was 2:01.16. |
Season Two
| Episode | Celebrities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Lee Sung-jae | Lee Sung-jae's timing was 2:02.15. |
| Episode 2 | Song Seon-mi | |
| Episode 3 | Koyote's Shinji and Bbaeka | Bbaeka's timing was 2:03.02. |
| Episode 4 | Ryu Soo-young | |
| Episode 5 | g.o.d's Danny Ahn | Danny's timing was 1.58.07. |
| Episode 6 | 4Minute's Kim Hyun-a and Heo Ga-yoon | Ga-yoon's timing of 2:00.15 makes her the fastest female celebrity on the show for Seasons 1 - 3. |
| Episode 7 | g.o.d's Son Ho-young | Son Ho-young's timing was 1:57.06. |
| Episode 8 | Lee Chun-hee | Lee Chun-hee's timing was 1:59.05. |
| Episode 9 | Park Jun-gyu | Park Jun-gyu's timing was 1:59.11. |
| Episode 10 | SISTAR's Bora | Bora's fellow group member Dasom appeared on the show but did not drive.[9] |
Season Three
| Episode | Celebrities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Yoo Seung-ho | Yoo Seung-ho's timing of 1:58.20 made him the fastest driver of season 3. |
| Episode 2 | Choi Yeo-jin | Choi Yeo-jin's timing was 2:01.24. |
| Episode 3 | Kim Hee-won | |
| Episode 4 | Park Eun-ji | Park Eun-ji's timing was 2:13.13. |
| Episode 6 | Kim Jung-tae | Kim Jung-tae's timing was 2:01.28. |
| Episode 7 | Kim So-eun | Kim So-eun's timing of 2:01.19 made her the 3rd fastest female participant, after Heo Ga-yoon and Kim Ok-bin. |
| Episode 9 | Jung Jun-ha |
Season Four
| Episode | Celebrities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Kim Min-jong | Kim Min-jong's timing was 2:01.22. |
| Episode 2 | Park Shin-hye | Park Shin-hye's timing was 2:00.14. |
| Episode 5 | Lee Jung | Lee Jung's timing was 1:55.25. |
References
- ^ Joseph, Noah (24 June 2011). "Top Gear global conquest continues with South Korean series". Autoblog.com. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ Wicks, Kevin (25 August 2011). "Top Gear Thursday: 'Top Gear Korea' Launches, My Little Pony Mashup Goes Viral | Anglophenia". BBC America. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ Shin, Jieun (23 August 2011). "South Korea's version of the hit U.K. TV series Top Gear debuted at the weekend". WSJ Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ Hea, Jung-min (5 April 2012). "Yeon Jeong Hun Reveals Top Gear Korea is Stronger Than Ever". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Oh, Mi-jung (6 May 2012). "Top Gear Korea Holds a Luxurious Drag Race Worth 1,500,000,000 Won". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Kim, Tae-jong (20 March 2013). "Man in fast lane: Kim Jin-pyo aims to add Korean flair to the show". The Korea Times. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "WPR12LA107 - General Aviation Accident Report". NTSB. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ Miersma, Seyth (11 February 2013). "Helicopter crashes on Top Gear Korea set while chasing Corvette ZR1". Autoblog.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Ho, Stewart (14 June 2012). "SISTAR's Bora Gets Her Driving Assessed on Top Gear Korea 2". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 10 January 2013.