Group A of the active-duty division, which produced former ″Mr. Trot″ champions Lim Young-woong and Ahn Sung-hoon, is signaling a strong performance. On the December 19th broadcast of TV Chosun’s ″Mr. Trot 3,″ 101 teams began their official competition for a 300 million won prize pool. Season 3 featured notable contestants like Season 1 contestants Nam Seung-min, Lee Jung, and Kim Hyun-soo, as well as senior models Kim Chil-du, Dotty, and Ma Seon-ho. Season 1 contestants Jang Min-ho, Young Tak, Lee Chan-won, Kim Hee-jae, and Jeong Dong-won, along with Season 1 contestants Ahn Sung-hoon, Park Ji-hyun, Na Sang-do, Jin Wook, and Park Sung-on, joined as senior masters. Variety show veteran Lee Kyung-kyu also appeared as a new master. Lee Kyung-kyu stated, ″I will pioneer a new judging genre. School ties, blood ties, and regional ties are important.″

Yoon Dong-jin, a 20-year-old college student, was the first to appear on the show. Yoon Dong-jin received a standing ovation for his powerful pelvic performance of Lee Byung-joon’s ″Paradise,″ the soundtrack to the Lee Kyung-kyu-produced film ″Bokmyeon Dalho.″ Nam Seung-min, a Season 1 contestant, returned after four years of service as a Navy corporal. Appearing on stage in his uniform, Nam Seung-min delivered a passionate rendition of ″Mangbuseok,″ but Xiumin forgot to press the heart button, leaving him a preliminary candidate. Young Tak was amazed by Nam Seung-min’s growth, remarking, ″He didn’t even lose his pitch.″

Lee Eun-ji, impressed by Choi Jae-myung’s visuals, who served in ″D.P.″ just like his character played by Jung Hae-in, expressed her affection for him by shouting, ″I love you.″ Choi Jae-myung sang Ahn Ye-eun’s ″Sangsahwa″ with his captivating voice, earning a standing ovation. The masters raved, and Lee Kyung-kyu even offered him a contract with his agency. Twenty years ago, when Lee Chan-won appeared on ″National Singing Contest,″ Ko Eun-jun, nicknamed ″Little Lee Chan-won,″ wore the exact same outfit as him and received a standing ovation.

Second-grader Park Jeong-min, who burst into tears after failing to receive a single heart, received 17 hearts and wept on stage. The entire venue erupted in tears. The youngest contestant, eight-year-old Yu Ji-woo, received a heartwarming performance of ″Jeongnyeong.″ A tearful Lee Chan-won expressed his emotion, saying, ″It feels like you’ve given me the answer to how I should sing.″ Park Jeong-seo, a 179cm-tall second-year middle school student, quickly received a standing ovation with her performance of Bae Ho’s ″Foggy Jangchungdan Park,″ showcasing her deep voice and emotional depth.

High school senior Baek Seung-min brought tears to the eyes of the audience with a performance dedicated to his mother, who passed away earlier this year. Baek Seung-min passed the preliminary round with 17 hearts, but he and Park Jeong-min also passed the additional round. Go Young-tae, from Group A, a working professional who works at a barbecue restaurant, received all hearts for his energetic samba performance in a daringly revealing outfit. The masters were all shocked by Go Young-tae’s talent, with Jang Yoon-jeong commenting, ″He’s number one in my heart.″

Lee Kyung-kyu and Lee Chan-won, who watched firefighter Kim Min-wook’s performance, had differing opinions on Kim Min-wook’s decision to become a singer, drawing laughter. Kim Min-wook received 16 hearts. Park Ji-hoo, an air conditioning installer, confessed to living alone after his parents’ divorce and passionately sang Jo Hang-jo’s ″Thank You for Life″ to receive all hearts. Tears streamed from the masters and contestants. Kim Seong-ju, whose second son is in middle school, shed tears of empathy and then cheered Park Ji-hoo on.

Group A, the active-duty team that produced Lim Young-woong and Ahn Sung-hoon, garnered anticipation from the very beginning. Kim Yong-bin, a former prodigy who debuted 21 years ago, said, ″I felt pressured and couldn’t take on the challenge, but the contestants were so good. I felt like I was running out of opportunities, so I mustered up the courage to take on the challenge.″ Kim Yong-bin received an All Heart award, proving his 21-year track record. Kim Hee-jae, a former prodigy, said, ″When we pursued our trot dream, there were two top performers. Yang Ji-won and Kim Yong-bin were unrivaled.″

Ing Chan-won remarked, ″There’s no comparison. Kim Yong-bin and Yang Ji-won were driving on the 100 km/h highway, while we were driving in a 30 km/h school zone.″ Moses, who has the hit song ″Love in Girl,″ appeared as Chun-gil, a trot singer in his second year of active duty. Chun-gil said, ″I dared to take on ’Mr. Trot 3’ with great ambition, wanting to create a hit song for the next 20 years.″ Choon-gil, who selected Hyun-chul’s ″Your Name,″ achieved a lightning-fast All Hearts in just the first verse, earning rave reviews from the masters.

The contestants in the ″Hyun-yeokbu X″ contestant group were judged solely on their voices, without revealing their names, ages, or faces. The contestant who appeared under the name ″Hadong Namjin″ demonstrated his potential as a championship contender with Tae Jin-ah’s ″Lost Love,″ earning All Hearts. Hadong Namjin’s face will be revealed in the next episode.