Aspiring singers in Southeast Asian countries will get another chance to debut in the birthplace of K-pop as the capital city of South Korea is working on a new audition program for them.

Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it will take part in a joint production of a TV audition program dubbed “K-POP Star Hunt” with Fox-affiliated channels Star World and Channel V, Korean entertainment agency Cube Entertainment and cable channel company CJ E&M Media.

The TV audition program will select top 10 would-be K-pop singers from preliminary contests to be held in five Southeast Asian countries ― Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand. The program also will offer the winner the chance to sign a contract with Cube Entertainment, which created the famous K-pop boy band BEAST and girl group 4minute.

The first preliminary round will select about 100 contestants and the second round will narrow the field to 10. The last seven episodes, scheduled to take place in Korea, will select final winners.

The Top 10 will receive training from Cube Entertainment and get a chance to apply for the final audition. The final audition will be aired on South Korean channels in December.

Seoul plans to promote the image of the capital city and its attractions through the audition program by arranging for the city logo and promotional phrases to be shown in the background. An extra episode of the show is also expected to feature restaurants and attractions in Seoul.

“About 12 million households in Southeast Asia are expected to watch the program. And it will be a great opportunity for the city to promote its attractions as well as increase interest in Korean pop music,” said Bae Hyoung-woo, an official of Seoul City’s marketing division.

Fox held a press conference last Friday in Taipei with the K-pop boy band BEAST attending.

Applicants must be between 14 and 24 years old. Registration is open from mid-August to mid-September.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)