Hong Jiyun & Inoue Enka Clash in Showdown

In the final episode of MBN's '2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers Battle,' Hong Ji-yoon from Korea and Honoka Inoue from Japan clashed for the title of King of Singers. Hong Ji-yoon declared, "The King of Singers is me, Hong Ji-yoon," showing strong confidence, while Honoka Inoue responded, "I want to compete with my pride on the line."

Hong Ji-yoon chose Takashi Hosokawa's 'Bōkyō Jonkara,' a traditional Japanese enka song, and invited a shamisen player, a traditional Japanese string instrument, to enhance the stage's completeness. Honoka Inoue countered with MAMAMOO's 'Décalcomanie,' presenting an energetic performance that combined rap and choreography. The judges reacted by saying it was difficult to decide the winner as the two performances were so different in style.

After the performances, Honoka Inoue shed tears of regret over her mistakes, but judge Yūdai Takenaka expressed his admiration for her strict attitude. Takenaka praised Hong Ji-yoon's natural Japanese pronunciation and her stage performance, which was fitting for the climax. Ultimately, based on the votes from the Korean and Japanese celebrity judging panel, Hong Ji-yoon won with a score of 80 to 40, becoming the King of Singers.

Meanwhile, in the third round, the youngest members of the Korean team, Lee Soo-yeon, and the Japanese team, Karen Arakawa, faced off again. Karen was determined to get revenge, while Lee Soo-yeon elicited laughter with a cute provocation. Lee Soo-yeon sang Park Seo-jin's 'Byeol-a Byeol-a,' and Karen sang Lee Sun-hee's 'To You' in Korean. After a fierce battle, the two recorded a 60-60 draw, creating an unexpected result.