South Korea · Drama · 2017
Idol Fever
Binge Brief
- Ten episodes on Naver TV and V Live, from 7 to 17 July 2017, about fifteen minutes each; this is a 2017 title, not a 2015 one
- Re-cut as a 119-minute feature, selected for the 52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival, and broadcast on KBS1's independent film strand on 8 December 2018
- A Fantagio showcase: SurpriseU and Weki Meki lead, with cameos from Seo Kang Joon, Moonbin, Hello Venus and Ong Seong-wu
- Seo Kang Joon appears as Kim Do-yeon's older brother, a special appearance
- Ong Seong-wu's cameo was his first screen appearance after Wanna One formed, and it drew most of the coverage
- Jobseekers are mistaken for idols and have to perform for guests at a rural county event
- The episodes are gone: the YouTube account that hosted them was deleted, and V Live shut down in 2023
Synopsis
A group of young people who cannot find work end up in a rural county for a two-night, three-day event, and are taken for idol stars. The county head has invited African guests and needs a performance. The jobseekers, who are not performers, have to provide one. Choi Yoo-jung plays Yoo-jung, an administrative intern at the township office, and Kim Do-yeon plays her friend Do-yeon. Kim Hyun-seo, Yoon Jung-hyuk, Eun Hae-sung, Ji Gun-woo and Cha In-ha complete the main cast, each playing a character who shares the actor's first name.
What makes the drama odd is the gap between its origin and its destination. It was made as a showcase for Fantagio's young talent, and it functions as one: SurpriseU, the agency's actor group formed after 5urprise, lead it alongside two Weki Meki members who had come out of Produce 101. Seo Kang Joon, Moonbin, Hello Venus and Ong Seong-wu all turn up.
And then it was re-edited into a feature, selected for the Seoul Independent Film Festival, and shown on KBS1's independent film slot at quarter to one in the morning. The festival's own synopsis ends on a line that tells you what the tone is: three days and nights pass through all the ups and downs of a youth drama, and no miracle happens.
Why it still gets watched
Mostly it is not watched, because it cannot be. The YouTube account that carried the episodes has been deleted, V Live shut down in 2023, and JustWatch has no entry for the title at all. What is left is the record.
The reason to keep that record accurate is the cast list. This is the first screen appearance Ong Seong-wu made after Wanna One was formed, which generated coverage far out of proportion to the size of the production. It is also one of the few places SurpriseU, the group Fantagio built after 5urprise, appears at length; Cha In-ha, who was part of it, died in 2019.
And the trajectory is genuinely unusual. A corporate idol showcase does not normally end up in a national independent film festival and then on public broadcast television. This one did, in a 119-minute cut, which is the only precisely measured runtime the title has.
Idol Fever cast
Themes and messages
Being mistaken for a star is not the same as being one. The premise hands a group of unemployed young people the appearance of success and none of the substance, and then makes them perform anyway.
No miracle happens. The festival's own synopsis says so, and that is the joke the whole thing rests on. It has the shape of a youth drama where everything works out, and it withholds the ending that shape promises.
The rural county is the other half of the setup. The event, the guests, the county head who has over-promised: the drama is quietly about a small administration trying to look bigger than it is, using people who are doing the same thing.
Interesting facts
- The year is 2017, not 2015. Records that place this title in 2015 are wrong. Korean Wikipedia gives the run as 7 to 17 July 2017, and English Wikipedia's own filmography for Seo Kang Joon lists it under 2017. The exact date of each episode is not settled: TMDB spreads the ten across 7 to 16 July, while namu.wiki's episode table lists uploads on scattered days from 18 July into August.
- It had two lives. First as ten fifteen-minute web episodes, then as a feature cut running 1 hour 59 minutes and 50 seconds, which is the festival's own timing and the most precise runtime figure attached to the title. The cut lost roughly half an hour against the web version.
- A festival selection is not an award. It was chosen for Special Screening 4 at the 52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2017. That is an invitation, not a win and not a nomination, and no competitive award of any kind is recorded for it.
- Ong Seong-wu's cameo was the story. It was his first screen appearance after Wanna One's formation, and the teaser released on 6 June 2017 was covered in the Korean press under the headline "find the hidden Ong Seong-wu".
- One source contradicts itself about Seo Kang Joon's role. The Korean Wikipedia article on the drama says he plays Do-yeon's older brother; the Korean Wikipedia article on Seo Kang Joon says he plays recording-studio staff. Four other sources agree with the first, so the second reads as an error.
- The material is gone. namu.wiki records that the YouTube account hosting the episodes was deleted. V Live, the other distribution channel, shut down in 2023. Per-episode verification is no longer possible for anybody.
Episodes
| Ep | Title | Air date | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | 2017-07-07 | Aired | |
| 2 | Episode 2 | 2017-07-08 | Aired | |
| 3 | Episode 3 | 2017-07-09 | Aired | |
| 4 | Episode 4 | 2017-07-10 | Aired | |
| 5 | Episode 5 | 2017-07-11 | Aired | |
| 6 | Episode 6 | 2017-07-12 | Aired | |
| 7 | Episode 7 | 2017-07-13 | Aired | |
| 8 | Episode 8 | 2017-07-14 | Aired | |
| 9 | Episode 9 | 2017-07-15 | Aired | |
| 10 | Episode 10 | 2017-07-16 | Aired |
Frequently asked questions
Is Idol Fever from 2015 or 2017?
2017. It ran on Naver TV and V Live from 7 to 17 July 2017. Any listing that dates it 2015 is wrong, including several that circulate; English Wikipedia's own filmography for Seo Kang Joon files it under 2017.
What is Idol Fever about?
A group of young people who cannot find work are mistaken for idol stars during a two-night, three-day event in a rural county, and end up having to perform for guests the county head has invited from Africa. The festival's own synopsis ends by saying that after all the ups and downs of a youth drama, no miracle happens.
Who does Seo Kang Joon play?
Kim Do-yeon's older brother, in a special appearance. One caveat worth knowing: Korean Wikipedia's page on Seo Kang Joon gives the role as recording-studio staff, which contradicts its own page on the drama and three other sources. The four-to-one reading is Do-yeon's older brother.
Where can I watch Idol Fever?
Nowhere, at the moment. The YouTube account that hosted the episodes has been deleted, V Live shut down in 2023, and JustWatch has no entry for the title at all. The only broadcast was the feature cut on KBS1 on 8 December 2018.
How many episodes are there?
Ten, of about fifteen minutes each. The later feature cut compresses them into 1 hour 59 minutes and 50 seconds, so roughly half an hour came out in the edit.
Is it a web drama or a film?
Both, in sequence. It was made and released as a web drama, then re-edited into a feature, selected for the 52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2017, and broadcast on KBS1's independent film strand at 00:45 on 8 December 2018.
Did it win anything at the Seoul Independent Film Festival?
No, and it was not nominated for anything either. It was chosen for Special Screening 4, which is an invitation to screen rather than a competitive category. No award body has any record for this title.
Is Ong Seong-wu in it?
Yes, as himself, in episodes 1 and 2. It was his first screen appearance after Wanna One was formed, and the pre-release teaser was covered in the Korean press under the headline "find the hidden Ong Seong-wu". Moonbin of ASTRO also appears.
Is there an OST?
No. No soundtrack album, no track list and no Spotify release exists, and neither Korean Wikipedia nor namu.wiki carries an OST section for it.
Is Idol Fever worth tracking down?
If you can find it, and that is a real if. It is a curiosity: a corporate showcase for an agency's young talent that ended up in a national independent film festival and on public television. As drama it is slight; as a record of how Fantagio was building its roster in 2017 it is the only thing of its kind.
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