Earlier today, South Korea’s national final for the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 took place. JUNHEE won Korea’s Next Wave with his song, ‘Deep Dive’.
🇰🇷 JUNHEE will take ‘Deep Dive’ to Bangkok
Earlier today, local broadcaster ENA held its South Korean selection show, Korea’s Next Wave. A total of eight acts participated in the show with the jury watching on. The winner was selected using the combined votes of 40% jury, 40% public televoting and 20% international voting. Those voting internationally were given 8 votes to spread across at least 3 acts. An additional 10 votes were available to purchase. After voting closed, JUNHEE was declared the winner and will go on to represent South Korea in the first ever Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 later this year. So far only the top three results are known as announced in the live broadcast:
- Sojeong Shim – ‘EHERADIYA’ (RUNNER-UP)
- KIK – ‘F1’
- huiAe ‘ ‘If I Knew Love’
- Angel Noise – ‘(NAN NAYA!)’ (THIRD)
- Younghoon Ji – ‘Tiny Signal’
- 9278 – ‘MAKEITLOUD (SHEBARKS)’
- PLZY – ‘toc’
- JUNHEE – ‘Deep Dive’ (WINNER)
Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026
Taking up the hosting honours for the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 is Thailand and its broadcaster Channel 3. The venue of choice is IdeaLive in Bangkok. This entertainment space is Bangkok’s newest venue in BRAVO BKK. It has a capacity of over 4,000 seated guests. So far eleven broadcasters have declared interest in participation:
- Thailand – Channel 3 – (Host)
- South Korea – ENA (SK Telecom / KT Group)
- Malaysia – Media Prima (TV3)
- Philippines – ABS-CBN
- Vietnam – Vietnam Television (VTV3)
- Cambodia – TV5 Cambodia
- Laos – Vientiane Capital Television (VTE9)
- Bangladesh – NTV
- Bhutan – Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS)
- Nepal – Himalaya TV
- Mongolia – MNC
Each entry submitted will follow the example of Eurovision itself. No more than six performers on stage and the song must not be longer than three minutes. Later in November, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 will be chosen using Eurovision’s 50% jury and 50% public voting method. The one-off Grand Final will be aired live on the official Eurovision YouTube Channel, with televised broadcasts within the competing nations. International broadcasters may also choose to buy broadcast rights within their programming schedule.
Similarly to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest format, the winning broadcaster is not automatically forced to host the following edition. Instead a bidding process will take place after the 2026 contest concludes to decide who will host the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2027.
Stay tuned with more announcements on participants expected in the coming weeks and months!
Are you excited to see JUNHEE represent South Korea at the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026? Let us know! Keep track of the latest news by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra.bsky.social on Bluesky, @escxtra on Instagram, @escxtra on TikTok, subscribing to YouTube and liking our Facebook page! Also, follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts.
