PUBLISHED ONJuly 13, 2023 11:25 AMBySyarifah NadhirahThe Ice Bucket Challenge is trending again after five years, this time in South Korea as celebrities raise funds to support the country's first amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) hospital.
In the challenge, participants dunk themselves with a bucket of ice water and tag others in the caption to do the same. They typically have 24 hours from the time they were tagged to do the challenge, or make a donation to charity.
The cause aims to bring awareness of the neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's.
The challenge was brought back to the country by singer Sean, member of pioneer hip-hop duo Jinusean, who worked with Seung-il Hope Foundation over the past decade to establish the hospital.
Tagged by Sean, renowned singer-actress IU took to Instagram on Tuesday (July 11) to post a heartfelt message, stating that she would do her best to contribute to the cause.
She nominated Lee Do-hyun, her co-star in the 2019 drama Hotel Del Luna, and actress Lee Joo-young, her co-star in the 2022 film Broker. Both stars have done the challenge.
Joo-young posted a video of her participation while Do-hyun posted a certificate of his 10 million won (S$10,400) donation to Seung-il Hope Foundation.
Interestingly, Do-hyun tagged his The Glory co-star Song Hye-kyo — will she drench herself in ice water?
IU has participated in the challenge twice before in 2014 and 2018.
Tagged alongside IU was actor Park Bo-gum; both coincidentally are starring in the new drama translated as You Have Done Well.
Bo-gum posted his challenge on both Instagram and Twitter on Tuesday, even posting a three-step note on how to participate in the challenge. He then nominated his Love in the Moonlight (2016) co-star Kwak Dong-yeon, Oh My Girl's Mimi and The Boyz's Q.
IU cheekily remarked in Bo-gum's Instagram comment sectionthat his challenge "doesn't count" because he was wearing a cap.
Ji Chang-min, also known as Q, from The Boyz didn't miss a beat after getting nominated.
He posted his video yesterday, dunking water onto himself from a big cooler box. Bo-gum reposted Q's video on his Story after, adding gifs related to The Boyz.
If you're a fan, the K-pop group will be hitting our shores for a concert on July 20.
The rapper from the K-pop girl group Oh My Girl, Kim Mi-hyun is better known by her stage name Mimi.
She tagged Winner's Jinu, rapper Lee Young-ji and soloist Ali, saying she's "honoured to be part of something meaningful".
Kwak Dong-yeon had fans laughing at his reaction to getting doused in ice water.
Wearing a cap just like Bo-gum, the Vincenzo star was visibly taken aback by the cold water, but didn't forget to politely bow and say his thanks.
The video cut after he coughed, and fans took to Twitter to share their amusement.
SJDOWJFLWFKWLFNKWE WHY DID HE THANK ANYONE IF HE POURED THE BUCKET OF WATER ON HIMSELF?
— rafa #REVENANT (@dongttaro) July 12, 2023
Bo-gum reposted Dong-yeon's challenge on his Instagram Stories, thanking him with heart emojis.
Lee Joo-young stood out as she did her challenge amid a heavy downpour.
In her Instagram video, the actress was standing in a sheltered area outdoors as it rained behind her.
IU commented with heart emojis on her post.
Too cute is indeed the right description for Kwon Nara in her video.
Nominated by Joo-young, her co-star in Itaewon Class (2020), the actress clenched her fists and took small steps towards the side of the screen, where her doom, the bucket of water, awaited.
One fan commented on how she was "too cute".
It seems like a trend for the male actors to wear a cap, as Im Si-wan was also clad in one for his video.
He did the challenge at night in shorts, and the questionable choice of time and outfit left him jumping up and down in cold after he got soaked.
Fans filled the comments with gifs of him from his 2020 K-drama Run On, and one remarked how he "acts like the character" in the show.
Unlike the other stars, actress-comedian Lee Si-young, who will be in Netflix's upcoming reality series Zombieverse and also the drama Sweet Home 2, barely had time to introduce herself before she was unexpectedly dumped with water.
While she took it like a champ and continued on with her introduction, she didn't forget to playfully smack the unknown person holding the bucket before the video ended.
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