Korean fever has reached “It’s Showtime” after Ryan Bang unexpectedly met his “new rival” as “It’s Showtime’s” only Korean host in the “KapareWho Surprise” segment, which trended on social media.

In the show’s Friday (July 19) episode, hosts Jhong Hilario, Vhong Navaro, and Vice Ganda hyped up the laughter by teasing Ryan that he was to be replaced particularly by “Song-yupsal”—one of the three “Pinoy at heart” Korean contestants vying for the two Pinay K-pop fans in the segment—as host for the following week.

The episode was an instant hit as the day’s #ShowtimeWalangBitaw started trending worldwide at #5, ended up at top spot #1, and was still talked about in the evening.

It was on Monday (July 22) that Song-yupsal—real name JinHo Bae—took on the guest hosting spot at the country’s number one noontime program.

Netizens took their excitement for Ryan and JinHo’s “showdown” to Twitter, which catapulted #SaveRyanBang, #ShowtimeBetnaBetFriends, and #JinHoBae to the top five trending spots both worldwide and in the Philippines.

“KapareWho” is a compatibility game featuring single and widowed people called “Who-mahanap,” who are looking for friendship and companionship. Every day, two ladies evaluate three masked men, dubbed the “Kala-Who-k” and choose a potential friend or partner based on their actions, words, and personality.

In the previous months, actors Jeric Raval, Mon Confiado, Keempee de Leon, Carlos Agassi, and Wowie De Guzman have participated in the game as “Kala-Who-k.”

Get your daily dose of fun and good vibes in “It’s Showtime,” on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN HD (Sky Cable ch 167). For the program’s past episode, login to iWant TV or on skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.