Trot singer Kim Ho-joong, who is currently working as a public service employee as an alternative to mandatory military service, will be releasing a new EP, "The Classic Album," on Dec. 11, his agency Think Entertainment announced on Tuesday.

Before finishing fourth in the finals of TV Chosun's hit audition show "Mr. Trot" and gaining huge popularity, Kim had been a rising opera singer. During the series, Kim showed his love of opera during his performances, earning the nickname "Tvarotti" — a combination of "trot" and "Pavarotti," the legendary Italian opera singer.

The EP will be divided into two parts under the titles "My Favorite Arias" and "My Favorite Songs."

The first part includes famous opera arias such as "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini’s opera “Turandot,” Gaetano Donizetti’s "Una Furtiva Lagrima," and "E lucevan le stele” from Puccini’s opera “Tosca.” The second part includes classic Neapolitan song "O Sole Mio,” and “This is the Moment” from musical "Jekyll and Hyde.”

Kim, who has more than 95,000 members on his fan community website, sold 530,000 copies of his first full-length trot album "We" in the first week of its release in September.

BY KIM YEON-AH [kim.yeonah@joongang.co.kr]