select * from t1 where cast(c1 as char(20) charset utf8);
1. Cast can have "character set" specification: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/6.0/en/charset-convert.html. 2. And "charset" is substitution for "character set": http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/6.0/en/charset-syntax.html IDEA reports "charset" as error.
"Character set" is accepted with no problems.