"Feeling kidnapped"... Kim Byung-man joins hands with The Boyz's Young-hoon and Yuk Jun-seo for the national competition 'Survival King 2' [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.

Broadcasters Kim Byung-man, Kim Jong-kook, Yuk Jun-seo, and The Boyz's Young-hoon will face off in a national competition in the jungle.

On the morning of the 20th, a press conference for TV Chosun's new variety program 'Survival King 2' was held at the TV Chosun studio in Gasan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. Lee Seung-hoon CP, Yoon Jong-ho PD, Kim Jong-kook, Kim Byung-man, Yuk Jun-seo, and The Boyz's Young-hoon attended. However, the event start was somewhat delayed due to rain.

'Survival King 2' is a program where top survival experts from four Asian countries traverse jungles, deserts, and cities to perform extreme survival missions, ultimately determining Asia's strongest survival team. Kim Byung-man, the first 'Survival King', Yuk Jun-seo from the UDT, and The Boyz's Young-hoon form 'Team Korea' to engage in fierce battles against teams from Malaysia, Japan, and Taiwan, with Kim Jong-kook joining as the MC.

On this day, CP Lee stated, "'Survival King 2' is a national competition," adding, "We formed the team to defeat other countries, and for that purpose, we selected superior members."

PD Yoon said, "We had many concerns about whether to change the members as the program expands globally, but since this is a new launch, we started with Kim Byung-man at the helm."

Season 1 of 'Survival King', which aired in 2024, left viewers wanting more in terms of ratings and buzz despite the participation of highly talked-about cast members such as Lee Seung-gi, Choi Sung-hoon, Kim Byung-man, and Park Tae-hwan.

Regarding the reason for returning for Season 2, PD Yoon expressed confidence, saying, "Internally, we felt the response was good. It even reached the second spot on the Netflix TV series rankings, and the global response was also positive. In this season, we have resolved the shortcomings of Season 1."

PD Yoon further explained the reasons for assembling 'Team Korea' with these members: "Yuk Jun-seo has started gaining global recognition through Netflix and has become a topic of discussion by appearing on boxing programs. We asked him from that point on. For Young-hoon, we held many meetings regarding his position. Considering his performance on 'The Great Escape', his gaze, and his will, we felt he was no less than a perfect fit for 'Survival King 2'."

Kim Byung-man said, "I am always someone who waits for the jungle," and added, "It was as hard as it could be, and as hard as it was, it came out fun. I believe we will be able to see survival methods from various cultural backgrounds."

Regarding working with Yuk Jun-seo and Young-hoon, Kim Byung-man expressed satisfaction, saying, "This time, I was in the position of a father. The two friends were well united and accepted my opinions well, which made me grateful. They performed better than my expectations, which became a source of strength."

Kim Jong-kook, who participated as the MC, explained, "I had concerns about my role. After actually doing it, I found my participation level to be high. I communicated a lot with the cast members from other countries and tried to coordinate in a balanced way. You can think of it as a role of maintaining balance."

Young-hoon said, "This was my first time filming like this, so I had many worries, but the seniors took good care of me, making it a good memory." He also revealed the reason for his decision to appear: "As an idol, I worried if I could do well. I thought it wouldn't be fun to just show my idol-like side, so I made a resolve to show something new."

A total of four teams entered the extreme survival mission: Japan's 'Team Yoshinari', Taiwan's 'Team Shikai', Malaysia's 'Team Hero', and Korea's 'Team Korea'.

What is the unique point of 'Team Korea' alone? Kim Byung-man boasted, "Our country's difference lies in overall teamwork. We were so well-matched that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we are number one in unity. Even there, we shouted 'Faster, Faster.' If Season 1 was scattered, in Season 2, Kim Jong-kook became the control tower and organized everything. It was so reassuring."

The thing that made the cast members the hardest was the incessant rain. Kim Byung-man recalled the difficult jungle situation, saying, "The situation of rain coming and going continued. It rained all night. Since we couldn't eat and only worked, it felt like we were kidnapped. The younger members couldn't sleep either."

Hearing this, Yuk Jun-seo also empathized, saying, "I even did house repairs while sleeping. When we eventually returned from the jungle, I didn't want to leave the house Kim Byung-man had built." Young-hoon confessed, "On the first day, I was about to lie down and sleep, thinking, 'Am I really sleeping?' I fell asleep like that, but Kim Byung-man was building a house. How could the youngest one be lying down? I found the desert harder than the jungle. It was like hell."

The Boyz's Young-hoon is currently in conflict with his agency, One Hundred Label, over an exclusive contract dispute. Last February, nine members of The Boyz (Young-hoon, Ju-yeon, Hwan-wook, Seon-woo, Q, Sang-yeon, Kevin, Jacob, and Eric), excluding member New, notified One Hundred Label of their intention to terminate their exclusive contract. Recently, controversy arose when MC Mong revealed the amount of the signing bonus paid when The Boyz were recruited during a live broadcast.

When the press team mentioned the agency issue, Young-hoon looked embarrassed, asking, "Are you going to ask that far?" The host drew a line on questions related to the agency, saying, "Today, we decided to talk about 'Survival King 2'. We ask for your understanding."

However, even though there were no further questions about the agency, Young-hoon voluntarily opened up, saying, "I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because of the company issues. I had many worries about whether I could continue my activities well and whether I could see my fans when I met the PD. He said, 'Let's do this together,' and I thought, 'I can show myself to many people.' I really wanted to express my gratitude for being called upon in this situation."

Meanwhile, 'Survival King 2' will premiere at 10 p.m. on this day.

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*This content was translated by AI.