'The Community 2': Trading for Survival… Expanding Beyond Politics into Economy and Diplomacy [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.

'The Community 2: The Invisible Hand' returns as a social experiment survival show that expands its scope beyond political science into economics and diplomacy.

On the 3rd, a press conference for Wave's entertainment program 'The Community 2: The Invisible Hand' (hereinafter 'The Community 2') was held online. Attendees included PD Kwon Seong-min, PD Lee Ji-hoon, PD Kim Jeong-hun, and cast members Park Se-seung, Shin Hye-won, Lee Jae-yong, Seung-woo's father, Lee Ji-na, Lee Su-min, and Jung Jae-ho.

'The Community 2' is a social experiment survival show where participants holding different resources must survive solely through trading, with their lives and cash prizes on the line. While Season 1, 'Sasang Verification Zone: The Community,' depicted clashes of ideologies and values, this season features continuous trades for survival.

PD Kwon Seong-min shared his thoughts on returning for Season 2. PD Kwon said, "I am so happy to be able to do it again." He added, "Season 1 started when no one knew about us; people watched and thought, 'This is fun.' But now that people expect Season 2 to be fun, I feel a bit of pressure."

When asked about the differences from Season 1, PD Kwon noted, "The identity as a humanities and social science survival show remains. While Season 1 focused mainly on political science, Season 2 includes many concepts such as economics, international politics, and diplomacy. Viewers may also feel like they are revisiting scenes from history."

PD Kwon further explained, "In Season 1, the story was about people who would never meet coming together within a single community to reach agreements and build systems. This is something needed even in real society. In Season 2, there are multiple such communities. Even if common agreements are reached, they lack enforcement power or binding force. This program allows viewers to see what kind of politics emerges from that."

Cast members shared their backgrounds for joining the show. Park Se-seung said, "I watched Season 1 so deeply that I consider it my own life survival experience. Being invited was an honor in itself. Since Season 2 focuses on trading and negotiation, I joined with the expectation that I might be able to make a contribution."

Shin Hye-won stated, "As someone who hosts political current affairs programs, when I received the invitation, I wondered if they were trying to send me into ruin. However, I was persuaded by the fact that Season 2 has a different identity." She continued, "Having worked as a journalist for over ten years, my profession has become part of my identity. I also had a challenge to show the unfiltered face of Shin Hye-won."

Seung-woo's father said, "I am very curious and enjoy survival shows, so I wanted to experience it firsthand." He added, "As someone who creates content, even on a small scale, I wanted to see how it would be made, so I threw myself into it."

Lee Jae-yong explained, "Who the production team was important. After Season 1, the PD wrote a book. Reading it, I thought it could be both fun and meaningful." He continued, "I also asked the PD, 'Will you do devilish editing?' but he said he doesn't like that. So I joined with trust."

Jung Jae-ho revealed, "I was invited during Season 1 as well. We talked for over two hours, and I felt interested and wanted to participate, but I couldn't due to scheduling conflicts. However, since Season 1 was so fun, I thought that if I got a chance for Season 2, I absolutely had to go."

Mentioning his appearance on Channel A's 'Heart Signal 2', he emphasized, "I also appeared in Season 2 of 'Heart Signal'. At that time, I was invited for Season 1 but didn't join; instead, I joined Season 2. This time, I am appearing in Season 2 again. I like breaking the jinx that 'the second part cannot surpass the first.' Just like then, I came with the expectation that this time too, we might break it."

The only returning cast member, Lee Ji-na, said, "First of all, I have a good personality. So I forget bad things easily and keep only good memories. It seems that only the good memories remained, glorified." She added, "It felt like touring around and then returning home. Also, this time they said the theme is economics. Since I am an expert in economics, I thought there might be more I can do."

Lee Ji-na further added, "In Season 1, I had many nicknames such as 'Vase of Desires' and 'Peking Duck.' I felt it was unfair that I didn't show any desires during Season 1. Because I felt wronged, I returned with the mindset of showing what a true 'Vase of Desires' looks like, appearing in a darkened role."

Lee Su-min said, "I wondered if the invitation had come to the wrong person. It seemed fun for a survival show addict who craves dopamine." She continued, "Having been an actress for a long time, I developed a habit of scrutinizing others. Whether this habit became an advantage or a disadvantage, I am not sure myself."

She further explained, "When thinking about what I could do well, everyone thought I would be good at lying. In reality, I was indeed good at it." She added, "Rather than being particularly skilled at detecting others' lies, I lived by suspecting everyone around me. I operated with the underlying assumption that 'it might be a lie.'"

The production team revealed the key points they focused on when designing the game.

PD Lee Ji-hoon said, "When designing the game, our important focus was adjusting difficulty and balancing it. The game results affected daily trading and were directly linked to survival. We adjusted things so that the cast members could perform well." He added, "Since this is a humanities survival show, we tried to incorporate everything that can be covered in humanities into the game."

PD Kim Jeong-hun stated, "This program features two games: a quiz show expected from humanities, and another crucial game involving trading and negotiation that runs through the entire program. How we set up the initial conditions there was important."

Meanwhile, 'The Community 2' will be first released at 11 a.m. on the 4th.

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*This content was translated by AI.