'Bonjour Bakery' Production Team: "Kim Hee-ae is a regular, serving customers well... Elderly viewers praise it as if they've eaten 'bread as medicine'" [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

'Bonjour Bakery' production team revealed behind-the-scenes details of the program.

On the morning of the 27th, an interview with 'Bonjour Bakery' PD Park Geun-hyeong and writer Kim Ran-ju took place at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'Bonjour Bakery' is a healing baking variety show set in South Korea's first 'senior dessert café' opened in a quiet rural village, where elderly people who know the taste of life and the bakery family who know the taste of happiness share sweet comfort and warmth. PD Park Geun-hyeong, known for 'You Quiz on the Block' and 'Spanish Houseguest', and writer Kim Ran-ju, known for '2 Days & 1 Night', 'Infinite Challenge', and 'Spanish Houseguest', joined forces.

'Bonjour Bakery' kitchen chef team is led by Cha Seung-won and Lee Ki-taek, while the front-of-house serving team is led by Kim Hee-ae and Kim Sun-ho. The eight-episode series 'Bonjour Bakery' premiered on the 8th and is available every Friday at 4 p.m. on Coupang Play.

-What are your impressions since 'Bonjour Bakery' was released?

▶PD Park: It was my first time with an OTT, so I was curious about how it would turn out, but I think it came out well. It was short, but there were many processes, and the experience felt fresh.

▶Writer Kim: I was nervous about creating channel-type content in the OTT genre, but I feel good as reactions have started to come in as episodes have passed.

-How did you end up collaborating with Coupang Play?

▶Writer Kim: I am a soccer fan, so I watched Coupang Play often. I think the proposal was well communicated and the tone matched well.

-'Bonjour Bakery' took a gamble by positioning itself as a kind variety show.

▶Writer Kim: It seems to have naturally developed a different color from other content, and I feel like we are taking on a new challenge. I thought it would be good if more people could enjoy the content. I wanted the protagonists to be grandmothers and grandfathers. I wanted them not just as extras to the actors, but to come to the bakery and share their own stories. Later, stories about the actors also come out, including a scene where Kim Sun-ho shares acting concerns with Kim Hee-ae.

-'Bonjour Bakery' also feels closer to a documentary than a variety show.

▶PD Park: Since the focus is on the elderly, I tried to capture not just the inside of the shop but also the stories behind it while filming. I also captured moments when they were packing for someone.

▶Writer Kim: I didn't expect there would be no customers even though the actors were in the countryside. The customers came to the shop precisely according to their own lives.

-What was the planning process for 'Bonjour Bakery'?

▶Writer Kim: My father used to go to the hospital and always went to the cafeteria, but one day he ate a dessert at a bakery and said, 'This is the first time I've tasted something this delicious.' I thought others should experience this, and that was the start of this program. One customer even said, 'I feel like I've taken medicine.'

-'Bonjour Bakery' doesn't seem to worry much about sales.

▶PD Park: We wanted to create a community lounge for the elderly.

▶Writer Kim: Cha Seung-won didn't appear much in the front of house even during 'Spanish Houseguest', but this time he appeared more because he was curious about the reactions. In fact, the cast members provided a lot of service. Kim Hee-ae said, 'This is how neighborhood businesses are done,' and tried to provide a lot of service. This was a bakery that did business with regular customers. It was in the red at the beginning, but if they continued like this, it would have become a long-lasting bakery.

-'Bonjour Bakery' collaborated with CU to sell 'Green Wheat Tart', which started pre-orders and sold out all 100 daily prepared units in one minute over six days, receiving a great response. In addition to the Green Wheat Tart, CU also offers Green Wheat Brioche, Mulberry Croissant, Pain au Chocolat, and Chestnut Pumpkin Babka. Coupang is also selling 'Bonjour Bakery' breads in collaboration, and it seems the variety show's expansion has been well realized.

▶PD Park: I don't like bread much, but I wanted to try the bread made by Cha Seung-won.

▶Writer Kim: Everyone who creates content is thinking about linking with commerce. Viewers experience eating what they see in the variety show, and it feels like an expansion when creating content in the future. Viewers even bought the Green Wheat Tart and buns and posted verification photos.

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*This content was translated by AI.