[Exclusivo]PD Kim Myeong-yeop: "The second 'Choo-soo-san' receives many positive comments... will extend up to 12 episodes. Each episode will feature different titles such as 'Choo-soo-san Castle', 'Choo-soo-san Rose Meeting', etc." [Interview ①]

Este contenido ha sido traducido por IA.

PD Kim Myeong-yeop announced that 'Choo-soo-san' will present different titles and formats for each episode, extending up to 12 episodes, including 'Choo-soo-san Castle', 'Choo-soo-san Rose Meeting', 'Choo-soo-san All-Hands Battle', 'Choo-soo-san School Trip', and 'Choo-soo-san Umi-Yangga'.

PD Kim Myeong-yeop recently spoke directly to StarNews about the MBC variety program 'Choo-soo-san'.

'Choo-soo-san' is Korea's first survival mountain variety show featuring intense competition toward the summit through various missions set in the mountains. The production team behind 'Radio Star' and 'Around the World with Kim' has come together. The cast includes Yoo Se-yoon, who was nominated for the 'Best Male Entertainer' award at the '2025 MBC Broadcasting Entertainment Awards' and shares the same category with Jang Dong-min, Boom, Yang Se-hyung, and 'catfish' Heo Kyeong-hwan as a member.

'Choo-soo-san' was originally scheduled for five episodes. It began its first broadcast on May 3 and concluded its pilot run on May 31. With a sensitive production team and cast, 'Choo-soo-san' secured a 'golden LINE-up' and competed in the Sunday 6 p.m. prime time slot against KBS 2TV's '2 Days & 1 Night' and SBS's 'Running Man'.

'Choo-soo-san' initially struggled with word-of-mouth within its short run, showing disappointing viewership ratings of around 1-2%. However, it gathered a dedicated fanbase on YouTube and other platforms, leading to a confirmed extension of seven episodes. The show will continue from episode 6 on the 28th through episode 12 on August 9.

'Choo-soo-san' featured members climbing mountains of varying difficulty levels, from the familiar Achasan to Yongmabong, Mangwusan, Daedunsan, the rugged Geumgangsan, and the Monte Jirisan Baekmudong course. At the mountain halfway point, surprise appearances by Chef Kouji, Imokase, and pastry chef Hwang Ji-oh created a unique scene where the members were served a dream meal. Most importantly, in the variety world, the lineup of Yoo Se-yoon, Jang Dong-min, Boom, Yang Se-hyung, and Heo Kyeong-hwan formed a 'caviar combination' that had never existed before, delivering Tik-Taka chemistry that exceeded expectations.

'Choo-soo-san' is a rare variety show with a format that breaks away from clichés, garnering even more anticipation for its extended episodes.

-PD, please give us a brief self-introduction.

▶I directed 'Radio Star' from 2021 to 2025, for a little over four years, and this time I am presenting my first production, 'Choo-soo-san'.

-What are your impressions after completing the pilot broadcast of 'Choo-soo-san' for five episodes?

▶We showed everything we prepared with the unfamiliar subject of mountains. I believe we did everything we could. While we could not be free from the audience's reactions and viewership ratings, I feel we did it without regrets.

-What is MBC's internal evaluation of 'Choo-soo-san'?

▶It was originally planned to end after five episodes. Since spring is typically a difficult period for viewership, they decided to extend it with that in mind. I had planned my vacation assuming it would end at five episodes, but around the time episode 5 was broadcast, I received a call from above. I went to the mountains 15 times in one month and worked hard, and the programming department saw our program and said it was very good. It was not an easy time slot, but I am grateful for the opportunity and will try to make it well. Viewers left so many comments that it felt like, 'Is it okay for the reaction to be this good?' In this extended run, we aim to capture viewership. We want to beat 'Running Man' and '2 Days & 1 Night' at least once. Both programs are personally my ideal shows, so competing with them is an honor.

-Fans of 'Choo-soo-san' have shown positive reactions such as, "The second 'Infinite Challenge' has appeared," "Friday 'Vivo Solo', Saturday 'What Do You Do?', Sunday 'Choo-soo-san'—the golden age of MBC variety has come," "It's fun because it's pure comedians and MCs," and "The member combination is good."

▶There were more people leaving positive comments than I expected. Reading the comments, I thought, 'We are on the right track.'

-After completing five episodes of 'Choo-soo-san', how did the cast members react?

▶The older members were not obsessed with viewership ratings, but they contacted me every week, reassuring me, 'You know the ratings don't matter?' They were satisfied, and I thought I just needed to do well. However, the older members said they didn't want to climb mountains in the additional episodes. (Laughs)

-Regarding the surprise guests such as Lim Woo-il, culinary expert Kouji, Imokase, Hwang Ji-oh, and announcer Park So-young, as well as the movement of ingredients and game sets, was this done manually or via helicopter?

▶The guests also hiked themselves, and the production team was heavily deployed to carry the equipment up manually. We conducted many site surveys to plan such routes. It was an honor to host such incredible people, including Chef Kouji. Seeing people who actually climb mountains bring and share even Hongeo Samhap, we thought it would be good to provide something edible for the members, so we mainly invited chefs as guests.

-What formats and content do you plan to show for the additional production of 'Choo-soo-san' episodes 6 through 12? What differentiation do you want to show compared to competitive variety shows like '2 Days & 1 Night' and 'Running Man'?

▶'Choo-soo-san', 'Choo-soo-san Castle', 'Choo-soo-san Rose Meeting', 'Choo-soo-san All-Hands Battle', 'Choo-soo-san School Trip', 'Choo-soo-san Umi-Yangga'—each episode will have a different title and showcase various formats. We aim to go anywhere, whether mountains or sea, and create a scenario where the older members have fun. '2 Days & 1 Night' has a solid fixed viewership and is good at luck-based games. We wanted to play our own games. 'Running Man' is also the ultimate variety show; its games and missions have good build-up and the cast chemistry is excellent. We intend to go differently from 'Running Man'. We aim to present raw chemistry and an unrefined tone and manner.

-To be continued in Interview ②

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Este contenido ha sido traducido por IA.