Kim Tae-ho shared his experience of almost quitting his job as a producer.
On the 15th, a video titled "A summit of two giants in the Korean entertainment industry" was uploaded to 'Channel 15 Ya'. That day, Producer Na Young-seok shared a meal with Kim Tae-ho and discussed their experiences.
During the conversation, Kim Tae-ho recalled the time he left the broadcasting station to establish his own production company and become independent, saying, "When I was independent, I occasionally had nightmares. Watching 'Life of Pi,' I had a nightmare of being alone on a boat with a tiger, just like the scene in the movie. But eventually, I got used to it and thought that since there are a lot of OTT platforms, I would eventually reach land."
He noted, "Personally, I have become a little dulled to the burden of content. I should say I've become dulled to evaluations. Since we decided to go with what we wanted from the start, whether it turns out well or not, we should just keep going. Since we decided to go through whatever attacks we might face from the media or the community, I've become more numb. I feel like I've gained the courage and callus to filter out external voices, so it's actually more fun these days," adding, "At one time, before 'Infinite Challenge' started, I thought about quitting several times because it didn't suit my temperament."
Kim Tae-ho said, "Until then, I had seen that usually, the producers with loud voices and good social skills succeeded. So that didn't suit my temperament," to which Na Young-seok responded, "I completely agree with that point. I don't think anyone else understands what that means except for people like us from our generation. There were parts that were incomprehensible for people like us. For instance, yelling to scare someone to get a shot. If someone moved to another program, there was pressure to pull them back. Isn't that completely different from what I thought made a good producer?"
In response, Kim Tae-ho stated, "Looking back, it was a truly transitional period when there were also no corporate credit cards. When I experienced those days as an assistant director, I wondered if I could really endure it. I remember being so nervous before the first shoot of 'Imaginary Expedition' with Kyung-kyu. How could I work with him on set? Initially, I thought it would be awkward, but I thought to show the editing so that eventually, viewers would understand my thinking and direction. Fortunately, they continued to follow along later."
Na Young-seok said, "I didn't know this either. Because I met Producer Tae-ho when he was already hugely successful with 'Infinite Challenge,' it must have been a time when he had fewer worries. Actually, I was the same. I couldn't even look at celebrities, so when communicating with them, I would step back and push the main writer forward," adding, "Now it's so much better than before. But back then..."
Then Kim Tae-ho said, "These days, I pray when I'm trying to recruit guests. Even if I get rejected, I hope we both don't get hurt in the process. Seeing that I still do this, it feels like I've become accustomed, but the fundamental nature of the job doesn't seem to suit me. Since it doesn't fit my temperament, I even wrote an essay to send to a fashion school business program in the U.S. That was just around the Christmas of when I turned 30, before doing 'Infinite Challenge.' At that time, I was working on a program called 'Great Challenge' where there was one director and one assistant director. The assistant director had to do all the editing alone for a week. One day, I had such a severe migraine that I went to the emergency room, and it turned out to be meningitis. As soon as I arrived, they extracted my spinal fluid, and at that time, I was thinking, 'This is bad. I can't get hospitalized today; I have to finish editing by tomorrow.'"
Na Young-seok empathized, saying, "That was a time when I had tons of those thoughts. Even when something broke, I'd think, 'I have to edit.'" Kim Tae-ho also shared, "I even got into a traffic accident. While taking a bus home, the bus had to stop suddenly on a snowy road, and I remember running from the back seat to the driver's seat. I bumped my knee into the middle bar and was taken to the hospital, yet I recall limping out and thinking, 'I need to edit right now.'" Na Young-seok added, "On my wedding day, I edited until 5 a.m. and then went to get my makeup done at 7. Back then, it was just overwhelming. I had to do everything myself."
In response, Kim Tae-ho said, "Anyway, when I was hospitalized for meningitis, I thought that by the time I turned 31, if it didn't work out, I should change jobs. Because Giorgio Armani started designing at 31. I had thought that 31 was a hard deadline. But then, I thought I should at least complete five years, and what came next was 'Infinite Challenge.' 'Infinite Challenge' ended up continuing for over 10 years."
[Photo] OSEN DB, Channel 15 Ya
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