"The Wonder Coach" producer Kwon Rak-hee shared filming anecdotes with Kim Yeon-koung.
On the afternoon of the 17th at MBC headquarters in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul, an end-of-run press conference was held for the MBC entertainment show 'The Wonder Coach'. Directors Kwon Rak-hee, Choi Yoon-young and Lee Jae-woo attended the conference and spoke.
'The Wonder Coach' is a club establishment project featuring volleyball legend and emperor of volleyball Kim Yeon-koung returning as a rookie director. 'The Wonder Coach', which premiered on Sept. 28, drew rising viewership through word of mouth and generated strong responses, reaching a peak of 4.9% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide households).
Producer Kwon Rak-hee cautiously said of Kim Yeon-koung's remark that "MBC fooled me," "Because we filmed day and night at the level of actually forming a club, she used an extreme expression that she was fooled."
He continued, "Actually I was very scared too. But it happened because we did our best for the program and for the director. I thought we had become somewhat close, but sometimes she punches the air like this. I take it as a sign of familiarity toward me, but sometimes I'm not sure whether it's sincere or fake. I think I should ask Director Yeon-koung separately about that," he joked, drawing laughter.
He said, "Actually, the director has more varied sides than I thought. She's scary but cute, clumsy yet meticulous, cold yet warm. Even though she would say outwardly that it was really hard and that this was no ordinary thing, she ultimately did her best for the Wonder Dogs. The anecdote that stands out is when we went to the Inter-High, a Japanese athletic meet; even on the day of filming when you might want to rest on the way back, she said she would go to practice. I said, 'For your condition, wouldn't it be better to rest today?' but she insisted on going and then whined for one or two hours on the plane — that stuck with me," sharing Kim Yeon-koung's unexpected charm.
Regarding Kim Yeon-koung's qualities as a director, Kwon Rak-hee said, "I was surprised on set, but even more surprised during editing. I understand scenes of her talking one-on-one with player In-kushi generated a lot of buzz. The production team didn't know at the time. We can't listen to all audio. Because we minimized production intervention to capture authenticity, I realized Director Kim Yeon-koung was saying those things. I was amazed and amused to feel that she was more prepared as a director than expected."
He praised her, saying, "I was confident she would do well as a director. She had extensive overseas experience, and even from moments that became popularly famous, such as the Tokyo Olympics, you could see instances of her instructing players. I expected an analytical and decisive character to emerge in those aspects, and she approached it as an already prepared director beyond my expectations."
When asked about Kim Yeon-koung's reaction to the broadcast, Kwon Rak-hee said, "Director Yeon-koung always calls on Mondays after the show ends. At first, through about episodes two or three, because she loves volleyball so much she pointed out volleyball-related errors that appeared on our program. She would critique as if judging, saying, 'This aired incorrectly.' As ratings rose, she said, 'I called because I wanted to watch,' and that made me very happy," he said, adding to the laughter.
Meanwhile, 'The Wonder Coach' will air its final episode on the 23rd.
[Photo] MBC
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