Actor Ma Dong-seok shared his thoughts on participating in I AM BOXER.
On the 19th, tvN's new variety show I AM BOXER held a production presentation online.
I AM BOXER is a large-scale blockbuster boxing survival program personally designed by world-renowned action star and 30-year veteran boxing gym owner Ma Dong-seok to revive K-boxing.
The scale befitting a large-scale blockbuster boxing survival program is a viewing point: collaboration with art director Lee Young-ju, who produced sets for Physical: 100 and Culinary Class Wars, collaboration with top domestic experts on boxing rings, and the use of a 1000-pyeong set where the main matches unfold and a 500-pyeong boxing gym set to amplify viewing enjoyment. In particular, the final winner will receive a prize of 300 million won, a champion belt, and a luxury SUV.
From the planning stage, I AM BOXER attracted attention as the first variety show Ma Dong-seok has attempted since his debut. Ma Dong-seok actually started boxing in middle school and is a boxing coach who teaches boxing to fellow actors and athletes; he is sincere about boxing to the point of serving as honorary vice president of the Korea Boxing Association and as a boxing promoter.
Ma Dong-seok, who designed the program, said, "As a child I prepared as an athlete and participated in small matches, and I had a great love for boxing. On the ring you feel like there's no one to help you and you're alone, but boxing is a sport that gives the reward of overcoming yourself. Korea had many good champions, but at some point its popularity faded. Feeling indebted to boxing, I wanted it to receive much love again. While running the gym and interacting with many fighters, I felt there were many good fighters but no stage. I wondered if there was a way I could lend a little help to give them a chance, and as a fan I met PD Lee Won-woong and writer Kang Sook-kyung and presented I AM BOXER."
Director Lee Won-woong said, "I worked with writer Kang Sook-kyung on The Iron Squad and did many survival program shows, but I AM BOXER is, in common terms, intense. The two just fight in the ring. We've filmed soldiers and done many grueling shoots, but the energy on the ring was strong. That energy seems likely to come off the screen."
Writer Kang Sook-kyung added, "When I first met Ma Dong-seok and explained, he kept standing up and demonstrating, saying he wanted to create a dream stage for the boxers. Hearing that, I thought this could really become a stage. The ring, three minutes, two men, a head-to-head fight — that confrontation itself has so much rhythm that I felt confident we could create a stage that feels like watching a show."
tvN's I AM BOXER premieres at 11 p.m. on the 21st.
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