Broadcaster Park Na-rae announced a suspension of all activities amid various allegations and has stepped down from major entertainment programs one after another, and past remarks by Hwang Kwanghee are drawing renewed attention. The "sharp remarks" once consumed for laughs in variety shows are now being seen as statements pointing to reality.
On the 8th Park Na-rae announced a complete suspension of activities through her personal social media. Facing overlapping controversies including conflicts with former managers, allegations of abusive behavior, controversies over illegal medical practices, and the issue of not registering a one-person agency, public opinion deteriorated and she made the decision to withdraw from broadcasting herself. As a result, she has left all programs where she was a regular cast member, including MBC I Live Alone, Save Me! Homes, and tvN Amazing Saturday.
In this context online communities and social media are revisiting remarks made by Hwang Kwanghee on the 2019 tvN Amazing Saturday. At the time Hwang Kwanghee bluntly said, "Except for Dong-yeop hyung, none of them are top stars. They're all one-season," and then turned to Park Na-rae and said, "How long do you think I Live Alone will protect you? Get a grip," which stirred the set. The remark was immediately closed with an apology and buried in laughter, but it has been reexamined as a "significant moment" in light of recent events.
Netizens' reactions are heated. "I thought it was a variety show joke but it was realistic," "It seems Kwanghee didn't go too far; he accurately saw the industry's structure," and "It was said to make us laugh, but now it sounds sharp," are among the evaluations.
There are other reasons Hwang Kwanghee's past remarks are attracting attention again. Cases have followed in which people who were mentioned with him on various past shows later became embroiled in controversies over time, leading some to call him prophetic. Scenes that were laughed off at the time—the "Bingu dance clip" by T.O.P that was famous on Infinite Challenge, the contrasted attitude with Jung Joon-young on Radio Star, and Seungri's brief conversation on Garochannel—have been revisited as they overlap with later reality.
Of course this renewed attention could be the result of coincidence, and there is an aspect of retroactively interpreting remarks that were meant as variety show devices. But one clear point is that Hwang Kwanghee has constantly been wary of and restrained himself with the awareness that "a position can end at any time." Colleagues have in fact described him as "someone extremely careful to avoid making mistakes."
After Park Na-rae suspended activities, Amazing Saturday said there are no plans to add members and will continue recording as an eight-member lineup. The choice to carry on with the gap left by an original member is also interpreted as the production team's decision not to take this matter lightly.
Statements that were once exaggerations for laughs gain meaning again over time. The reason Hwang Kwanghee's remarks feel like "predictions" may be because they reflect the unstable variety show ecosystem and the reality of the star system. That is why words left after the laughter now sound particularly heavy.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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