KBS rookie announcers endured a harsh review session once again.
On the 25th, KBS 2TV's 'The boss's ears are donkey ears' featured David Lee and announcer Eom Ji-in as bosses, revealing their daily lives.
On that day, Jun Hyun-moo said, "I heard David Lee's restaurant has recently been swarmed by stars." In response to the question, "Which stars visited?", David Lee said, "Recently Lim Young-woong visited. He was so surprised his face turned red," he revealed. Looking at a photo taken with Lim Young-woong, Kim Sook teased, "Then why didn't you take a picture with me? I went but they didn't even take a picture of me," adding, "What a strange person, really."
In the released VCR, David Lee first received a proposal at the campsite to make special food for campers, so he decided to hold a tasting event. Because of this, David Lee brought an 8 million won wood-fired grill to the campsite.
In particular, David Lee brought the youngest, Kim Pil-jung, to the campsite that day and said, "From previous broadcasts I heard people felt uncomfortable being with me, so I wondered whom to bring and brought Pil-jung." Jun Hyun-moo poked, "Ugly, really ugly." Praising the youngest Pil-jung's appearance, which resembles Zico, Jun Hyun-moo said, "your face these days," and David Lee confessed, "I think I'm better (looking)." In response, from Lee Soon-sil to Kim Sook everyone got riled up and pressed the 'boss' button, and Jun Hyun-moo emphasized, "Even judging by the old days, Pil-jung is better looking."
Before the tasting session officially began, a man approached and introduced himself as "David Lee's New York disciple, Park Jae-hyun." He said he currently runs a YouTube channel along with his culinary business. It was conveyed that he had met people including Ham Eunjung, Ryu Seung-soo, and Yoon Do-hyun. The youngest Pil-jung and Park Jae-hyun hit it off from their first meeting, and David Lee asked Park Jae-hyun about his recent business activities. Park Jae-hyun said, "Perhaps because I learned the basics well, now I run shabu-shabu, handmade burgers, and an Italian restaurant," and the restaurant is also famous for its waiting list.
When David Lee asked about sales, Park Jae-hyun said, "About 5 billion won," and David Lee worried, "If you're making that much sales, aren't the employees having a really hard time?" Park Jae-hyun showed efforts as a representative, saying, "Of course they suffer a lot. They suffer so much that I try to make it feel like a company rather than simply a restaurant."
Pil-jung asked, "That sounds great. Do you give separate incentives to employees?" and Park Jae-hyun replied, "Financially, of course, and so we now call it F&C instead of F&B. Food and community. Ultimately it has to become a community." Watching Pil-jung diligently take notes on everything Park Jae-hyun said, David Lee asked, "Are you writing it down to open later?" Pil-jung said, "I also have that goal." Park Jae-hyun praised, "You're meticulous," and David Lee asked if Pil-jung had written down anything David Lee had said.
Pil-jung suggested it would be good to organize a gathering where employees could bond, and David Lee asked, "Shall we make our group chat?" But a group chat already existed. David Lee fumed, "There is? They made it leaving me out. How can it be a group chat if they left me out?" Jun Hyun-moo and Park Myung Soo advised the upset David Lee, "You'll get used to it," and, "Shut up and just pay," while Kim Sook amused by saying, "Park Myung Soo, you know there are group chats without you too," drawing laughter.
After a brief conversation, the three began cooking in earnest. David Lee prepared one soup dish and one meat dish, starting a grill dish using samgyeopsal. He also said he would prepare cioppino, an Italian-style seafood stew, in the hearth and explained, "It's an Italian-style seafood stew, but that dish doesn't exist in Italy. Its birthplace was San Francisco, U.S.A."
David Lee left the cioppino to Park Jae-hyun and asked Pil-jung to help with cooking while he started the meat dish himself. As Park Jae-hyun and Pil-jung began cooking, they chatted and became friendly. Particularly, Pil-jung said, "This Christmas I won't operate so I can spend time with family," and Park Jae-hyun, surprised, exclaimed, "That's unthinkable in the dining industry."
Park Jae-hyun said he would open the shop during the year-end and New Year holidays, and Pil-jung asked if he could come to eat during the holidays. When Park Jae-hyun agreed, David Lee jealously said, "You got closer by working together? Did you receive something? You did get something, didn't you?" After finishing cooking, the three began the tasting session in earnest, looked pleased with the campers' satisfied reactions, and David Lee previewed, "I'll take over all the campsites."
Next, announcer Eom Ji-in introduced KBS's new rookie announcers. Eom Ji-in said she had another piece of good news following the 'Producer's special award' she received at last year's year-end awards. She boasted, "At the 2025 Korea Announcer Awards, 'KBS Sadang Gwi announcer team' won the TV hosting award in the entertainment category. They received a group award," and said that Eom Ji-in would take on hosting a new variety program.
Eom Ji-in met with chief announcer Han Sang-kwon to talk, and Han Sang-kwon said, "You need to work hard. Stay in your place. I heard rumors you're going freelance." Eom Ji-in downplayed it, saying, "That's something Park Myung Soo keeps saying in the studio. I'll work hard," and then brought up KBS rookie announcer training. Eom Ji-in introduced, "New rookie announcers were selected for the KBS announcer office for the first time in three years," and Jun Hyun-moo said, "KBS was famous for hiring the most rookie announcers among the three broadcasters. But since the economy is bad even KBS only hired after three years."
Eom Ji-in said of the new rookie announcers, "Over a thousand applied and only three were selected," at which point Kim Jin-woong entered the room. Kim Jin-woong said he is acting as homeroom teacher for this rookie announcer class and conducting training. The KBS public recruitment 51st class announcers selected after three years were Lee Sang-chul, Park Hyo-jin, and Shim Su-hyun. The three began their self-introductions to Han Sung-chul, and seeing this Jun Hyun-moo confessed, "A conflict between announcer Lee Sang-chul and announcer Kim Jin-woong is expected. I also came in targeting someone. I was Han Seok-jun, Kim Hyun-wook."
At that time Han Sung-chul asked the rookies why they thought they passed, and Shim Su-hyun confessed, "I think it's honesty. I was asked, 'Did you watch a lot of TV when you were young?' I said my parents didn't let me watch much when I was young. It might be an emotional factor, but I think they highly valued my honesty." Park Hyo-jin mentioned 'intellectual charm' and said she is an alumnus of Seoul National University with Kim Jin-woong. She majored in German language and literature, is fluent in German, and even did a German self-introduction on the spot.
When asked about talents, Lee Sang-chul started TWS's 'Angtal challenge' on the spot, which spread in the studio and led to a chain of angtal challenges from Yang Jun-hyuk to Jun Hyun-moo, bringing laughter. Kim Jin-woong said of Park Hyo-jin, "She resembles Min-ji of NewJeans. She might be able to work in many fields," and Park Hyo-jin performed a tangerine-peeling talent on the spot. From elephant shapes to snails, Park Hyo-jin's talents were praised in the studio.
As the review session officially began, many senior announcers including the chief, department head, and team leader attended. Park Cheol-gyu and Heo Yoo-won, who had been the targets of the previous review, sat in their seats looking nervous. After starting the review while watching a special live broadcast video aired on Dec. 31 last year, Jun Hyun-moo, watching Park Hyo-jin's hosting, criticized, "I don't know what she was talking about; it lacked impact," while Yang Jun-hyuk praised, "For a rookie, that's excellent."
Criticism from the seniors continued. Eom Ji-in said, "It was the first time I've seen her do live broadcasting. This was a show at midnight, but while others presented calmly she felt like a morning show. She stood out from the start," and Park Cheol-gyu remarked, "She might have been nervous for her first broadcast, but there was too much force in her voice," mentioning the tone and manner suitable for broadcasting.
The seniors also said her eye contact with the camera was awkward and criticized that her expressions were clichéd. In particular, Eom Ji-in said, "They touted her as the youngest announcer born in the 21st century, but I can't feel that on screen. The lively charm unique to a rookie announcer is not visible at all. It feels like she's imitating typical senior announcers we imagine."
When the studio reacted against Eom Ji-in's criticism, she elaborated, "It felt like someone in their early 20s acting like they're in their 30s," and Jun Hyun-moo said, "If you play it with the fresh feeling of being 24, then Park Hyo-jin is an announcer. You can't do it like that, you'll hear complaints." Eom Ji-in smiled in agreement and applauded, and Jun Hyun-moo lamented, "There is no escape. If you try to be young, they criticize you for being young. I said it lacked gravity."
Announcer Park Hyo-jin worried that her pursued aesthetic of 'maturity' didn't suit her after the seniors' criticism and told the production team, "My pursued aesthetic is Eom Ji-in sunbaenim, but they said I look old, so I'll have to think about it." At that moment, the released footage of Eom Ji-in's rookie days made Jun Hyun-moo and Kim Sook laugh, saying, "What is this, a 1970s video?" and, "She looks just like my mother. Really old."
Next, Lee Sang-chul's review began. Watching the video, Kim Sook said, "He seems very competent," while Jun Hyun-moo poked, "There are nine questions and one answer." The seniors said, "He went there not as a host but as an interviewer, yet there was more talking than the two interviewees' answers. From the viewers' perspective, whether they wanted to see announcer Lee Sang-chul or were curious about citizens' opinions is something to consider."
Other seniors also asked, "His voice is somewhat close to an event tone; did you do many events before taking the announcer exam?" and Lee Sang-chul confessed, "At twenty I hosted first birthday parties for about three years." The seniors said, "Watching the video made us laugh; he seemed overly excited. He shouldn't be too agitated, but he seemed too anxious. Because his tone is high, it wasn't comfortable."
Finally, watching Shim Su-hyun's video, the seniors harshly criticized, "Watching it made my hands and feet cringe. I think the reporting she has learned, practiced, and prepared so far would be failing grade," delivering severe condemnation.
They said concerns continued even during the live broadcast, noting, "The three seconds before Shim Su-hyun came in felt like ten seconds. Will there be an accident? What if she can't come in?" They also criticized, "Telling someone to look ahead is fine, but that's when I'm not in the camera. When holding the other person, you should gesture to guide them."
Finally, they criticized the speed at which she removed the microphone. One senior said, "They took the microphone away while the person was saying 'thank you.' It felt like, 'I've heard enough, I don't need to listen further.' If that person felt even slightly uncomfortable, I think it could have led to an incident. You must listen to the end," and the seniors nodded in agreement.
With a full news review session set to continue, a preview video showed Announcer Park Hyo-jin bursting into tears at the seniors' repeated criticism and hurriedly moving to the restroom to compose herself, evoking sympathy.
[Photo] Broadcast capture
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