A different kind of survival show, "Betting on Fact" is coming for viewers.
On the 26th, an online production presentation for the Wavve original "Betting on Fact" was held. The event was attended by Jang Dong-min, Lee Yongjin, Ye-won, Jin Joong-kwon, Hellmouse, Jung Young-jin, Kang Jeon-ae, Park Sung-min, and PD Kim Min-jong.
Wavve's new original survival "Betting on Fact" is a reality news game show in which eight cast members living in an era overflowing with fake news live in an isolated space and judge the veracity of news. Comedian Jang Dong-min and Lee Yongjin, professor Jin Joong-kwon, broadcaster Jung Young-jin, singer and actor Ye-won, political YouTuber Hellmouse, former senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea Park Sung-min, and former People Power Party spokesperson Kang Jeon-ae were confirmed to appear.
Players are expected to engage in fierce debates and strategies to win the final prize, and the intellectual play specialized panelists showcase — from battles of wits to distinguish fake news from real news to debates — are expected to provide a fresh fun and strong immersion.
PD Kim Min-jong said, "I wanted to make something that uses fake news as material but isn't overly serious and is fun. I found it interesting that, even with the same news, some people say it's real and others say it's fake. I thought this phenomenon exists because the backgrounds of news consumers differ. From that point, we started casting. Looking at the players, their party affiliations differ, and many of them wouldn't meet in private. I thought it would be interesting if such people gathered for a survival show, so we cast them."
He added, "I remember something a Jin Joong-kwon player said during filming. He said everyone makes snap judgments and those judgments don't change easily. I remember that as illustrating confirmation bias. I think the images of the eight players confronting this will come across as a message." He continued, "Since the show uses news as its subject, I worried experts might go too far. But everyone has different strengths. We focused not only on people strong with news but on elements where each player could leverage their strengths."
Jang Dong-min said, "Just appearing on a survival show is a burden for me right now. But this time it's about judging the veracity of news, and it takes the form of a survival show. It's an area I haven't experienced, so I felt attracted to it and my competitive spirit was activated. I also thought I could test other aspects of my abilities," explaining his reason for appearing.
Regarding the flashy cast, Jang Dong-min said, "I thought, 'This might not be easy.' Other survival shows usually have one or two people I had worked with or that smelled familiar, but this has a very different atmosphere. It was hard to gauge." He added, "No matter what you expect this time, there will be clashes. I think you can expect a lot from the production itself."
Especially, Jang Dong-min drew attention for recently speaking at a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung and saying the need to 'eradicate fake news.' He said, "If I was tormented by fake news so much on Betting on Fact, would I have mentioned it in front of the president? The government really needs to stop it. And if you keep watching this show, I confidently say you'll gain the insight to judge what's fake, saying, 'Ah, this is fake.'" He added, "As I said at the meeting, fake news really must disappear. I think everyone should watch this show nationwide," he said emphatically, drawing laughter.
Lee Yongjin explained his reason for appearing, "In my case, I coincidentally started reading the paper every morning for about three years. Because of that, I haven't been literate for long. It came like a kind of coincidence. I wondered if it was a sign that I should do this, and on instinct I made the decision. It felt like something to test my own brain."
He continued, "Honestly, I don't know what people will think, but the list of cast members wasn't important. The experience of being able to try a show I hadn't done before was more important. That doesn't mean I was in a position to say, 'This person isn't right.' I didn't search for information at all, so it was fun. It took me a long time to judge whether this was the kind of show where relationships are heavily involved. It was hard to improvise a strategy and jump in. From the second episode on, you'll see me making strategies depending on the situation. But due to the show's nature, it's difficult to prepare beforehand. There was no strategy at all in episode one," he said, causing laughter.
When asked about his impressions of appearing, professor Jin Joong-kwon said, "At first I didn't want to appear. It's a variety show. I thought it didn't suit me at all. But since it's about distinguishing real and fake news, I was interested and had been raising the issue." He added, "I debated whether to do it, but since it's about identifying fake news, I thought it had some public interest and participated, but after coming to the site I regretted it a lot," he said, drawing laughter.
When asked about the cast list, Jin Joong-kwon said, "I knew two people. I had appeared with Jung Young-jin before, and I had done a program with Jang Dong-min. At first I was scared, but I felt reassured because I knew some people. But while playing the game I felt, 'There's not a single trustworthy person,'" he said, adding more laughter.
He said, "We don't examine news carefully when we consume it. Because there's so much information, we filter. I think that's useless and even obstructive. Now when speaking, instead of pulling something from memory and saying it, I thought it's better to fact-check once." He added, "I was tempted to shake my convictions. I understood the aspect of people whose convictions were shaken. Also, there's someone named Hellmouse — I had heard the name but didn't know what he did. When he publicly criticized me, I thought strategically they had planned this, and I felt like a scapegoat, so I had a hard time managing my expression. Someone like me wouldn't normally confront someone to their face. At that moment I regretted a lot having come here," he said, drawing attention.
Kang Ye-won said, "When I was first approached, I hoped a program like this would come to me, but I couldn't realistically imagine it happening. I thought it was far from the image I've shown so far. As someone who actually encounters a lot of fake and real news, I thought this could be problematic. I thought this might be a show where you could talk about that. I wanted to view it from a more popular perspective rather than a professional one, so I took the courage to appear," explaining her reason for appearing.
She added, "I kept asking the producers questions. 'Why did you cast me? Why me with these people?' They answered that it might not be as professional or difficult as I thought. Of course that was a lie," she said with a laugh. "I think my approach was different, and that sometimes worked to my advantage. Before I joined I was very scared because it's not my field. I entered thinking I'd be at a big disadvantage, but after filming episodes one and two I thought, 'Oh? Maybe not,' and felt, 'This seems similar,' and thought, 'I can do this.' I gained that confidence early on. But as the episodes progressed there were many unpredictable news items. I think viewers will find that interesting," she said.
Jung Young-jin said, "I also agonized a lot about appearing, but after seeing who would be on the show I thought, 'This level is okay.' But as you'll see later, everyone turns into fools. Still, it was fun. Having Jang Dong-min on a show like this will raise expectations. For that to lead to greater fun, there should be a moment where Jang Dong-min collapses pathetically," he said, revealing an unexpected viewing point.
He added, "I've been ruined so much. Once the show airs, I'm someone who makes a living from content. I wonder if it'll be okay. I'm sorry, but if you like me, I especially recommend not watching. I'm sorry," he emphasized, but added, "I learned from the producers that cross-checking is needed — you can't rely on just one source. When you're short on time you just assume this is true and move on. But these guys seem to have learned some swindling methods and subtly change what we read into fake news. Even if viewers know something is fake news, many will still be fooled. The producers are really bad X," he said, drawing laughter.
Park Sung-min said, "Actually this is my second relationship with Wavve. When I did 'Ideology verification zone' before, my prejudices about survival shows were largely broken, so I thought this would be an interesting experience. Personally, since my job deals a lot with news, I had high expectations that this variety format would give me an opportunity to talk about what I've been thinking." He added, "I was actually very scared of Jang Dong-min. I wondered who he was to have conquered every survival show. But I thought his performance here might differ from previous survival shows. And since so many famous people are appearing, there were people I wanted to fight and people I wanted to befriend."
Hearing this, MC Park Kyung-lim asked, "Is the person you want to fight Kang Jeon-ae?" Park Sung-min replied, "We are always fighting even off camera," he explained. Then Jang Dong-min said, "We actually had a fistfight this time," and Jin Joong-kwon said, "There are parts that won't air," spreading fake news (?) and drawing laughter.
Kang Jeon-ae spoke about behind the scenes of her appearance, "When I received the offer, I immediately said I would do it. Previously I appeared on current affairs and political programs. When you appear in politics, you often speak the party's position rather than your personal views. Especially last year, as spokesperson during a harsh period, I often had to say things that conflicted with my conscience. I wished for a place where I could say my true thoughts, and then I got the casting call. I thought here I could voice myself not as last year's spokesperson but as a sound member of society, so I appeared," she said, drawing attention.
About meeting Park Sung-min, she said, "When I heard we'd be on the show together, I was very happy. We are broadcasting as the party's speakers, and we had fixed broadcasts before. What we say on air and what we say off air are slightly different. Park Sung-min is much younger than me but I thought he had a lot to teach. This image may be difficult for others, but I believed we could break that stiff preconception through the show."
Hellmouse said, "When I first got the offer and it was a variety show, I thought, 'Finally I'll be on a show with celebrities.' I was thrilled because I've worked as a current affairs show writer for 15 years and in political commentary for five to six years, and I usually meet people like professor Jin Joong-kwon. I thought I would finally be with entertainers, but professor Jin Joong-kwon was there." He continued, "During a pre-interview the producers asked me who I would pick as a contender for the win, and I named Jang Dong-min first. So when approaching the show I didn't think in terms of rivals; I went just to enjoy it. I wanted to make a fun show with entertainers, but the site was different." Then Lee Yongjin joked, "I thought Hellmouse would be doing things like stealing cushions at night," dissing him and eliciting laughs.
Hellmouse added, "I am someone who (during filming) notably gave up my convictions. If necessary, winning the game is important, so I acted with the conviction to do what was needed. Also, the biggest victims of the producers' schemes are me and the professor. You'll see when you watch the show," he previewed, and Jin Joong-kwon testified, "(Hellmouse is) the perpetrator," adding more laughter. Jung Young-jin then said, "From our perspective, are those two people even the kind to have convictions? They wavered here and there. It was a situation we couldn't overlook," he previewed.
Finally, on viewing points, Jang Dong-min said, "Viewers nowadays are familiar with survival shows, but this offers a very different perspective. In a way it might be a survival show that lowers the barrier to entry. If you participate while watching, I think it will be much more entertaining," and Jin Joong-kwon said, "It seems like a DNA structure. One is the logic of the game and the other is the logic of common sense. As they interlock, they spiral. There is a different charm from a simple survival show. The interaction of the two telling complex stories will be the viewing point."
Kang Ye-won said, "It's the only show without eliminations. Nevertheless, the rankings change each round, which is thrilling and fun. Especially being able to ask others' opinions, I hope people watch and share their thoughts together," and Jung Young-jin added, "While watching other survival shows you mostly feel admiration thinking, 'How did Jang Dong-min solve that?' In this show you'll feel relieved, thinking, 'There really aren't any truly smart people in the world,' and you can relax and laugh freely."
Meanwhile, Wavve's original variety Betting on Fact, one of the platform's anticipated releases for the first half of 2026, will be first released at 11 a.m. on Fri., March 27, and will be available only on Wavve.
[Photo] Provided by Wavve
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