Comedian Yang Sang-guk expressed deep gratitude to 'national MC' Yu Jae-seok for taking all of his "completely real" gags on Hangout With Yoo.
Yang Sang-guk is considered one of the main contributors to the second golden age of the MBC variety show Hangout With Yoo (abbreviated Hangout). He first appeared in the "War on Crime" episode, appearing as the younger brother who had just moved to Seoul from Heo Kyunghwan's rural hometown, delivering big laughs with every line. Riding that momentum, he not only returned but also shone as the "crown prince of Gimhae." We met Yang Sang-guk, who has rapidly risen as a ratings guarantee and variety show cheat key, on the 8th at OSEN's office in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.
About his work on Hangout, Yang Sang-guk said, "Recently I did variety shows like Men on a Mission and Radio Star, but other programs have a certain level of scripted play. There is a pre-interview and more is added from there, but Hangout had none of that. It was, literally, 'completely real,'" expressing his tension.
He said, "And the others were regulars, and Heo Kyunghwan wasn't at first either, but he had appeared for several months before and had a sense of the flow. But I suddenly appeared alone as a guest, so I wondered, 'Is this okay?' I felt a lot of that. But if I couldn't do anything there, there would be no reason to call me. With a mindset of 'there's nothing I can do,' I focused on my part and did my best, and it was really fortunate that a good reaction came back."
In particular, Yang Sang-guk said, "Isn't it a program where you film with 'Yunus-nim'? Just that in itself is nerve-wracking, and the senior accepted whatever I threw at him. When I evaluate myself, what makes me somewhat different from other terrestrial variety performers is the same on YouTube and on terrestrial TV. That's actually a small difference, but because the senior accepted everything, it seemed to explode into big laughter," expressing his gratitude.
He reiterated, "Saying 'Yoo-neusuk!' is something that would never happen ordinarily. In fact, my personality is so quiet that my MBTI could be 'I' at a 99% rate. But in front of the camera I don't want to inconvenience others, so I make comments, and even after throwing out a line I was very nervous about how the senior would respond. But he took it all, so I was really grateful," he emphasized again.
Yang Sang-guk went on, laughing, "Honestly, if I had just done 'Yoo-ssi!' and left it at that, it would have been a disaster," and explained, "But because the senior reacted, that also became funny, and it seemed to elicit a response of 'who would do that to senior Yu Jae-seok?'"
He added, "To be honest, I performed with a do-or-die mindset. It was also an opportunity that might never come again for me, and I trusted the producers thinking they would cut the footage appropriately, so editing power definitely played a role," saying, "But Yu Jae-seok senior seemed to see the 'big picture.' He seemed to intuitively know how viewers would receive it depending on how he reacted to what I said, and I was inwardly astonished even though I was in the weeds," he clicked his tongue.
Yang Sang-guk said, "After the Hangout recording I couldn't even bring myself to contact him. In my real nature I'm only like that in front of the camera, and after it's over I quietly say hello and leave. Saying 'I'm sorry about the recording earlier' felt too apologetic, and before seeing audience reactions I was still worried whether it was right, but after the broadcast the senior contacted me first. 'Sang-guk, it was so fun. Let's see each other again,' he said. Whenever a show I was on ended, he always gave me that message, and I was so grateful. I was more excited by the senior's text than by any woman's message," he laughed heartily.
(Continued in interview ②)<
[Photo] OSEN reporter Ji Hyung-joon, provided by MBC.
[OSEN]