"Choi Woosusan" PD explained the reason for casting Heo Kyunghwan by comparing him to YouTuber Dex.
MBC held a press conference for the new variety show "Choi Woosusan (山)" on the afternoon of Apr. 28 at the Golden Mouse Hall in its Sangam-dong headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Comedians You Se Yoon, Jang Dong-min, Heo Kyunghwan, Yang Se-hyung and broadcaster Boom attended the event and, under the moderation of MBC announcer Park So-young, discussed the program with PDs Kim Myung-yeop, Kim Ik-hwan and Seo Ye-na.
"Choi Woosusan" is Korea's first mountain variety show in which participants complete missions set in the mountains to win acorns and fiercely compete for the summit. The program was sparked by the scene that drew attention last year among male award nominees at the MBC Entertainment Awards, whose title differed from the program's by only one character. Led by winner You Se Yoon, the show is expected to be a hiking variety program that brings together former competitors Jang Dong-min, Yang Se-hyung and Boom, followed by Heo Kyunghwan, who has recently risen as a trend in MBC entertainment.
PD Kim Myung-yeop introduced the program, saying, "You can think of it as a variety show that unfolds on the mountain. It's a hiking show, but hiking is just an excuse for the variety. It will be a variety show that contains a lot of elements, including the chemistry among our five cast members, chaotic talk, games and various other elements."
He added, "The project started from the 'loser' incident involving You Se Yoon at last year's entertainment awards. We didn't plan to go to the mountains, but we made the program because these brothers are veteran entertainers with nearly 100 years of combined experience. As we looked for things they hadn't tried, we held very long meetings, and the more we met the tendency was to head to the mountains, so we actually went to the mountains. Once we went, it wasn't bad, so I thought it was worth trying," he said.
Kim Myung-yeop PD also revealed an anecdote, saying, "At that time, Haha, who was also a nominee for the best performer award, wanted to join, but he was appearing on Running Man at the same time as us, so he couldn't take part." He went on to emphasize, "Even so, why Heo Kyunghwan? If you watch 'Taegye Ilju', there's a role like Dex. If you insist on comparing, Heo Kyunghwan is our program's 'Dex.' I can't dare evaluate who will win the best performer award with this lineup, but in my view, Heo Kyunghwan could aim not only for the best performer award this year but even the grand prize."
"Choi Woosusan" will premiere on Sunday, May 3 at 6 p.m.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Jo Eun-jung.
[OSEN]