Kim Si-jung, director of production at MBN, pointed out viewing points for the final episode of 'Mumyeong Jeonseol'.
Recently OSEN met with Kim Si-jung, director of production at MBN's production headquarters, who is creating programs that bring happiness to viewers, at the MBN Media Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and conducted an interview.
"Mumyeong Jeonseol" is a male trot audition program produced in-house by MBN. "Mumyeong Jeonseol," which premiered in February, has proceeded to the first round of the finals and has only one final episode remaining. The contestants who advanced to the finals are Seong Ri, Iru-ne, Hwang Yun-seong, Jang Han-byeol, Haru, Jeong Yeon-ho, Lee Chang-min, Park Min-su, Kim Tae-ung, and Lee Dae-hwan, and the ultimate winner and the top seven will be decided through the final second round.
When asked about the viewing points for the final 12th episode to be broadcast on the 13th, Kim Si-jung said, "Six unknowns and four knowns remain. I don't know who will be the winner, but even the well-known ones are all desperate people. If you watch this week's broadcast, all 10 have stories. Until now, the broadcast was more than 90% about the songs. So we didn't know much about their stories. But this week's broadcast has their stories. The title of this final mission is "life's masterpiece." It's about singing a song that contains one's own narrative and story. Because each of them has a story, I think you might see an audition like a drama," he said.
He said, "Our initial planning intent itself was 'the stories of unknowns who want to become legends.' From the beginning, we weren't trying to pick friends who only sang well. Of course they should sing well, but even if their singing is a bit lacking, if their stories are truly desperate and they have the earnestness to become a legend, I hope that part is given points," he said.
He continued, "If we had wanted people who only sang well, we would have started like other programs with famous friends who have many fans. 'Mumyeong Jeonseol' didn't go viral with huge ratings from the start. But as these friends went up on stage one by one, their singing improved, they became more comfortable, and fans attached to them, and because of that these friends were very moved. From fan cafe stories to being touched by 'when I went to a barbecue restaurant they gave me more meat.' In these hard times, I think their growth process and narratives might give viewers the courage to live and be a source of strength. This week's Wednesday episode fits that planning intent well," he explained.
Kim Si-jung, director of production, said, "I think hearing those stories and then listening to the songs will make them more resonant. 'Who sings better?' That doesn't seem meaningful now. If I may dare say, who can hit higher notes or who is a better technician doesn't matter much; I think the point is 'who moves the viewers' hearts more,'" he said.
The final episode of 'Mumyeong Jeonseol' is scheduled to run for about three and a half hours starting at 9:10 p.m. on the 13th, 30 minutes earlier than usual. Kim Si-jung, director of production, emphasized, "We won't drag out the proceedings. We'll announce the results right away. There are no commercials."
He added, "The total score is 5,000 points, of which 64% is chosen by the public. Live text voting accounts for 40%, and including online scores and audio sales it becomes 64%. So it means that rather than us choosing, we ask the public to choose. Therefore we would never dare to get involved in fairness controversies or let the production team's subjective positions intervene. If the friend chosen by the public becomes a star, I think they will be happier thinking 'the star I chose,'" he said, expressing his expectations.
'Mumyeong Jeonseol,' which started with a 6.2% rating in its first broadcast, recorded its highest self-produced figure of 8.5% in the last episode, showing a rise (Nielsen Korea nationwide paid households). On this, Kim Si-jung, director of production, said, "At first with 99 people competing, you couldn't see each person, but as it went to the semifinals and the numbers decreased, they began to be seen. As we started to focus more intensively on those friends, the ratings seem to have continued to gain momentum. Other programs start with 99 people and then cut dramatically, but we wanted to hear many people's stories. We didn't cut drastically. If we had suddenly gone from 90 to 30 or 20 to 10 and kept them fighting, the ratings might have been higher, but we felt we wouldn't be able to hear more people's stories, so we chose this method even if it meant sacrificing some ratings," he said.
He said, "When you look at the stories of the 10, each feels like my own story. Because each contains stories with individual tastes and characteristics, the ratings picked up later than usual, but we made it with that in mind. It's late but it feels like the flame has caught at the end, and I think the final episode will put the exclamation point. None of the 10 have ever been first place. Minsu was once fifth, and Seong Ri challenged auditions six times and reached the finals for the first time. They all have their own desperate stories, so there's little distinction between unknown and known. Even Lee Chang-min couldn't perform because of COVID, so he carried demo tapes around to promote himself, and Seong Ri plastered posters. These stories surfaced briefly, but this week there are many heartbreaking stories. There will be contestants viewers want to cheer for and people who give the courage to live," he said, foreshadowing that deeper stories than those revealed so far will be addressed.
He continued, "We thought unknowns were important, but so were the knowns. Thinking about Seong Ri, Park Min-su, and Lee Chang-min, they were once famous but kept hitting obstacles. Those people challenging again, even though they are famous singers, we also wanted to reboot the stories of those who want to become legends beyond that. It wasn't about people we already know; it was intended to give opportunities to those who could explode into the mainstream but haven't been able to. In life isn't it like that for us too? Losing dreams, once being famous then not doing well. We intended to give courage to those people," he explained.
He added, "For the final episode I want to make it a festival-style program where even those who are eliminated all become winners together. I hope it becomes a program where not only the first-place winner is remembered but all 10 contestants are remembered. 'Mumyeong Jeonseol' will end, but their names will continue. They will continue to be active, and they will remain 'Mumyeong Jeonseol' alumni until the end. If they do well, the name 'Mumyeong Jeonseol' will stand out, so I think the contestants' popularity is more important than the program's fame," he said, expressing the hope that viewers will remember the contestants' names longer. (Interview part 2 follows.)
[Photo] MBN
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