Kim Si-jung, MBN production director-general, encouraged support for the contestants' continued active promotions as well as viewing points for the final episode of 'Mumyeongjeonseol'.
'Mumyeongjeonseol,' which premiered in February, is a male trot survival program produced by MBN. Starting with 99 contestants, Seongri, Iru-ne, Hwang Yun-seong, Jang Han-byeol, Haru, Jeong Yeon-ho, Lee Chang-min, Park Min-su, Kim Tae-woong and Lee Dae-hwan have advanced to the finals, and in the final episode airing today (13th) the ultimate winner and the top seven will be decided.
Kim Si-jung, production chief of MBN who has been giving energy that cheers on unknown artists and makes people happy through 'Mumyeongjeonseol,' recently met with OSEN and discussed various stories about 'Mumyeongjeonseol.' When asked about viewing points for the final episode soon to air, he noted, "All 10 have their own stories. Until now the broadcasts were more than 90% about songs, weren't they? So we didn't know much about their stories. But this week's broadcast includes their stories. The title of this final mission is 'life masterpiece.' It's about singing a song that contains one's own narrative and story. Because of that, I think you might be able to see audition-like drama," he said.
He said, "The planning intention of 'Mumyeongjeonseol' itself is 'the stories of unknown people who want to become legends.' From the start we did not intend to pick friends who only sing well. Of course they should sing well, but even if their singing is a little lacking, if their stories are truly desperate and they have a longing to become legends, I wanted to give points for that part as well," and added, "If we wanted people who only sing well, we would have started with already famous people with many fans like other programs. But as these friends went on stage one by one, their singing improved, they grew familiar, fans attached to them, and because of that they have been deeply moved. In hard times like these, their growth processes and narratives give viewers courage to live and strength, I think."
He said the episode that best fits that planning intent is the final episode. Kim Si-jung, director-general, explained, "Hearing those stories and listening to the songs might resonate more, I think. To dare say, asking 'who sings better?' seems meaningless now. Rather than who can hit higher notes or is more of a technician, I think the point is 'who moves the viewers' hearts more.'"
In the final, 64% of the total 5,000 points are decided by viewer votes. Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "Live text voting is 40%, and if you include online scores and music sources, that's 64%. So it means the public should pick rather than us picking. Therefore we would never dare cause controversies about fairness or let the production team's subjective opinions intervene. If a friend chosen by the public becomes a star, people might feel more attached, thinking 'the star I picked,'" he said.
He said, "At first with 99 people competing, each person was hard to see, but as the number decreased toward the semifinals they began to stand out. From when we could focus more on those friends, ratings seemed to steadily increase. It seems like a fire was lit at the end and perhaps the final episode will put the period at the end," and added, "None of our 10 have ever been first place anywhere. Park Min-su once placed fifth, and Seongri made the finals for the first time after six attempts. Everyone has their own desperate story, so there's not much 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 Seongri did wallpapering. Those things appeared briefly, but this week there are many heartbreaking stories. So there will be contestants viewers want to root for and people they want to give courage to live," he explained.
He continued, "Unknown singers are important, but so are famous singers. Thinking about Seongri, Park Min-su and Lee Chang-min, they were once famous but kept bumping into obstacles. I wanted to reboot the stories of those people who, while famous, want to go beyond that and become legends by challenging themselves again. The idea was to give opportunities to those who couldn't break out even though they could have gone mainstream and had potential. Isn't life like that for us too? People lose their dreams and sometimes those once famous don't do well. Through that I intended to give people courage," he said.
The structure called 'rank top' was also to build solid narratives. Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "If you flip the tail car of 'Snowpiercer' upside down, you get a pyramid, right? In that way, the people with more well-known names are at the top and the unknown are at the bottom. Unknown fight unknown, unknown beat known, known beat legend. I thought that structure would make it easier for their names to become more known. For example, if I beat someone who is not famous, who would care? So to raise awareness you need a narrative of defeating a famous singer and climbing up. People like that kind of narrative. If we reveal materials with narratives to the public, the public will choose," and he explained, "That part is powerfully revealed in this final episode."
He said, "The final episode will really be different. If what came before was competition, this time we listen to their stories through the songs," and emphasized, "The final starts at 9:10 p.m. and runs about three and a half hours. We do not do time-wasting hosting. We will announce the rankings immediately. There are no commercials."
As various trot auditions have been born, 'Mumyeongjeonseol' is a relatively latecomer. Nonetheless, many new talents unseen elsewhere appeared and brought freshness to viewers. On that, Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "Personally I didn't know much about the trot scene. So if we recycled already known singers repeatedly, it would be uninteresting even from a viewer's perspective. So we recruited regardless of genre or age, and stage experience wasn't that important. By keeping the door low from the start, anyone could apply. I wanted to hear diverse people's stories, from a 50-year-old BTS (Kim Ki-yong) to a bus driver (Baek Won-young)," revealing the secret to finding 'new faces.'
He said, "The most important thing is 'not them again.' If it's 'that one again,' fans will watch so the basic viewer base is secured. But we boldly challenged that. We wanted to write the narrative of making legends out of nothing, out of the unknown," and added, "To me the most important thing in all programs is authenticity. Whether someone is a celebrity is a secondary issue. 'Mumyeongjeonseol' had more unknowns, didn't it? I didn't consider name value that important. Lee Chang-min was chosen because he sang with authenticity, not because he was famous. Famous singers also chose authenticity over singing skill. Even if the singing was lacking, if someone was truly desperate, we prioritized that person. If someone is handsome but not desperate, that's a no. But all our ten are handsome, desperate, polite and none are likely to cause major problems," he said, showing affection for the contestants.
In particular, while 'Mumyeongjeonseol' is a trot audition program, it was not a project aimed solely at the domestic trot market. Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "Trot is just the packaging. What I focused on was making a program that people who aren't trot fans could watch. Seongri's 'heung' stage was a song completely unrelated to trot but was a work we put a lot of heart into. That's why it rose on OTT rankings. People who don't know trot see clips and memes and young people respond," and added, "Last year, Maggie Kang, director of 'K-pop Demon Hunters,' mentioned trot for season 2's OST, and Daesung of Big Bang performed 'Look at Me, Defecting' at Coachella. Seeing that I felt a bit moved and thought 'the time has come to spread K-trot,'" pointing out K-trot's unlimited potential.
He said, "There is interest in K, but perhaps K-trot is what we haven't exported yet. When promoting this program abroad, I want to dare call it 'K-soul.' I wanted to spread K-soul globally. Our goal was globalization and mass appeal; I think we achieved some mass appeal through this program, and to globalize it we are preparing overseas expansion to spread it as soon as the program ends. So we tried to pick contestants who fit the hexagon a bit more," he said, outlining the big picture.
As hoped, 'Mumyeongjeonseol' recorded its highest figure of 8.5% in episode 11, which depicted the first battle of the finals, drawing an upward ratings curve (Nielsen Korea, nationwide paid households). When asked about the final episode's ratings target, Kim Si-jung, director-general, mentioned, "Ratings don't tell everything. In the past ratings were king, but now with YouTube, OTT and buzz indices, there are many shortcomings in judging a program by ratings," and said, "Our goal is to be remembered as a program that leaves viewers and contestants moved and lingering after watching, more than focusing on ratings."
He continued, "I hope people remember our contestants more than the program. Often the program does well but no one remembers the contestants. My goal is to make a program that people remember the contestants more than the program. The program may end, but I want these friends to be talked about more, become legends from unknowns and be loved. Programs have limits in numbers, but a contestant's popularity cannot be measured by numbers, right?" and added, "Fortunately, increases in fan club membership and concert ticket sales show an enormous, tangible popularity," expressing gratitude for the intense interest.
Even contestants who left early despite pouring everything into the show and even quitting their jobs have continued activities because event bookings have come in thanks to 'Mumyeongjeonseol.' Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "I wasn't the one who eliminated them, but I felt so sorry watching them. But after appearing on 'Mumyeongjeonseol' their names became known and events came in; they were so thankful. I felt like 'I did something good,' and my remorse eased," he said proudly.
Meanwhile, 'Mumyeongjeonseol' created a stir by announcing that the winner will receive various perks including a winning prize of 100 million won, film production, a program named after the winner, a second house in Jeju, a nationwide tour concert, a cruise fan meeting and music releases. When asked about the behind-the-scenes of these unique winner perks, Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "I thought about what would be different from other programs. Other programs converted things into money, but we wanted to provide for food, clothing and shelter. So we will provide a suit from a famous designer. They will wear it for events, and I'm thinking of releasing a film about the winner's life around July. We will do a spin-off using the winner's name, and a cruise fan meeting is planned. These were ideas of things others haven't done."
The film will be in documentary form, covering the winner's personal history through concerts and will be released for fans. It was prepared out of a desire to give things that are practically helpful rather than fleeting. Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "We even released unaired footage. We decided to air everything rather than edit it out and risk hearing bad things from contestants or fans. So we wanted to give sufficient benefits to the first-place person. We poured everything into making the program successful and spared nothing. We didn't hold back physically either. In a way the production team and contestants became one," he said earnestly.
He said, "Fortunately, during the program we were not embroiled in noise or controversies over fairness or other unsavory incidents. I personally dislike noise. I didn't want to draw viewers by creating incidents and going viral for those reasons. So we did it in a way anyone could see was fair and gave viewers a large 64% position in judging. Fans have matured. They agreed not to insult each other and have been very close without attacking. The contestants sincerely cheer for each other," and he noted the minds gathered for 'friendly rivalry.'
Therefore, although the final is a competition, it will also unfold as a festival that everyone enjoys together. Kim Si-jung, director-general, said, "The final is like a movie. There are no winners or losers. Even if first place takes first and others are eliminated, I want to make it a program where everyone becomes a winner together. I hope it remains a program remembered not only for the first place but for all 10 contestants being remembered as winners," and added, "We care more about contestants' popularity than the program's fame. 'Mumyeongjeonseol' can be forgotten, but please remember the contestants. Even if 'Mumyeongjeonseol' ends here, their names remain. They will continue activities and will always be from 'Mumyeongjeonseol.' In the end, if they do well, the name 'Mumyeongjeonseol' will stand out as well; they are another beginning."
In reality, 'Mumyeongjeonseol' ending does not mean the contestants' journeys end there. Kim Si-jung, director-general, hinted, "The final broadcast is not the end but the start. Immediately after the broadcast we will follow with a gala show and dinner show. After the gala show, we will hold a nationwide tour concert starting June 13 and run spin-off programs. We are also considering overseas performances. Then at year-end and the beginning of next year we plan to launch season 2. Season 2 will aim beyond domestic borders. So it will look different," raising expectations.
He, who said performance requests are already coming in from abroad, stated, "K-trot is no longer confined to Korea. Opportunities for globalization are arising," and added, "In season 2 we plan to target global participants. In season 1 I tried to test marketability. If there are contestants like Jang Han-byeol, who holds Australian nationality, they can ride along when we go to overseas performances. Watching this season I saw that possibility. So this time as I thought, not many global participants applied, but I think we can properly try season 2," further piquing curiosity about future plans.
[Photo] MBN
[OSEN]