'Survival King 2' has returned with an elite lineup.
On the 20th in the morning at TV CHOSUN's Gasan-dong studio in Guro-gu, Seoul, a press conference for the new variety show 'Survival King 2' was held. The conference was attended by CP Lee Seung-hoon, PD Yoon Jong-ho, and Kim Jong Kook, Kim Byoung-man, Yuk Junseo, and The Boyz's Younghoon, who shared their remarks.
Returning with a larger scale, 'Survival King 2' is a global national competition survival program that aims to determine Asia's top survival king beyond Korea, and leading Team Korea are Kim Jong Kook and Kim Byoung-man, joined by UDT veteran Yuk Junseo and The Boyz's Younghoon, who combine strong competitiveness and endurance.
In addition, Japan's 'Team Yoshinari,' with overwhelming physicality, Taiwan's 'Team Shikai,' gathered with emerging survival contenders, and Malaysia's 'Team Hero,' combining physicality and brains, will jump into extreme survival missions with each country's pride at stake.
Ahead of the first broadcast of 'Survival King 2,' Kim Byoung-man said, "I've always been waiting for the jungle, but I waited too long. We did season 1 and season 2, but this time it was so hard that I can be proud of it," adding, "Being hard means it will be very fun. Our hardship makes it fun for viewers. You can see survival methods from various cultures, so there will be a variety of things to watch."
Yuk Junseo and Younghoon, who joined as members of 'Team Korea' with Kim Byoung-man, also shared their impressions of joining. Yuk Junseo said, "Filming 'Survival King' was really tough. Because of that, I could bring out something raw. Please look forward to it," raising expectations. Younghoon also added, "This was my first time doing this kind of shoot so I was very worried, but they took great care of me. Although it was really hard, it was a fun and good memory. I hope people will watch it."
The production team, which made them suffer, also raised expectations for the broadcast. CP Lee Seung-hoon said, "It was hard; they did it three times in front, so the cast had a hard time but the broadcast turned out really well. Please pay lots of attention," and PD Yoon Jong-ho said, "I am the one who made it hard. The result came out without embarrassment," expressing confidence.
Kim Jong Kook joins 'Survival King 2' as MC and anchors the program. Kim Jong Kook smiled and greeted, "'Survival King' is a program that has been a hot topic, and I'm happy to join season 2." Regarding his role, Kim Jong Kook said, "I worried I might just be there to deliver missions or messages and that my role might be minimal, but I participated more than I thought, and I had many interactions with people from other countries."
He added, "Being Korean, there could be bias toward the middle, but while looking around on site, I think I handled the progress and balance well," and said, "I also tried to communicate a lot. When playing these kinds of games, complaints about fairness can arise, and I tried to suppress and explain those things. I think we made it possible to film in a fun and enjoyable way."
Recalling the filming site where many languages were used because various countries participated, CP Lee Seung-hoon boasted, "Many languages came out on site. Korean, Chinese, Japanese and English — Kim Jong Kook is good at all four," and Kim Byoung-man recalled, "Because Kim Jong Kook is good at so many languages, the interpreters in front were dozing off. Kim Jong Kook became the control tower and organized things overall, so I felt at ease."
Except for 'chief' Kim Byoung-man, this is the first time Yuk Junseo and The Boyz's Younghoon appear in a 'survival variety show.' PD Yoon Jong-ho said about the recruitment, "We thought a lot. As we expand globally, we agonized over whether it was right to change the members."
PD Yoon said, "Since we're launching after global expansion, led by the inaugural survival king Kim Byoung-man, Yuk Junseo is globally known through Netflix and similar platforms, and after the boxing program became a hot topic, we asked him to join. For Younghoon, we had many meetings with idol candidates. But considering his performances at Idol Star Athletics Championships, and when we met him his gaze and determination were truly different from others, so we judged he was suitable as a member and formed the team," explaining. CP Lee Seung-hoon added, "You can say we selected superior members to beat other countries."
Younghoon, saying he had many concerns upon joining, revealed, "I was actually very worried. Could I do well? People around me were also worried. I thought it would be boring to keep showing only this idol-like image, so I decided I should show a new side, and I made a firm decision to go out there."
Regarding joining 'Survival King 2' amid a recent agency dispute, he said, "I felt overwhelmed and frustrated. I was worried whether I could continue activities and see my fans," and added, "At that time I met PD Yoon Jong-ho. He suggested we try working together, saying let's give it a shot, so I thought I could show my face and be active. I was very grateful PD Yoon asked me to join." The members unanimously said that despite Younghoon's appearance like a romantic comic character, his image in 'Survival King 2' was that of a tough man.
With such elite members gathered, what is Team Korea's differentiator? Kim Byoung-man said, "From my experience of more than a decade, I prepare for local weather and other preparations. I prepare many things in advance, and the cultures of other countries differ from the preparation stage."
Kim Byoung-man said, "I always start from the house. Base camp and fire are important. Japanese people, for example, enjoy leisure and feel less hungry, so they enjoy the atmosphere in that regard. Overall, I felt differences, maybe because our team was particularly close in cooperation. Also, Korean people are diligent, and there is a 'ppalli ppalli' (hurry-hurry) culture there too," he laughed.
When asked if there was a physical burden given his age, Kim Byoung-man said, "Previously I participated as a son, but this time it's as a father. I entrusted tasks to two physically strong sons and passed on a lot of know-how, and I relied a lot on Younghoon and Junseo," adding, "If we do season 3, I felt urgently that I should do some running," revealing his physical burden.
Kim Byoung-man expressed gratitude to Yuk Junseo and Younghoon, saying, "If my sons had been unruly, we wouldn't have bonded, but they accepted things well, and there were no clashes of opinion. Younghoon nagged a lot, but his words were actually right. In that regard he was a support, and Junseo handled several times more of the physical and strength aspects, so I felt rewarded after returning. When I saw them back, I was so glad. I leaned on them that much," he reflected.
Meanwhile, the global survival competition TV CHOSUN 'Survival King 2,' featuring four elite survival teams, premieres today (the 20th) at 10 p.m.
[Photo] Provided by TV CHOSUN
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