Producer Na Young-seok formed a male variety group following 1 Night 2 Days and New Journey to the West.
On the morning of the 12th at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo-gu, Seoul, a press conference was held for Netflix's new variety show "Why on earth do people hike?". Producer Na Young-seok, producer Park Hyun-yong, singer Car, the garden, DAY6's Dowoon, actor Lee Chae-min, and ALLDAY PROJECT's Tarzan attended.
"Why on earth do people hike?" (hereinafter referred to as WhyHike) is a hiking variety show about four reluctant hikers who had no interest in hiking their whole lives embarking on their first-ever midwinter snowy mountain trek, capturing the sincere moments amid joyful laughter of these reluctant hikers' "my feet, my mountain" journey. With the midwinter snowy mountain scenery meeting viewers in midsummer ready to blow away the heat, the beginners' journey to find the answer to the question "Why on earth do people hike?" will capture genuine moments amid enjoyable laughs. Also expected is the chemistry of the "trendsetting four" who formed a special mountaineering club: Car, the garden; DAY6's Dowoon; Lee Chae-min; and ALLDAY PROJECT's Tarzan.
Na Young-seok said about the fresh combination of four, "I'll be honest about why I recruited the four. My ambition was to create a variety group that will lead the next 10 years. I wanted to work with people no one has touched before. I wanted to see reactions like, 'What a surprise! That kind of person had this sense of variety? Who could it be?' I wanted to see that reaction. First, I made the group," adding, "these are the people. You may not know their abilities yet, but I am convinced they have tremendous potential."
He continued, "Originally I intended to bring these people together for a game show. I coaxed them by saying we'd gather to play games and travel, but as I interviewed them one by one, I found they had the stamina to get through tougher situations than simply playing games together," and "I sharply changed direction and judged that the games could wait. I thought about what variety format fit best for that beginning. I decided on hiking, which suits their shining youth and stamina," expressing his confidence.
Producer Na Young-seok said, "I think they will become icons of variety, and I am sure of it." However, Car, the garden, who was cast without knowing it was a hiking concept, said, "Hearing that from a victim's perspective is infuriating," prompting laughter.
Previously, producer Na Young-seok launched and achieved great success with group variety shows such as the national hits 1 Night 2 Days, New Journey to the West, Three Meals a Day, Jinny's Kitchen, and GBRB. Although various spin-offs have been produced at the same time, New Journey to the West has not had a follow-up with the full original cast since tvN's New Journey to the West 8 aired in October 2020, leaving fans disappointed.
Producer Na Young-seok said, "Car, the garden is a leader with no leadership. He only worries about himself. So I think he genuinely immersed himself in that environment and produced raw reactions," adding, "In past variety shows you had to cry when you saw a sunrise. But the people here said they didn't even want to look at it. Now that is the real reaction and, I think, the current code. Before hiking I expected 'this kind of variety will come out,' and after hiking I felt 'I was wrong,'" he reflected.
Meanwhile, "Why on earth do people hike?" is a 10-episode series and will be released on the 18th.
[Photo] Min Kyung-hoon reporter
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