-MC affair scandal taints Chicken Race, ultimately leading to its cancellation.
-What program will replace the Wednesday night variety show hit Chicken Race?
-Idol War! Capture the viewers hearts!
-PD Nam Yunsoo of Idol War: “I planned this program to break the stereotypes about idol groups. We’ll show what idols can really sing.”
On Monday, the day after the weekend, an official article named Self-Interest was published.
Fortunately, the show’s official title was not Self-Interest.
The final title was Idol War: The Survival.
According to Team Leader Choi of the PR department, the head of KBM’s variety division blew up when he saw the title Self-Interest and even threw papers.
Viewer reactions to Idol War were split evenly between positive and negative.
└Is there seriously nothing else to broadcast in Korea besides idols?
└I really wish they’d just stop with all the idol stuff now.
└Only a handful of idols can actually sing anyway, and this is a group competition, so I’m not expecting much.
└Exactly. They should at least bring in each group’s main vocalists and have them go head-to-head properly.
└“Proper singing”? Yeah right. It’ll just be synchronized dance routines and fan wars.
└“Fan boys”? LOL, this guy’s a boomer for sure.
Most of the negative comments were centered around the idea of “not another idol show.”
There were already plenty of music variety shows airing on both public and cable networks, most of which followed idol-centered formats.
So this kind of response wasn’t surprising.
Still, not all feedback was negative.
Those who were generally positive toward idols also responded positively to the program.
└People in Korea always assume idols are mass-produced, but that’s not true. There are plenty of talented singers—just hidden behind the group.
└Exactly. It’s frustrating how negative people are without even giving it a chance.
└Am I the only one who thinks this show will be fun? Chicken Race was good too, but I think this might be even better.
└Casting is key. If they go with too many unknowns, it won’t gain traction. If they go with only famous groups, it’ll turn into fan wars.
└Just don’t make it a total sausage fest, please.
└But for ratings, they’ll probably focus on male idols, won’t they?
└They said seven teams, so four male idol groups and three female ones sounds balanced.
└We’ll see.
└A friend of mine who works at KBM said Dream Girls were cast.
└That classic “a friend of mine” rumor again… I’ve never seen one of those comments turn out to be true.
└A friend of mine at the White House said Trump’s gonna be on the show.
└LOLOLOLOL
Netizens predicted that the program’s success would depend entirely on which idol teams were cast.
Debates raged over which teams would be ideal casting choices.
Some fans hoped their favourite idols would be selected, while others, aware of harsh editing in survival formats, hoped they wouldn’t appear at all.
Amid the flood of comments, the production team offered no clear answers.
Letting people speculate for as long as possible was a great promotional strategy.
Meanwhile, the idol groups who had already signed appearance contracts were having a pre-production meeting at the KBM station.
Seon-ho was in the same conference room at KBM where the High School in Melody script reading had been held.
Apparently, this was the largest conference room in the entire station.
It was rare for a variety show to hold a pre-production meeting in such a large space, but that was because the cast of Idol War was massive.
Three girl groups: Dream Girls, Black Label, and Ladies’ Day.
Three boy groups: A.S.A.P, Jesco, and Soul Mate.
And one co-ed group: Personal Color.
Seven idol groups in total.
38 members.
And with managers and broadcasting staff included, the total easily exceeded 50 people.
“Sorry I’m a bit late. It’s been a while since I directed a show, so I’ve been busy.”
As PD Nam Yunsoo entered with two women who appeared to be writers, the awkwardly seated idols all stood up at once.
With 38 singers rising in unison, it looked like a wave had just surged across the room.
“Wow, I figured it’d be a lot, but seeing you all together like this—yeah, it’s a crowd. No need to stand, sit down.”
PD Nam Yunsoo smiled warmly and motioned for everyone to take their seats.
The idols breathed a sigh of relief at his friendly demeanor.
A tough main PD could make filming hell, so this was a good sign.
But then, as they sat down, Nam Yunsoo muttered something that immediately tensed the room again.
“Shooting would be a lot easier if about half of you were eliminated.”
Just like he said—there were too many people here.
It’d be great to get attention early on, but that wasn’t likely.
At least three to four weeks would need to pass, and some teams would have to be cut before individuals could really shine.
Everyone silently hoped they wouldn’t be among the first to go.
“As I’m sure you’ve heard, the program’s launch was moved up by two weeks. That means you’ll have less than three weeks to prepare.”
“Yes, sir!”
The leader of Soul Mate responded loudly.
PD Nam Yunsoo nodded at him.
“Great energy. That’s Topaz Entertainment’s Soul Mate, right?”
“Yes! We’re Soul Mate!”
“I’ll remember that.”
The Soul Mate leader looked like a student who’d just earned “10 points to Gryffindor.”
But PD Nam Yunsoo wasn’t finished speaking.
“So it seems Soul Mate is happy about getting less prep time.”
“Uh… what?”
“I guess you don’t care about the program’s quality since that’s my job as the main director. You’re just here to gain popularity, huh?”
“N-No! That’s not what I meant!”
The Soul Mate leader’s face darkened. He now looked like a student who’d just been told “Gryffindor, minus 10 points!”
Soul Mate was the most recent debut among the seven teams.
They had little experience and even less composure.
To Seon-ho, watching from the back, it seemed clear that PD Nam Yunsoo had used Soul Mate as a convenient scapegoat to assert control over the atmosphere.
“I’m joking. Still, I do feel bad about the shortened prep time. I know how busy you all are.”
Originally, KBM had been desperate to prevent the affair scandal from breaking before the first Idol War shoot.
At the very least, Chicken Race needed to stay on air until Idol War began filming.
But because someone in the network couldn’t keep their mouth shut, the scandal broke earlier than planned.
And so, the Idol War production team was suddenly thrown into crisis mode.
“On the bright side, there’s some good news. Our program was originally an 8-week pilot, but now it’s been extended to 10 weeks.”
“10 weeks? Does that mean more performance rounds?”
“No. Including the team introduction where no one gets eliminated, there are still seven rounds in total.”
“Then what?”
“We’re thinking of turning the Week 1 team introduction mission into two weeks worth, and splitting the final stage into a first and second round.”
Producer Nam Yunsoo scanned the room as he spoke.
“You get what that means, right? The more airtime there is, the more time you get under the spotlight. Whether that’s a good thing… or a bad thing.”
At his words, the leader of Soul Mate swallowed hard.
“So, that means you’d better prepare well, right? It’ll be a bit hectic, but being busy is a good sign in this industry, isn’t it? Once you rest, you might end up resting forever.”
And with that, the real pre-production meeting began.
The pre-production meeting was a session where the program’s direction was explained to the participants.
Of course, the participants would each do their best from their respective positions, but knowing the big picture and not knowing it could make a big difference.
“We’ve got high expectations for Jesco. They’ve been around the longest, after all.”
Jesco, a highly skilled boy group, had been very difficult to cast, and they were the most popular team among the seven.
Maybe they were aware of that themselves—throughout the meeting, they seemed to look down on the other teams just a little.
“Oh, but of course we have high expectations for the other teams too. Dream Girls have been on fire lately, haven’t they?”
“Thank you!”
“Soul Mate may not have many fans, but it looks like you’ve built a solid fandom…”
“Th-thank you!”
After handing out praise here and there, Nam Yunsoo’s gaze turned to Personal Color.
“Oh, right. An Jia.”
“Yes?”
“My nephew is a huge fan of yours. Do you think you could sign something for him before you go?”
“Of course.”
“And also…”
Standing quietly behind Personal Color was Seon-ho.
Originally, it should’ve been Manager Kwon Hosan attending a meeting like this. But he had assigned all schedules related to Idol War to Han Seon-ho.
He had even said:
“I’m not the sharpest guy, and I’m not the kind who makes connections out of thin air.
“But the reason I’ve managed to survive in this business until now… is because I trusted my gut. No matter what anyone else said, I trusted my instincts.
“And right now, my gut’s telling me to trust you a bit more.”
Recalling Kwon Hosan’s words, Seon-ho suddenly looked up when he thought he heard his name.
Everyone was looking at him.
Nam Yunsoo spoke up.
“Excuse me, aren’t you Han Seon-ho?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was a little lost in thought. Yes, I’m Han Seon-ho.”
“You’re Personal Color’s manager, right? The one the CP mentioned?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Nam Yunsoo asked,
“Do you smoke?”
“I’m trying to quit, so I’ve been getting by with e-cigarettes.”
Thanks to advice from Team Leader Park Cha-myung, Seon-ho had bought an e-cigarette—which now seemed about to see its first use.
“Then how about we take a short break and have a smoke?”
As Nam Yunsoo stood up, a few idols shifted in their seats.
“Can we come too…”
The Soul Mate leader started to ask, but Nam Yunsoo shook his head.
“I have something important to discuss with Manager Han Seon-ho.”
As Nam Yunsoo disappeared with Seon-ho, the remaining singers and agency reps began whispering among themselves.
“What does the PD want to talk to the road manager about in private?”
“Road manager? Isn’t he a department head or team leader?”
“At that age? He looked really young.”
“So what? Director Yoo Ayeon isn’t even thirty yet, right?”
“Yeah, but she’s super famous. And I think she turns thirty this year anyway.”
“Well, he could still be a department head.”
“No way. The PD called him ‘manager.’ If he were a department head or team leader, he’d say so. Have you ever heard someone just say ‘manager’ if that’s not their actual title?”
“Hmm… fair point.”
“Maybe they’re close?”
While the male idols speculated about Seon-ho’s relationship with the PD, the female idols were murmuring about his looks.
“No way. That guy’s just a manager with that face?”
“Wow, Personal Color is so lucky.”
“Why?”
“Wouldn’t it be thrilling to be around a manager like that? If he came to wake you up in the morning, I don’t think I’d even be annoyed.”
“Thrilling, my ass. Would he even care after seeing your bare face?”
“Excuse me? Look who’s talking.”
While the singers gossiped, Seon-ho followed Nam Yunsoo into the smoking area.
He had no idea why Nam Yunsoo had called for him.
It was probably something related to the CP—or more precisely, something that Yoo Ayeon, who had spoken to the CP, had arranged.
Nam Yunsoo lit his cigarette and exhaled.
“Han Seon-ho.”
“Yes. Please go ahead.”
“Idol War is my comeback project. I couldn’t work on any programs for about three years due to personal circumstances.”
“I see.”
“But…”
His voice lowered.
“You’ve gone and stirred some shit, haven’t you?”
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