Korean Variety/Game & Talk Shows?

Do you watch any? Which ones? How much fun are they? I know they’re fun XD K-variety shows always end up being so entertaining for some reason.


I can’t do shows like Gag Concert; they’re silly in this weird way that I just don’t take to. Haha. I think one of the earliest Korean game shows I watched was Star Golden Bell w/ Kim Je-dong hosting and Nicole’s (formerly of KARA) Level With Me segment. That was a cute show, though I admit I mostly only watched when idols, singers or actors I recognized were main guests.

Shows like Running Man fall into the same category for me; I generally only care when I’m already a fan of the guests. Mmm, I can think of like Dream Team as being one of (possible only?) the shows I like to watch when the guests aren’t recognizable celebrities, but like athletes. But Dream Team is more of a competition show… Anyways.

And so, I like shows like 1N2D and Grandpas Over Flowers and the like. It’s very refreshing to see these famous people’s “real” personalities come out, and not surprisingly, I end up liking most of the people way more than before.

But I think I enjoy talk shows the most. Not really interview-style, but with large groups of people just sharing their opinions and stories. Like shows like 1N2D or Roommate, you get a look into the lives of these celebrities, even if it’s just only a small glimpse. But with talk shows (if they’re ones I like), I tune in for any guests and just enjoy.
I like Happy Together a lot. And I used to watch Strong Heart when it first came out.


Which totally brings me to why I made this topic.
I was thinking about Sung Shi-kyung on variety shows and remembering how much I liked him in 1N2D, as well as the rest of that cast. So then I went on a search for some more shows he’s in. And I came across a few recent/upcoming ones.

The one I started watching today is called “Abnormal Summit” (비정상회담), which is hosted by Jun Hyun-moo, Yoo Se-yoon, and Shi-kyung. It’s a talk show, where they’ve invited 11 guys, originally from other countries (starts w/ Ghana, Italy, Canada, Turkey, US, China, Japan, Australia, Belgium, France, UK), who have lived in Korea for a few years at least. They invite an additional guest each episode who brings in a topic and then everyone discusses for like an hour on the topic and various subtopics. The abnormal bit of the show’s name comes from the cast voting on whether the guest is “abormal,” once before their talks and again after.

I admit, I was very surprised at how fluent they all seem.
Anyway, I saw the first two episodes, which were pretty interesting. (First one ends on a very touching note.) I wouldn’t say their discussions are necessarily opinion-altering, but it’s cool to see the various opinions people carry with them. There are funny interjections and people’s reactions are entertaining, so it’s not a boring show.

Easy on the eyes and full of witty banter. What could go wrong?
No links, but I know the first three episodes have been subbed (they’ll come up in a search, videos were on Dailymotion last I saw).

Korean Variety shows are not really my thing. I watched a few Running Man eps, strong heart eps, gag concerts, superman returns and after school club but I don’t know. I don’t always get the sense of humor. Gag concert, running man and after school club are funny but to me the eps I saw of Strong Heart where not funny because they talked so mean about each other at times and made fun of it. But I think that’s also a culture thing. I still need to watch some eps of happy together and uhh how is it called “Cool Kids on the block”? with TVXQ’s Changmin.
Ohh and I tried Hello Baby but that got boring and We Got Married is funny too but somehow I do’t manage to keep up.

A little while ago I saw a gameshow on KBSWorld with Jay Park. It looked a bit like wipe out but I forgot the name, would like to see more of that. So in short I’m more for the game shows then talk shows and I like the music programs… saw most of Kpopstar season 1.

That sounds like Let’s Go Dream Team

My favorite variety show is A Song For You, I like the fact that international fans can send a message to their favorite groups and request a song or request them to play a game ^^

My favourite one is X-Man - an old korean variety show.
Hillarious - for me :smiley:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXwN07xqEew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODRICygF1OM

I watch a lot of Korean variety shows. Radio Star (sad dosn’t have english sub ) , Happy Together, 1N2D, Running man (i watch it less now, not so interesting anymore ), real man, Hello Counselor (only when they are interesting guests. ) But I have to say 1N2D is my favorite.

hello… keeping this post up xD and to add to the topic, ive never heard some of these! but i LOVE when i can see running man, dream team,i thought it did count, well… those are the only ones really along with weekly idol’s, and other’s like this, but i dont get to watch much since im always busy on kdramas xD or a group’s show like "so beast/ (was it? i forget the title) and things like this, and also We got married, which i am starting to see some of. happy together yes! i like that 1.

I started watching The Return of Superman this weekend. It’s about celebrity dads who have to spend a weekend(?) with their kids, without mom. It’s so cute, because well…kids are adorable. I’ve only seen the first few episodes, but Haru (Tablo’s daughter) is def. my favorite. Her and her obsession with fish XD

EDIT.
OMG, I picked up Shinhwa Broadcast again. Can’t stop laughing XDDD

Oh geez. I started watching a new game show :L

tvN has this show called “The Genius” currently on S3? It feels like Liar Game brought to life. There are dealers and the masked host. Players try and win each round or face the possibility of getting kicked out. It’s about strategy - mind your wits, but you have to have allies as well. Obviously, the stakes aren’t as high as going into life-ending debt, but it’s still an entertaining watch.

Wow season 3 already… I watched the first 2 seasons… not all of it though.

I am trying to watch more of them. I will say I do seem to watch if they have a guest I like on there. I have seen maybe a hand full of Running Man. It seems entertaining but again depends on the guest. Hello Baby I have seen older episodes again with the ‘parents’ being an artist/actor of interest. There are times where I shake my head but this is true outside of kdramas for me too. I tend to dislike ‘reality’ television unless it is House Hunters or something like that. I have to agree with @Dudie that sometimes I don’t tune in because sometimes the hosts seem to not treat the guests as well. Although, I don’t put all of them in this rule. I think I have to watch more before I can rule any of them out. Also, Strong Heart was hosted by Lee Dong Wook who is my fav actor so I would like to see these episodes. I am only interested in 1 couple for We Got Married from an earlier season… I find the concept of this show interesting since, there is a lot of feelings about idols personal lives. Ok, this response got kind of long… :smile: sorry about that. I just need to watch more of them to see if I have one I really like or if it is not for me unless of a person I find interesting.