Shin Hyo Jung PD from ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’, “Not Even YG Knew About the Kidnapping that Took Two Months’
[이데일리 스타in=김윤지 기자] Nobody knew it would get this big. It’s about tvN’s variety program, ‘New Journey to the West Spinoff – Youth Over Flowers WINNER’, which first premiered on November 7. ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’ started out from ‘New Journey to the West Season 4’, which ended in August. After the ‘Song-garak’ incident, producer Na Young-seok decided to grant each member’s wish. MINO offered ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’, with all members of WINNER taking part on the show. As the members have collected all the dragon balls, his wish has been granted.
It was an interesting start. The previous seasons of ‘Youth Over Flowers’ started out with a candid camera prank. The cast did not know they were actually on the show, and were ‘kidnapped’ by the production crew to get on the plane. It was different for WINNER. Not only members of WINNER, but also the fans waited for the production of ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’ to begin. It was like a tight tug-o-war between the production crew that had to fool WINNER and members of WINNER doubting the crew.
As the results turned out, the production crew won their victory. In the first episode which aired on November 7, members of WINNER were fooled as filming an automobile commercial, and had to depart to Western Australia wearing prison uniforms and carrying duty-free shopping bags. It was possible due to the assistance of YG personnel.
And at the center, there was co-director and producer Shin Hyo Jung. Producer Shin, who has been working non-stop for almost 2 years, created a new definition of ‘spinoff’ with ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’. On the phone, she stated, “I hope it was a long-lasting memory for members of WINNER”, and continued “I hope it’s also a joyful program for the viewers watching WINNER’s journey”.
―This candid camera prank’s results gained a lot of attention. Who came up with the main idea.
△ It was a collaborative effort. The assistance from the managers of WINNER was crucial. We were constantly contacting each other, to see whether members of WINNER were off-guard. The initial plan was like this. After the schedule, Na Young-seok producer gets behind the wheel to take them to the airport. We later found out that most people were expecting that. WINNER were actually nervous every time they finish their schedule. So, we got rid of that plan. According to the managers, since WINNER doesn’t have a lot of tv program or commercial shooting schedules, their excitement overrides their suspicion. That’s why we came up with an automobile commercial. It wasn’t easy fooling 4 people at the same time. We received a lot of help from YG Entertainment’s management team, commercial team, and stylists.
―Even YANG HYUN SUK didn’t know, as shown on the premier.
△ We had to even fool the managers except for the head managers. Every firm has a reporting structure, so they inevitably had to keep lying as well. They all say it was hard to lie when people around them are constantly asking when the filming starts. A lot of people knew at the day of departure.
―How long was the preparation.
△ About two months. We started the preparation as soon as we came back to Korea after filming ‘New Journey to the West 4’. Everyone had a hard time. We met the managers as soon as we arrived. What was portrayed on the airing is only a small part of it. We kept contacting each other to complement our plan, getting rid of and adding details.
―Which member of WINNER panicked the most at the scene?
△ MINO. He didn’t recognize producer Na Young-seok (Although they filmed ‘New Journey to the West’ twice). Other members reacted ‘Wow~’, but MINO was surprised later. HOONY was sitting next to MINO. He said he tilted his head for a while thinking ‘Isn’t that Na Young-seok PD’, since MINO was looking at him like a stranger. MINO had to listen to lies until the day before. We were discussing ‘Kang’s Kitchen’, and even had a meeting with the staff on ‘Kang’s Kitchen’ the day before. He unwillingly had to listen to the most lies.
2017. 11. 14.
