Shin Hyo Jung PD from ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’, “MINO is Very Considerate, I Found His New Attraction” (Interview)
[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”.
―How was MINO like in ‘Youth Over Flowers’.
△ He was the youngest in ‘New Journey to the West’. In ‘Youth Over Flowers WINNER’, his mature side stood out. MINO knows all the staff from ‘New Journey to the West’ spinoffs. When he’s with staff he knows well, the members might feel left out, so he took care of the members first. For his friends, he always remained a step back. Of course, he still has that ‘Song Mojiri’ character. He still dances sometimes in excitement. But at the same time, he always asked his members for opinions to make a ‘trip with the members’ rather than a ‘trip for myself’. He always put the members in the center. I saw his mature side.
―You met the other members for the first time. How was JINU.
△ He’s the eldest but sometimes he’s like a younger brother, and he was like an older brother one can depend on. Members of WINNER have some difference in age, but they are like friends at the same age when you look at them closely. All the members have unique personalities. There has to be arguments or conflicts, but they get along harmoniously, thanks to JINU. He treats his members like friends without authority. MINO is called ‘Song Mojiri’ in ‘New Journey to the West’, but JINU is no less. (Laughter) MINO worried he might lose his character. JINU said he’s a ‘Natural Born Mojiri’, so it’s not a made-up character. He’s also very bright and innocent. He doesn’t have the pretension that ‘idols should look cool’. He looks stylish, but has a ‘boy from an island’ vibe. The production crew opened up to JINU very quickly. I get why the younger members like JINU.
―What’s HOONY’s charm.
△ He’s a good cook. I heard he often cooks for the members. I thought he just cooks for survival. They ate a lot at the accommodation while traveling Australia to save food expenses, and HOONY cooked the most. He didn’t learn the recipes or anything, he just saw them from a program or social media, but strangely it tastes good. The plating’s also pretty if he does it right. That’s why all the members come to find HOONY around mealtime to tell him what they want to eat. He’s the reason why members of WINNER didn’t have to starve during their journey. HOONY himself thinks ‘What should we eat’ when it’s around mealtime. He’s also good at finding great restaurants as he thinks every meal should be great. It’s better than the places found by staff during the exploration. We even came up with a formula, ‘restaurant chosen by trusted HOONY’. Later, even the production crew ate in restaurants recommended by HOONY.
―Leader YOON was very impressive calmly looking after the members.
△ He’s the youngest in age. He was chosen as the general affairs manager and navigator. I feel this a lot when I’m editing, it’s really rare to spot all members of WINNER at the same place. They’re all scattered somewhere else. You don’t know where they might bounce off to. YOON made a good example of himself as he has responsibilities as a leader. The members don’t have a good sense of direction, so YOON managed the progress from the beginning. As a crew member, I hoped YOON would enjoy the trip rather than be caught up with responsibilities. As time went by, YOON was able to enjoy the journey as the roles were naturally allocated among members. If you think about a show, there has to be a strong-minded person for some incident to happen. There aren’t any members like that in WINNER. They were all happy to be traveling, and were excited about small things. I believe that’s WINNER’s charm.
2017. 11. 14.
