Na In-woo, Yeon Jung-hoon, Jeon So-min And More: Why Are Actors Leaving Their Hit Variety Shows?
On June 13th, Yeon Jung-hoon and Na In-woo, key members of KBS 2TV’s flagship entertainment program “2 Days & 1 Night Season 4,” announced their departure one after another, drawing attention. In addition, producer Lee Jung-kyu will also leave the show.
The reason why Yeon Jung-hoon and Na In-woo announced their departure is to focus on preparing for a new acting work. The production team said, “We will continue to support Yeon Jung-hoon and Na In-woo’s next steps to recharge and prepare for their new work.”
In fact, in the case of actors as cast members in entertainment shows, many have considered to drop out. Actors who are main cast members of entertainment shows are loved by the public, but the more love they receive, the more they fall into an “variety image” dilemma, which can reduce the viewers’ focus on their dramas and films. Lee Si-eon, Lee Sang-yoon, Jeon So-min, and Um Hyun-kyung were also cast members of entertainment shows and were greatly loved, but chose to drop out.
In the case of SBS’ “Running Man,” Jeon So-min ‘s vacancy has not been filled so far. “We are continuously looking for a replacement for Jeon, regardless of gender, but it is not easy. We are looking for a member to be with us for a long time,” an official from the show told Xsports News. “We are trying to recruit a new member and testing.” Kang Hoon was the first to be introduced as a rental member of a Korean variety show. However, his rental period is four weeks, and the time for Kang Hoon to drop out is also approaching.
“2 Days & 1 Night” has marked the its 17th anniversary while “Running Man” 15th. In particular, “Running Man” has experienced the departure of actors such as Song Joong-ki and Lee Kwang-soo. With the vacancy of actor cast members in the long-lived entertainment programs in Korea, attention is being paid to what kind of breakthrough they will take.
