LTA KPOP 2 EP 9: Top 10 MBC Shows

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio network companies. Munhwa is Korean word for culture. Established on December 2, 1961, MBC is a Korean terrestrial broadcaster which has a nationwide network of 17 regional stations.

In today list, I am telling you about my favorite variety shows that have came out from MBC. There was a lot to choose from but I pick out my favorite one to watch, the ones I kept up with every week and ones I really miss. Let's get started.


1. We Got Married

We Got Married is a reality variety show aired from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and complete various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and inspired several spin-offs, including a 'global edition' of the show that featured non-Korean celebrities. Couples are constantly being added to the show as couples are leaving the show throughout all four season.

The show's pilot episode was aired as a Korean New Year special. In the episode, four arranged celebrity couples had to prepare dinner with a fixed amount of money.

In season one, with a new format and lightly different couples, newlyweds are given a mission to complete each week. As during the special pilot episode, interviewed participants provide a unique perspective on the ongoing relationship conflicts and developments. All of the recorded material is played in front of the participants, MCs and audience who add commentary or clarification. Beginning with a Lunar New Year's Special in 2009 with three new couples, a new format is introduced into the show. Each couple is given a concept to portray; for example, a college couple living with a limited income.

In season two, as of May 2009, the producers announced another change in the format with all four couples departing, cutting down to just one couple and shortening the show to just sixty minutes. The show will now portray a more realistic side to what a marriage is, instead of  'the painted image of marriage based on romance.' For the first time, a real couple is cast in the show. Guest celebrities are invited to be show's commentators for each episode so that they can share their opinions on marriage on behalf of their age group. However, due to low ratings, the show returned to its old format with the addition of a make-believe couple in August 2009. For the Chuseok special, two new couples were added. The episode achieved the highest rating in season two and one of the couple were announced to be a permanent couple on the show.

Season three officially begins on April 9th with two additional couples upon the departure of one of the couple from season two, as well as a new format. Park Hwi Sun and K.Will were added for season three to the cast as MCs. On May 14, 2012, the show was temporarily cancelled, due to the long running MBC strike and was replaced by reruns and other special programs. The program resumed on June 16, 2012.

Season four started with the a new couple add. Season four continued the story of couples from season three. This was the last season for this show currently.

2. Real Man

Real Man is a variety show featuring male and female celebrities as they experience life in the military, which is mandatory for all mentally sound and able-bodied Korean men for two years. Each set of celebrities group that joined the show were different. There were some celebrities that was a fixed cast member but they were joined by guest celebrities too. The female celebrities had their own set group that constantly changes in each edition. The show debuted on April 14, 2013 and the last episode of season two aired on November 27, 2016. There is a spin-off of this program called Real Man 300 that air on September 21, 2018.  The Real Man 300 contains both female and male celebrities.

3. Infinite Challenge

Infinite Challenge is a variety show that has kept the same scheduled time since the first airing in 2005. As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its time slot; with 13 to 17 percent of Korean television viewers watching it Saturday night making it the most-watched free-to-air television program and most viewed non-drama program in South Korea every week. Infinite Challenge has been called 'the nation's variety show' and 'Korea's real first variety' for having been successful for over ten years. In March 2018, it has been announced that, following the departure of lead producer Kim Tae Ho, all current members have stepped down from the show, bringing the program to an end. The last episode was aired on March 31, 2018. The program is largely unscripted, filmed in almost secrecy and followed a similar format of challenge-based reality television programs. The challenges are often absurd or impossible to achieve, so the program takes on the satirical comedy aspect of a variety show rather than a standard reality or competition program. There is four seasons with a total of 563 episodes and three special episodes.

4. King of Mask Singer

The King of Mask Singer is a singing competition program with a total of 226 episodes including the pilot, special lives and special episodes currently. Each competition lasts two episodes, with the singers competing one-on-one in three elimination rounds. They are given elaborate masks which are made by a designer to wear in order to conceal their identity, thus removing factors such as popularity, career and age that could lead to prejudiced voting. In the first round, both contestants sing the same song, while in the second and third round, they each sing a solo song. The winners of each pair are selected by the audience and panel of celebrities through instant live votes. The identities of the singers are not revealed until they have been eliminated. The winner of the third round challenges the previous competition's Mask King, and is either eliminated or becomes the new Mask King.

5. Weekly Idol

Weekly Idol is a variety show that debuted in 2011 and currently airs Wednesday. It is one of the longest running variety shows to air on satellite TV in South Korea. The show was hosted during its first season by comedian Jeong Hyeong Don and rapper Defconn. On February 22, 2018, MBC Every1 announced that both hosts would be stepping down from the show. Former Roo'ra members Lee Sang Min and comedians Yoo Se Yoon and Kim Shin Young have been selected as the new host of  the show for a second season that debuted on April 11, 2018. On November 21, 2018, it was announced that all three hosts will be departing the show in January 2019 and well as the current producers and crew and an expected restructuring of the program. On December 18, 2018, it was announced that the new hosts for the third season of the show are comedians Nam Chang Hee and Jo Se Ho and Hwang Kwang Hee of ZE:A. The third season began on January 9, 2019. This program also started some very famous and popular segments like Random Play Dance, 2X Speed Dance and Magic Choreography.

6. Unexpected Q

Unexpected Q took over the time slot of Infinite Challenge starring Lee Soo Geun and Jun Hyun Moo as hosts and Eun Ji Won of Sechs Kies, Yoo Se Yoon and Seungkwan of Seventeen as permanent cast members. They were also joined by The Koxx, Duetto and The East Light as question panels. The show ended after only twenty-five episodes. The show went through a couple of format changes. The first format change was change to team battle consisting of two people in each team. The second format change was the the permanent cast and guests were divided into Team Soo Geun or Team Hyun Moo. The first segment of the show were guessing song titles from emojis and the second segment consisted of naming songs from a remix song singed from the question panels.

7. I Live Alone

I Live Alone is also known as Home Alone. I Live Alone is recognized as one of the 'Real-Variety' shows in Korean television. The program is unscripted using documentary techniques with variety show elements which follows the format of mother reality television programs such as Infinite Challenge. Every Friday night, this program plays footage from selected Rainbow Club members' everyday lives, both in and out of their homes. As proclaimed on its official homepage, there are about five million singles in South Korea and about one-third of South Korean entertainers are not in a relationship. This program shows viewers how single celebrities live and has attained great popularity due to the reliability of the single lifestyles of various celebrities which are shown without significant filtering.

8. Radio Star

Radio Star is a talk show hosted by Kim Gook Jin, Yoon Jong Shin, Kim Gu Ra and Ahn Young Mi. The first episode aired on May 30, 2007. Each episode guest celebrities are invite according to the theme of the episode and they talk about each guest. Some of the former host includes Shindong, Kim Hee Chul and Cho Kyu Hyun of Super Junior, Cha Tae Hyun, Yoo Se Yoon and Shin Jung Hwan. Kim Gu Ra did leave his position for a period of time before coming back on the show.

9. Show! Music Core

Show! Music Core is a music television program that airs live every Saturday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. It began airing on October 29, 2005 after a brief hiatus after Live Music Camp was cancel. Show! Music Core was known for its special production and stages after removing the charts and awards. On March 11, 2013, they announced they would return their chart system after seven years without the segment. The ranking system was reinstalled on April 20, 2013. They announced that their chart system would be removed once again on November 21, 2015. On April 5, 2017, MBC announced that they would, yet again, return to their chart ranking system. The current host for the show as of July 25, 2019 are Mina of Gugudan, Chani of SF9, and Hyunjin of Stray Kids.

10. Idol Star Athletics Championship

Idol Star Athletics Championship first aired in 2010 features celebrities most notably Korean pop idol singers and groups which compete in multi-sport events. There is over hundreds of celebrities participating in this events. Fans are allowed at the venue were they cheer on their favorite artists during the event. Sports on the show includes: long jump, high jump, swimming 50m freestyle, hurdles, relay walks, aerobic gymnastics, archery, basketball, bowling, curling, fencing, football (soccer), footvolley, rhythmic gymnastics, ssireum (Korean wrestling), table tennis, and ten-pin bowling.

(Credits: All images are from their Wikipedia page. I do not own anything rights to the image.)