Former KBS announcer Kim Hyun-wook revealed that he has ventured into several businesses after leaving KBS.
On the afternoon of the 2nd, the KBS2 entertainment program 'The Boss's Ears Are Donkey Ears' (hereinafter 'Sadangui') featured Eom Ji-in, Lee Soon-sil, and Jeong Ji-sun.
In this broadcast, Eom Ji-in, Kim Jin-woong, and Hong Joo-yeon appeared, sharing their concerns about declaring themselves freelancers with Kim Hyun-wook and announcer Kim Sun-geun, following last week's episode. Kim Hyun-wook said, "I chose Eom Ji-in. She fits perfectly with a mature image," sharing his connection with Eom Ji-in.
Eom Ji-in asked Kim Hyun-wook, "In the 26th class, I was a colleague with Manager Park Joo-ah. It's a case where a senior became an announcer very difficultly, right?" Hyun-wook replied, "At that time, the IMF hit, and the three terrestrial broadcasters weren't hiring. But I applied for a show host position and got it. While doing that, KBS and MBC had their last public recruitment that year. But Kim Sung-joo got selected."
He continued, "Kim Sung-joo was a strong candidate. He was almost the same height as me and had a better face! I thought, 'Let's just eliminate him.' When he introduced himself, he did it very steadily. I was doing impressions and changing my tone. But Kim Sung-joo showed a series of impressions in the final round. I had nothing more to show. That year, I got into KBS," explaining why he joined KBS.
He said, "Hyun-moo also took the third round interview at the training center. It was an interview while drunk. His true self came out. But Hyun-moo can't drink well. He got drunk and started acting up. Senior Seo Gi-cheol used to smoke a lot. Hyun-moo questioned him, 'What kind of announcer smokes that much? Don't you manage your voice?' Senior Seo Gi-cheol thought, 'This kid has some guts,'" revealing a past story about Jeon Hyun-moo.
Watching this, Jeon Hyun-moo laughed and said, "That's right. They looked at me favorably."
Later, Kim Hyun-wook shared, "There was a meeting with me, Jeon Hyun-moo, Jo Woo-jong, and Kim Gi-man. We had a 4-on-4 meeting at a pho restaurant." He revealed another past story, saying, "Jo Woo-jong and Kim Gi-man were quiet, sitting there trying to look serious, while we had to be funny, so a competition broke out. We were making jokes and it was chaotic. I thought it went well, but in the popularity vote, Jo Woo-jong got 3 votes for first place, Kim Gi-man got 1 vote for second place, and both me and Jeon Hyun-moo got 0 votes. We set the stage, but Jo Woo-jong took all the credit," reminiscing about a painful past.
Kim Jin-woong asked, "With what level of confidence did you declare yourself a freelancer?" Hyun-wook replied, "I was at KBS for 13 years, broadcasting every day. At my busiest, I did 5-6 broadcasts a day. After doing that every day, I went freelance and was forced to take a break for 6 months. I started to think, 'What if I get forgotten?' and it made me depressed. I thought I might go crazy. There were schedules that almost made me feel self-loathing."
He continued, "It was a year-end party for a singing class. I took out a tambourine and sang, and the ladies were so pleased that they gave me 50,000 won each. The moment I was about to accept it, I thought I should also receive tips," he said. He added, "I counted it? It was 800,000 won! Just in tips! Now I just want to go to the singing class," jokingly.
Kim Hyun-wook said, "After leaving, my attitude changed. When I was a KBS announcer, I would say 'Thank you for your hard work,' but now I say 'Can I have your business card...' and I developed a hungry mentality. There are also set phrases for invitations. What people do isn't a fixed price, right? I'll only cater to the chairman~ So if you pay me, I can host at a deserted graveyard," giving advice to juniors.
He also said, "As soon as I joined KBS, I made plans to go freelance. I decided I would leave within 10 years of joining. I wanted to leave for financial stability. I started with a PC room. My first year's salary as an announcer was less than 30 million won. But I made 8 million won a month from the PC room. I got greedy, sold the PC room to a friend, and started a large investment in a lamb intestines franchise. The rent on Seolleung Road was 6 million won, and the floor rights were 70 million won. But two months later, the mad cow disease broke out. Customers stopped coming overnight. I had to save the store, so I switched to pork belly. I lost 200 million won over two years. I closed that and decided to do the most popular business, so I started a home shopping all-purpose detergent. It became a hit," he recounted.
He continued, "But then the broadcasting completely stopped. There was a program called 'Consumer Report' that criticized all detergents. Our product didn't get aired. I should have closed that, but I went into social commerce. It was called Crazy Ticket! So I lost 200 million won. After that, I went into oil. Then I did coal. Then I started making bean sprout bulgogi and opened a specialized training institution for announcers," he added.
However, he said, "I invested 100 million won a year. The brother who first started the company took out a loan, and when I became the representative, I had to take that over. I'm still paying 1 million won in interest every month," surprising the panelists.
Jeon Hyun-moo expressed his frustration, saying, "Why is he like this? That guy got scammed in the utility pole waste business too. It's not just one or two times."
The second boss, Lee Soon-sil, appeared. Soon-sil said, "I have been active as a promotional ambassador for the Unification Echo Band for 8 years. I am hosting talks on stage," explaining why she visited the performance venue.
Soon-sil responded to the statement, "Anyone with money can release an album," saying, "No! It's because I have the skill," and chose Park Myung-soo's 'Prince of the Sea.' The director, who saw the chaotic performance, said, "You don't know the rhythm or the lyrics... If you were going to audition, you should have prepared properly... It's ridiculous to ask to be put on stage like this. What kind of formal performance is that!" expressing disbelief.
Park Myung-soo personally taught Soon-sil how to sing 'Prince of the Sea,' but as her skills did not improve at all, the panelists sighed. Soon-sil declared, "I'm going to go to Park Myung-soo's concert," to which Park Myung-soo replied, "No, I won't hold a concert," causing laughter.
The Lee Soon-sil team, which opened a 'Pyongyang Tea House,' made mixed coffee with salt. They then made North Korean-style cider and carbonated drinks with sugar and vinegar. The three also made puffed rice cakes with corn flour.
When Soon-sil found the audience eating snacks, she said, "This is all a bribe. You're only supporting me," asking for their support.
The third boss, Chef Jeong Ji-sun, appeared. He prepared food for a collaboration with Chef Kim Hee-eun to globalize Korean cuisine. Ji-sun said, "I have never collaborated with chefs from other fields. Each of us has been cooking for 20 years, so combining our efforts is not easy," expressing his burden.
At that moment, Chef Kim Hee-eun's husband, Chef Yoon Dae-hyun, appeared as a special judge. Seeing this, Jeong Ji-sun called out, "Representative!" to her husband Lee Yong-woo. Ji-sun expressed her worry, saying, "Even though my ally has come, why do I feel so anxious? I feel like he won't support me."
While the two chefs were making fried eggplant, her husband Yong-woo commented, "It would have been prettier if there were more primary colors," to which Jeong Ji-sun replied, "Those who don't cook should be quiet," revealing her discomfort.
Next, they combined Hongso-yuk and kimchi to cook, and Yoon Dae-hyun praised Jeong Ji-sun, saying, "If more than 70% of what you imagined comes out, you're a genius." On the other hand, Yong-woo teased Ji-sun, saying, "The details of Chinese and Korean cuisine are gradually differing."
When Ji-sun asked, "Can I use kimchi broth?" Yong-woo replied, "You used kimchi, and now you're using kimchi broth? No, that's the opposite," continuously attacking Ji-sun, making everyone laugh. When Kim Hee-eun suggested, "How about adding pine nut sauce?" Yong-woo said, "I agree! Don't add kimchi to something that already has kimchi," infuriating Ji-sun.
After tasting the fried eggplant dish, Yoon Dae-hyun said, "It seems like a highly completed dish. The ginseng is an amazing kick," praising it.
After tasting Jeong Ji-sun's Hongso-yuk kimchi dumplings, Yong-woo said, "If I say the kimchi is delicious, it really is delicious. But I think it would be better if the filling... was a bit more compact," only praising Chef Kim Hee-eun, which annoyed the panelists.
'Sadangui' can be seen every Sunday at 4:45 PM on KBS2.
[Seo Ye-ji, Star Today Guest Reporter]
