PD Yang Hyuk revealed the reason he took on the direction of ‘The Danttara’.
KBS2's entertainment show ‘The Danttara’, which started airing on the 3rd of last month, is a project to find a versatile performer who can sing, dance, act, and entertain. It is a variety audition program presented by the original Danttara, Park Jin-young, in collaboration with KBS. This unprecedented all-rounder audition aims to discover and nurture ‘Danttara’ with star potential across genres such as comedy, acting, singing, dancing, traditional music, and trot.
The main figures from ‘Golden Girls’, which featured singers like Insooni, Shin Hyo-bum, Park Mi-kyung, and Lee Eun-mi, all of whom are well over fifty, have teamed up again: Master Park Jin-young, PD Yang Hyuk, and writer Choi Moon-kyung. Actors Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Ha-neul, as well as Red Velvet's Wendy, are also participating as masters.
In a recent interview with Maeil Business Star Today, PD Yang Hyuk stated, “I had no reason not to do it. After ‘Golden Girls’, I was preparing for another entertainment show when Park Jin-young suggested we do an audition program together. He is a great producer and artist, and I enjoyed working with him on ‘Golden Girls’, so I naturally wanted to collaborate again,” explaining the motivation behind starting ‘The Danttara’.
He also mentioned, “It was a big challenge for both me and Park Jin-young since it was our first time doing an audition. Fortunately, ‘The Danttara’ is currently ranked third in advertising viewership ratings following KBS’s ‘1 Night 2 Days’ and ‘Family Outing’. The ratings have not dropped and have maintained similar figures. Once someone watches our program, they tend to watch it until the end, so we are thinking about how to make people want to watch it at least once,” he said.
Regarding viewer reactions, he said, “I find it fascinating and interesting that some people say ‘The Danttara’ is fun while others feel like they are watching a school performance. There are parts where evaluations of singing or acting can be divided, and viewer reactions are extremely polarized. We captured the growth of ordinary people going through auditions. There are those who find that aspect enjoyable and supportive, while others express disappointment,” he explained.
He added, “I always communicate with the teachers from ‘Golden Girls’, and Insooni sent a coffee truck to the ‘The Danttara’ filming site to show her support. She also watches ‘The Danttara’ every week. She is the master outside of ‘The Danttara’ TV,” he hinted.
‘The Danttara’ is an audition program that seeks to find Danttara, not just singers.
Park Jin-young, who has been involved in audition programs like ‘K-Pop Star’, previously stated, “There were many times when I had to eliminate friends who I really liked and thought would become stars because they couldn’t sing well. However, having good skills doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a star. That was a bit frustrating,” and added, “This time, I wanted to find friends who are intriguing. I wanted to see people who make you curious about whatever they do.”
PD Yang Hyuk also emphasized that ‘The Danttara’ is “a program that seeks to find national Danttara across various genres,” stating, “I believe that the lives of the participants are embedded in audition programs, and I wanted to capture the journey of discovering their potential while looking into those lives.”
He continued, “We decided on our direction by thinking about how to showcase and nurture the participants' potential. Master Park Jin-young, writer Choi Moon-kyung, and I have meetings until 4 AM. We also continuously exchange messages. We are also contemplating what new aspects of the participants we can showcase,” he added.
‘The Danttara’ airs every Sunday at 9:20 PM.
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
