[WhatIS] “I won’t be cool with the end of ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’”… Finally concluded amid ‘abolition controversy’

‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ ended after 1 year and 6 months. After the news of the abolition was announced, some viewers spoke out against the abolition, causing controversy over the abolition, so attention was focused on the last broadcast. The members of ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ celebrated ‘Chuseok’ in advance and gave their final greetings to viewers.

In the 70th and final episode of ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ (directed by Park In-seok), which aired on the 18th, a ‘Chuseok Special’ was aired depicting the members who celebrated Chuseok early. Kim Sook and Hong Jin-kyung asked the production team to keep them busy without any time to catch their breath. At first glance, when there is a break, the sadness of the ending makes you cry. In response, Jo Se-ho brightened the mood by saying, “Let’s have fun today and say hello with a smile at the end.”

The second mission was a holiday nagging game called ‘Conveyor Belt to Indangsu’ where you had to listen to the affectionate nagging of your family to win the game. During this process, Jo Se-ho’s mother said to the members, “I want to say thank you to the entire Hong Kim Dong-jeon team,”and “It was my favorite program, but I’m so sad, and if I get a chance later, I want to buy something to eat.””Thanks to you, I was happy and had fun,” he said, making everyone cry.

At the end of the broadcast, the final greetings of the members of ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ were delivered. Jang Wooyoung said, “I am very grateful to the people who watched. “Thanks to my older sister and older brother, I was able to do my best and be happy,” he said. “If I get the chance, I would like to say hello again.” “I will work hard at my job and become even more crazy and talented while waiting,” he said. Joo Woo-jae said, “Now that this moment has come, I can’t be cool. I feel very sorry. I feel like I had a very interesting dream for a year and a half. “Someday, I will have the same dream again, so I will wait for that time.”

Jo Se-ho said, “A fan cafe was created while doing ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’. “It was a new experience,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, but it has come to a small end.” I think there will come a day where the production crew and we can laugh and record together. “I am truly grateful for the support and love,” he said.

Hong Jin-kyung said, “‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ has a deep and deep lingering feeling of futility and regret at the strange disappearance. “It wasn’t that long, but it seems like the members have formed a strong bond with each other,” he said. “Although ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ is over, the members will continue their relationship with each other. “I hope you remember and support us anytime, anywhere.” Kim Sook was so overcome with tears that she could not continue speaking. Kim Sook, who gathered her emotions, said, “It is a program with a mixture of emotions. He said, “I think this relationship will last until the end because we are friends who spent time together in difficult times, to the point that I have three dependable younger brothers and a younger sister.”

Finally, the members of ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ followed Joo Woo-jae’s singing and shouted, “Well done ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’.”

Hong Kim Dongjeon’ is a variety program based on the concept of blood, sweat and tears, where fate is changed by Mr. Hong and Mr. Kim’s coin. After taking its first step in July 2022, it struggled to reach a viewership rating of around 1% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide standard), but a fandom was formed as word of mouth spread through online communities and SNS. Fan clubs and fan cafes were formed, and fans actively expressed their opinions by volunteering to save the program through truck advertisements. Eventually, petitions related to ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ continued on the viewer bulletin board, ranging from posts opposing the end of the show to requests for season 2.

As the controversy over the abolition continued, KBS at the time said about the reason for the abolition of ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’, “In order for this program to reach more viewers beyond just enthusiastic viewers, we have adjusted the broadcast programming time and made many re-runs over the past year and a half. We have conducted programming and special programming, and have made various efforts to expand the viewership, including program promotion, by reflecting the performance of multi-platforms, including the OTT platform. However, despite these efforts, ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ unfortunately had difficulty creating a wide viewership,” he said. “For this reason, KBS had already internally considered ending the program in April of last year.”

He added, “We would like to inform you that the decision to abolish ‘Hong Kim Dong-jeon’ is the result of a comprehensive judgment of various factors, including not only viewership ratings but also the corporation’s financial situation, which has become difficult due to separate collection of license fees.”

Reporter Yoo Ji-hee yjhh@edaily.co.krㅅ