PD Na Young Suk Talks About Working With Lee Seung Gi Again On New Variety Show

On January 10, tvN’s new variety show “Friday Friday Night” (literal title) held a press conference with producing directors (PDs) Na Young Suk and Jang Eun Jung and writer Kim Dae Joo in attendance.

The cast of the new show features many stars that Na Young Suk has worked with in the past, such as WINNER’s Song Mino, SECHSKIES’s Eun Ji Won, Lee Seung Gi, and Lee Seo Jin. It has been five years since Lee Seung Gi has worked with Na Young Suk, after the first season of “New Journey to the West” in 2015, though the actor has spoken about wanting to work with the variety PD again.

At the press conference, Na Young Suk said, “We are trying something new, so there is a huge chance that things will not go well. There was a part of me that wanted to cast people I was friends with so that I might feel less apologetic. If I cast someone for the first time, and the project failed, how embarrassing would that be.”

Na Young Suk shared that Lee Seung Gi had warmly agreed to the casting offer despite his warning that it would be a risky move. “I told him that there was risk involved but he was cool about it and said, ‘Let’s work together again.'”

The PD added, “I needed someone who was sincere, and Lee Seung Gi came to mind. The whole nation knows who he is, and he is very earnest at heart. Whatever work he is given, you can be sure that he’ll show that he is doing it well.”

Na Young Suk also joked, “I thought that he would have changed a lot [in five years], but he was not able to meet my expectations.” More seriously, he continued, “We meet a lot off-camera, but on-camera he was the same as he was before. When I started filming with him again, I thought that the nickname we gave him on ‘2 Days & 1 Night’ was a good one. Even though it was 10 years ago, he is still the heodang [term referring to someone who is surprisingly clumsy despite their appearance] that he was before.”

He went on, “I still have the contract I made with Lee Seung Gi during ‘2 Days & 1 Night.’ That contract expires in February 2020. I gave Lee Seung Gi that contract and told him that we should work hard together until the end. But the truth is, that contract was about appearing on ‘2 Days & 1 Night,’ so it has no effect. It has no relation to this show, which carries a lot of risk, but Lee Seung Gi readily agreed to appear anyway. I am very grateful to him.”

“Friday Friday Night” premiered on January 10 at 9:10 p.m. KST. Check out a teaser here!

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Top Right Photo Credit: Xportsnews