Kim Min Ki Talks About Going From "Racket Boys" To Badminton Variety Show + Yoon Doojoon And Yoon Hyun Min Talk About Their Sports Records

Oct 07, 2021

On October 7, tvN’s new badminton variety show “Racket Boys” held a press conference with coach Lee Yong Dae and cast members Jang Sung Kyu, Yoon Hyun Min, Highlight’s Yoon Doojoon, Lee Chan Won, Kim Min Ki, Jeong Dong Won, and producing directors (PDs) Yang Jung Woo and Kim Se Hee.

“Racket Boys” is an upcoming variety show in which rookie badminton players are taught by various experts around the country in order to eventually enter a national competition.

Lee Yong Dae is a professional badminton player and the coach of the celebrity badminton team on the show. Former badminton athlete Jang Soo Young is also a coach on the show. Lee Yong Dae said, “Our athletes did well at the Tokyo Olympics, and through the drama ‘Racket Boys,’ there is a lot of interest in badminton among the general public now.”

(The SBS drama “Racket Boys” has a different title in Korean than the tvN variety show “Racket Boys.”)

Jang Soo Young said, “From an athlete’s perspective, it can be a bit disappointing that badminton isn’t a very popular sport. There aren’t a lot of chances to see it on TV, so I’m grateful that a variety show like this is being made. It’s hard for Korean people to move around often due to COVID-19, so I hope it can become a chance for people to come together and exercise.”

Kim Min Ki is a young actor who appeared in the SBS drama “Racket Boys” as a star youth badminton player. He said, “I worked hard to learn badminton over eight months for the drama. It was really fun, but after the drama ended, partly because of COVID, there weren’t a lot of chances to play anymore. I’m glad that I could get the chance to play again through this new variety show.”

Yoon Hyun Min, an actor who used to be a professional baseball player, said, “I’ve spent more time now as an actor than I ever did as a professional athlete. I don’t have the same body or physical instincts that I did before, but I think that my persistence and stubbornness are my strengths.”

Highlight’s Yoon Doojoon, who is known for his athletic skills, particularly in soccer, said, “I just like sports, I don’t have any particular strengths. But I am extremely competitive. I like ball games in general, so I’ve played most of them at least once, and it was easy for me to adjust.”

PD Kim Se Hee also revealed that the show had recruited actual cameras used in the Olympics to better recreate the active and dynamic feeling of watching professional sports. PD Yang Jung Woo said, “The thing that all the cast members have in common is that they’re extremely competitive. Sometimes they even forget they’re supposed to be on a variety show and get absorbed in the game like real players.”

Yoon Doojoon said, “You’ll be able to see the cool and sincere sides of the three people who couldn’t make it today. Yang Se Chan and [SEVENTEEN’s] Seungkwan in particular are known for their bright and positive energy. You’ll be able to see them taking part earnestly in ‘Racket Boys.'”

Apart from the two coaches, the “Racket Boys” lineup includes broadcasters Jang Sung Kyu and Yang Se Chan, fencer Oh Sang Wook, trot singers Lee Chan Won and Jeong Dong Won, actors Yoon Hyun Min and Kim Min Ki, and SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan and Highlight’s Yoon Doojoon.