[Sportschosun Reporter Park A-ram] Comedian Lee Seon-min revealed the secret behind his green eyes.
The MBC variety show "What Are You Doing When You Play?" aired on July 11 and was produced by Kim Jin-yong, Lee Joo-won, Kim Ki-ho, Ahn Ji-seon, Bang Seong-soo, and Park Eun-jin, with writing by Noh Min-seon. The episode, titled "The Money War in Gumi," followed Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Heo Kyung-hwan, Joo Woo-jae, Yang Sang-guk, and Lee Seon-min as they visited Lee Seon-min's hometown of Gumi in Gyeongsangbuk-do.
The show's household rating in the Seoul metropolitan area rose to 4.5 percent, ranking No. 1 among Saturday variety programs and in its time slot. Its key 20-49 rating, a major indicator of channel competitiveness that reflects changes in media consumption, came in at 2.7 percent, also taking first place among Saturday variety shows and in the same time slot. The highest-rated minute, peaking at 5.8 percent, was the scene in which the cast visited Lee Seon-min's family home and met his parents. (Based on Nielsen Korea's Seoul metropolitan area data)
Back in his hometown, Lee Seon-min confidently said, "I ate about half of this place," but he was quickly humbled once he stepped out onto the street. Local residents in Gumi ignored Lee Seon-min and rushed toward Yoo Jae-suk instead. In the crowd, Lee Seon-min even introduced himself by saying, "I'm Seon-min," only to hear, "Huh? Who are you?" which drew laughter. After confirming the cold local reception, Lee Seon-min headed to Geumosan, one of Gumi's landmarks, hoping to restore his pride.
A coin-toss event then took place at a wish spot on Geumosan. Yoo Jae-suk made a lavish, no-holds-barred wish, saying, "Please make everyone in Gumi happy and rich," prompting the others to tease him, calling it a "trillion-won wish." Yoo Jae-suk, who was effectively holding the fate of Gumi's 400,000 residents in his hands, fortunately succeeded on his coin toss. By contrast, Haha, who had wished for a ratings jackpot and failed, tried two more times but still missed, drawing boos. Seeing this, Yoo Jae-suk tossed a coin casually from far away and still made it. He later scored again while walking, proving once more that he is a miracle man who succeeds at everything he does.
Lee Seon-min then led the members to show them a waterfall and cave on Geumosan, but complaints poured in as they had to hike in dress shoes. The waterfall and cave, after the difficult climb, turned out to be rather small, so Lee Seon-min tried to make up for it by taking the members to his family home.
At Lee Seon-min's family home, which they had visited unexpectedly, the members decided to pass around a "loyalty envelope" to raise pocket money for his parents. As an unexpected "money war" broke out, Joo Woo-jae looked embarrassed and pulled out a 1 million won cashier's check, saying that was all the cash he had on him. Yoo Jae-suk then suggested, "Let's give them this and pool our money to pay Joo Woo-jae back." Under growing pressure to keep contributing pocket money, Joo Woo-jae made the bold decision to pay the largest amount in one shot, but he looked anxious that the members might not repay him.
Lee Seon-min drew attention for his striking resemblance to his father and three older sisters. The members were amazed as they saw photos of his look-alike sisters, and Lee Seon-min proudly said he inherited his mysterious green eyes from his father. Photos of Lee Seon-min, who had already looked unusually old for his age since middle school, were also revealed. His mother praised Heo Kyung-hwan's youthful appearance, but when her son asked, "What about me?" she could only smile awkwardly, earning laughs for her inability to lie. When asked to rank her son's looks, she said, "Just above last place," subtly putting Yang Sang-guk in last and sending everyone into laughter.
With a warm and unusually non-competitive "money war" atmosphere in place, the members headed to their final dinner location. There, Lee Seon-min's three older sisters showed up. The members could not hide their surprise at how much the sisters, whom they had only seen in photos, looked exactly like Lee Seon-min, saying, "Anyone can tell they're Seon-min's sisters" and "I thought Seon-min was walking toward us."
tokkig@sportschosun.com
