[Sportschosun reporter Lee Woo-joo] Broadcaster Jun Hyun-moo has been caught up in rumors that 'I Live Alone' was staged, and an acquaintance stepped in to defend his sincerity.
On the 25th, Jun Hyun-moo's acquaintance A shared several videos on his account, saying, "The start of Jun Hyun-moo's spontaneous travel!! These are the real videos that inspired the Kazakhstan episode of 'I Live Alone.'"
The released footage shows Jun Hyun-moo and A meeting at the airport, deciding on a destination on the spot, and leaving right away. In the process, Jun Hyun-moo also asked an airline counter about destinations he could fly to on available dates, just as he did on 'I Live Alone.'
A explained, "Go to the airport and the airline desk to get a ticket that fits the schedule. (Not in the car. It has to be done at the airport for the thrill. If it fails, then it fails.) But we failed at the desk. We were just about to give up. Still, we started looking for tickets online while eating at the airport. We found the perfect destination on a ticket booking site. Luckily, we had no luggage." He added, "There weren't even two seats available, so we took different flights and left at different times. We flew for four hours and arrived an hour earlier!!! My brother arrived an hour later. We ate at an outdoor restaurant next to the hotel, slept for four hours, then started roaming around right away. We came back to Korea 24 hours later!!" He revealed the 'spontaneous travel' course he took with Jun Hyun-moo. Jun Hyun-moo also responded to the video with a 'like.'
The video A shared shows that Jun Hyun-moo had been taking this kind of impromptu trip in real life even before the broadcast. However, the footage does not fully settle the latest staging allegations surrounding 'I Live Alone.' Whether Jun Hyun-moo genuinely enjoyed spontaneous travel in the past and whether the trip shown on the program was also arranged spontaneously are separate issues.
In the MBC entertainment program 'I Live Alone,' which aired on the 14th and 21st, Jun Hyun-moo was shown squeezing out time for a 29-hour spontaneous trip to Kazakhstan. Known for enjoying 'spontaneous travel' without planning and deciding on a destination at the airport, he again chose a destination at the airport and bought a plane ticket on the spot before heading to Kazakhstan. After booking a rental car and accommodation immediately after purchasing the ticket, Jun Hyun-moo made the most of Almaty, Kazakhstan, despite the time pressure.
However, criticism emerged that his spontaneous-travel concept was exaggerated, as he was able to pick up a rental car with ease even though the process normally requires complicated procedures, and everything went smoothly despite the trip involving the entire staff moving together. On the 21st, the official Almaty City page on the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan's website stated that filming for the MBC entertainment program 'I Live Alone' was carried out with support from the Department of Tourism of Almaty City, further fueling the staging controversy.
But on the 25th, the 'I Live Alone' team denied the allegations. It said, "Jun Hyun-moo's trip to Kazakhstan was exactly as shown on the broadcast. Right before departing for Kazakhstan, he submitted the international driver's license and passport required by the local rental car company at the airport and rented the vehicle." It added, "We did not receive any filming support or sponsorship for this trip to Kazakhstan."
wjlee@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
