[Sportschosun Kim Jun-seok] The production team of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)’s "I Live Alone" has issued another statement over the controversy surrounding Jun Hyun-moo’s so-called "unplanned trip" to Kazakhstan.
The team again denied receiving any financial sponsorship or production funding, but officially confirmed that it had received administrative support and filming cooperation from the Almaty Tourism Authority for on-site shooting.
As a result, questions are likely to continue over how far the show’s much-emphasized "spontaneous, unplanned trip" was actually spontaneous.
On the 31st, the production team of MBC’s "I Live Alone" posted a statement on the program’s official website regarding the Kazakhstan episode.
The team said, "The Kazakhstan episode did not receive any financial sponsorship or production funding from the Almaty Tourism Authority."
It added, "We also received the administrative procedures needed for local filming and filming cooperation required for on-site production, allowing the shoot to proceed smoothly."
The latest statement has drawn attention because the broadcast portrayed Jun Hyun-moo’s trip to Kazakhstan as a completely "unplanned trip."
In the episode, Jun Hyun-moo headed to the airport without choosing a destination in advance, and the show depicted him deciding where to go on the spot. The process of checking flights and choosing Almaty as his destination was also used as a key part of the program’s entertainment.
That led some viewers to question whether an overseas shoot could really happen without any preparation. Since the production involved multiple staff members, along with procedures such as local car rentals and filming permits, some argued that there must have been advance planning despite what was shown on air.
The controversy took on a new dimension after the production team directly stated that it had received "administrative procedures needed for local filming" and "filming cooperation required for on-site production" from the Almaty Tourism Authority.
However, the fact that the team received cooperation from the tourism authority does not by itself prove that Jun Hyun-moo knew the destination before departure or that the airport scenes were staged.
Still, it appears that some level of advance communication and preparation with the tourism authority took place for filming in Almaty. From viewers’ perspective, that only deepens the question of how far the show’s emphasized "unplanned trip" actually went.
Earlier, when the controversy first emerged, the team had explained that it did not receive any financial production support or sponsorship for the Kazakhstan shoot.
Even so, the criticism did not subside. A comment on Jun Hyun-moo’s social media said, in effect, that viewers had thought it was a spontaneous trip and felt encouraged to try one themselves, only to feel deceived after learning it was thoroughly planned. Hundreds of users agreed with the remark, and questions about the show’s "spontaneity" continued.
Against that backdrop, the production team issued another statement on its official website, clarifying not only the absence of financial support but also the filming cooperation it received from the tourism authority.
In the end, the focus of the controversy appears to be shifting from whether sponsorship was received to how unplanned the show’s "unplanned trip" really was.
In its latest statement, the team still did not explain when Jun Hyun-moo first learned about the Kazakhstan trip, when discussions with the Almaty Tourism Authority began, or whether the airport scenes of choosing a destination and checking flights were real.
With the team now saying there was no financial sponsorship or production funding, but that there was administrative and filming cooperation from the tourism authority, attention is turning to whether viewers’ questions about the gap between the broadcast’s "unplanned trip" narrative and the actual production process will be resolved.
narusi@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
