[Sportschosun Kim Jun-seok] A video posted on social media by a friend who had backed broadcaster Jun Hyun-moo's 'spontaneous trip' style has suddenly been deleted, drawing attention.
Meanwhile, the production team of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)'s 'I Live Alone' has added that it received filming cooperation from the Almaty Tourism Bureau, unlike its earlier explanation, and the controversy is continuing.
As of the 31st, a video recently uploaded to social media by Jun Hyun-moo's acquaintance, identified as A, showing a spur-of-the-moment airport trip with Jun Hyun-moo, has been deleted.
A had previously revealed the process of taking a spontaneous trip with Jun Hyun-moo in the past, writing, "You probably watched this time's Kazakhstan episode of 'I Live Alone,' but we often do 'Jun Hyun-moo-style spontaneous trips' like this," along with the video.
The video showed Jun Hyun-moo, carrying only his passport and a light bag, going to the airport with a friend and looking for a destination to leave for that day.
Jun Hyun-moo reportedly asked an airline employee, "Give me any flight that leaves now and can get me back by 3 p.m. on Monday," but could not secure a ticket. He later found a destination through a flight booking website and departed.
A also explained, "You can't do it in the car. It has to be done at the airport to make it thrilling. If it fails, then it fails," adding that the two could not get seats and ended up departing on different flights.
The post drew attention as an example of Jun Hyun-moo enjoying trips in which he decides on a destination on the spot at the airport, just as he has shown on 'I Live Alone.'
However, as of the 31st, the post has been deleted. Another post about a spontaneous trip to Namhae County with Jun Hyun-moo remains online.
The post that directly mentioned the Kazakhstan episode of 'I Live Alone' and showed the airport-based spontaneous travel method has been removed, and the reason has not been disclosed.
Amid this, the production team of 'I Live Alone' also released an additional statement regarding the Kazakhstan shoot.
On the 31st, the team said on the official website, "We did not receive any financial sponsorship or production cost support from the Almaty Tourism Bureau," but added, "The program proceeded smoothly thanks to administrative procedures needed for local filming and filming cooperation for on-site production."
This differs from the explanation it gave on the 25th and from the way it described 'filming support.' At the time, the team had said, "We did not receive any filming support or sponsorship related to this Kazakhstan trip."
This time, however, instead of using the term 'filming support,' it specified that no financial sponsorship or production cost support was received, while also revealing that it had received administrative and on-site filming cooperation from the Almaty Tourism Bureau.
Earlier, on episodes of 'I Live Alone' aired on the 14th and 21st, Jun Hyun-moo showed himself heading to the airport without deciding on a destination in advance, then choosing Almaty, Kazakhstan, and setting off on a 29-hour spontaneous trip.
After the broadcast, some raised suspicions, pointing to the fact that several staff members accompanied the overseas shoot and that there were procedures for using a local rental car, questioning whether he had really chosen the destination that day with no preparation at all. The controversy grew further after information surfaced on an official Almaty page on the Kazakhstan government website indicating that the filming had been carried out with support from local tourism authorities.
At the time, the production team explained, "Jun Hyun-moo's trip to Kazakhstan was exactly as shown on the broadcast."
The fact that the Tourism Bureau cooperated with the filming does not by itself prove that Jun Hyun-moo knew in advance he was going to Kazakhstan or that the airport destination-selection scene was staged.
However, the production team did not separately explain when it began discussing the filming with the Tourism Bureau or when Jun Hyun-moo learned of the destination.
As the acquaintance's post, which had shown Jun Hyun-moo's usual spontaneous travel style and directly mentioned 'I Live Alone,' was deleted, and the production team's explanation about filming support also changed, the controversy over the so-called 'unplanned trip' continues.
narusi@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
