[Sportschosun reporter Jo Yoon-sun] Kim Sae-rom opened up about an experience that left her intimidated during her past appearance on 'World Changing Quiz Show,' expressing her belated regret.
The September 30 episode of Radio Star on Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) featured Kim Sae-rom, Park Mi-sun, Kim Jung-nan and Kim Soo-mi in a special titled 'I'll Be the Cool Older Sister—Who Wants to Be the Younger One?'
Kim Sae-rom looked back on her past variety show career and shared her regrets. She said, "I went through the notorious 2000s variety shows 'Strong Heart,' 'World Changing Quiz Show' and 'Star King,' but the one that intimidated and challenged me the most was actually 'World Changing Quiz Show.'"
She continued, "I tried my hardest, but 'World Changing Quiz Show' felt like receiving a report card at every taping. If you did well, you stayed in the front row; if you did poorly, you were pushed back to the next row. Then you would think, 'I must not have done well last week.'"
Kim Sae-rom confessed, "'World Changing Quiz Show' was so hardcore that it was the kind of program where you were expected to immediately show a special talent if someone prodded you. Even genuinely talented comedians found it difficult, but I was someone who only struck poses and walked the runway every day, so I had no special talent to show."
After hearing this, Kim Gu-ra asked, "Which was harder, 'World Changing Quiz Show' or boxing with Jo Hye-ryun?" Kim Sae-rom chose 'World Changing Quiz Show' without a moment's hesitation. She explained, "Boxing was better because I could at least step into the ring—and get some screen time—but on 'World Changing Quiz Show,' I might not even get to step into the ring."
Park Mi-sun, who was one of the hosts of 'World Changing Quiz Show' at the time, expressed sympathy, saying, "I feel bad for no reason."
Kim Sae-rom recalled, "What I regret most is that the senior female cast members were harsh back then. There were a lot of cutting ad-libs, such as, 'Sae-rom must have smoked in the bathroom and just come out.'" She added, "Those were a kind of signal the senior women were sending to give me screen time, but I was intimidated at the time, so I would get pushed back to the next row at the following taping."
She added, "If I had hit back more forcefully then, I would have been sitting in the front row. I'm only now looking back and analyzing it."
Kim Gu-ra expressed understanding, saying, "Kim Sae-rom was in her early 20s at the time, so it couldn't have been easy." Yoo Se-yoon also agreed, saying, "Everyone knew that anyone who managed to pull off anything could become a star, so it was a highly tense stage for everyone."
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
