A Variety Show Writer Reveals In Depth Details About Korean Variety Shows, As Well As Her Job As A Writer

Variety programs are one of the most interesting aspects of Korean entertainment aside from K-Pop and K-Dramas. They are different in that they are meant to provide humorous entertainment, as well as being able to see what some Korean celebrities’ “real” personalities are like.

Way, a former member of Crayon Pop, interviewed a writer for variety shows on her YouTube channel WayLand. The writer’s name is Yoo Hee Na and she answered some questions about her job, as well as questions about variety shows that viewers may be curious about.

1. Are variety shows scripted?

Yoo Hee Na discusses whether variety shows are scripted or not. The process of a variety show can differ, but a lot of times, the writers already have a plan about how the program will flow and how it should end.

Despite having an initial plan, the writers usually allow the guests or participants to choose how they want to execute the plan that the writers thought of, it doesn’t have to be super strict.

2. Seating arrangements for K-Pop groups

Some K-Pop groups have a lot of members, so some fans may be curious if there is some sort of seating arrangments for members when they go on variety shows. Usually, the member with the most variety show experience, or the one viewed as the funniest, is the member that sits in the front.

3. Earnings as a writer

Earnings can differ greatly depending on experience, as well as the number of programs a writer works for. Yoo Hee Na initially began her writing career 10 years ago and made around $1,200 a month.

Now, she now has multiple years of experience and a program pays her $5,000 a month.

4. The time she cried

One time, there was a special guest for one of the programs that Yoo Hee Na was working for, where the guest was hard to cast. The shoot was going great, but halfway through, the guest just decided to leave because they had another schedule to go to. Yoo Hee Na was the only person to witness this, so she tried convincing the guest to stay. The guest refused multiple times, so Yoo Hee Na begged them not to go and grabbed onto their leg. The guest shook her off and still left for their schedule.

5. Dating

Since the environment of a variety program is very social and easy to build intimate relationships, it’s easy for people to start dating, even K-Pop idols.

6. Funniest K-Pop idols

Yoo Hee Na shares that there are lots of idols she’s worked with that were very humorous, some that came to mind immediately were Seungkwan (SEVENTEEN), Hyeri (Girl’s Day), Heechul (Super Junior), and Kyuhyun (Super Junior).

Here is the full video below!