PD Kim Myung-yeop, ‘Choi Woo-su-san’ to continue for 7 more episodes

PD Kim Myung-yeop's new variety show 'Choi-u-su-san' (The Best Mountain) is climbing another mountain. Featuring Yoo Se-yoon, Jang Dong-min, Heo Kyung-hwan, Boom, and Yang Se-hyeong, the program has confirmed a 7-episode extension after completing its first journey and will resume broadcasting on Sunday, June 28, at 6 PM after a reorganization period. Looking strictly at the numbers, the start was not entirely smooth. However, the reason MBC decided to push forward with this program rather than canceling it is clear: the scenes of five veteran entertainers clashing physically to create laughter showed a type of fun that has become increasingly rare in modern variety shows.

Five People Who Went to the Mountains from an Awards Ceremony

The starting point of 'Choi-u-su-san' is the lineup for the Best Male Entertainer award at the 2025 MBC Entertainment Awards. Yoo Se-yoon, who won the Best Entertainer award, joins forces with Jang Dong-min, Boom, and Yang Se-hyeong—who competed for the same title—along with Heo Kyung-hwan to perform missions in the mountains. The rules are simple: complete missions on mountain trails, collect acorns, and head toward the summit. The person with the most acorns becomes the 'Best Performer.' While the premise sounds light, the actual reality is far from a comfortable talk show. Being deployed to the mountains in formal suits, amidst pull-ups, running, quizzes, and physical struggles, the cast's wit and physical stamina are tested simultaneously.

At the production press conference, PD Kim stated, "While looking for something new to do with veterans who have a combined 100 years of experience, our meetings kept going 'off the rails' (going to the mountain). So, we ended up actually going to a mountain." This single sentence contains both the strength and the risk of the program. Rather than the freshness of new faces, 'Choi-u-su-san' draws its fun from throwing people who have been making people laugh for a long time into an unfamiliar environment. Yoo Se-yoon's playfulness, Jang Dong-min's aggressive wit, Boom's hosting instincts, Yang Se-hyeong's quick reflexes, and Heo Kyung-hwan's physical sense push and pull each other in the uncomfortable space of the mountain trails. If they sync well, it produces raw and vivid laughter, but if they lose control, it could result in nothing but suffering.

What the 7-Episode Extension Reveals About the Next Task

The first major journey was the ascent of Cheonwangbong Peak on Jirisan Mountain. Forty-five people, including the cast and staff, reached the summit at 1,915 meters above sea level, and 4.5 million won was donated for forest fire damage restoration projects. Instead of simply ending with "it was hard," connecting the completion of the climb with a donation changed the impression of the program. Although it is a variety show centered on slapstick, mockery, and competition, it left a lingering feeling that the cast and production team moved in the same direction at the end. This point became the justification for the extension.

However, an extension does not immediately mean success. 'Choi-u-su-san' is positioned in a challenging time slot: Sunday at 6 PM. It is a time when family viewers are still watching, and it must compete with long-running variety shows that have held their ground for a long time. Therefore, what is important in the next seven episodes is not how much more ruggedly they climb the mountains. It is about designing different reasons for the cast to struggle each episode and ensuring that the acorn competition does not look like a mere penalty game. For PD Kim's explanation that "hiking is just an excuse" to gain persuasiveness, the people must be shown before the mountains.

MBC's weekend variety lineup is held up by long-established brands like Friday's 'I Live Alone' and Saturday's 'Hangout with Yoo.' 'Choi-u-su-san' is a new card aiming for the Sunday slot in that flow. This is also the point to check in the upcoming broadcast on June 28: it is not whether the five entertainers climb the mountain again, but whether this combination can be funny even in places that are not mountains.