“Isn’t This Taking a Shot at ‘I Live Alone’?” Reactions to ‘Chungju Man’s’ Improvised-Trip Video

[Financial News] YouTuber Kim Seon-tae, known as “Chungju Man” and a former Chungju City official, released a video centered on an improvised trip. As it coincided with controversy over MBC’s entertainment show “I Live Alone” and its spontaneous-trip episode, online users reacted that the timing was remarkably apt.

On the 4th, Kim Seon-tae uploaded a video titled “Promoting an Improvised Trip” to his YouTube channel.
In the video, Kim Seon-tae began his improvised trip at a city-bus terminal in Chungju. He said, “It’s 6 a.m. right now, so I’m going to randomly take any city bus and ride it all the way to its final stop.”
Among the several buses preparing for their first runs of the day, Kim Seon-tae chose a route whose final stop was Bangdae.
Kim Seon-tae also explained why he chose Bangdae Village. “I remember Bangdae Village because it is in Sancheok-myeon, where I was assigned,” he said. “Officials at township offices each have villages assigned to them. Sancheok-myeon has 26 villages, and officials are assigned three or four villages each.”
However, he said he had not chosen the destination in advance. “I ended up taking a trip to one of the villages assigned to me, but I didn’t plan it. It was a coincidence,” Kim Seon-tae emphasized.
After getting off the bus in Bangdae, Kim Seon-tae walked to Jeongam Village. He introduced it as “a beautiful village surrounded by mountains, with Chungjuho nearby, making it feel as if a Taoist immortal might appear.” He then viewed Chungjuho from the village pavilion and rode a fishing boat along the riverside to look around the fishing grounds.
Kim Seon-tae later took another bus to Sancheok-myeon. At a restaurant in front of the township office, he ate gondre rice and other dishes.

In response, viewers connected the video to the recent controversy surrounding “I Live Alone.” Comments included, “Isn’t this taking a shot at ‘I Live Alone’?” “Is the ‘I Live Alone’ production team watching this?” “It feels like he’s showing us what a spontaneous trip really is,” and “Whether intentional or not, the timing is incredible.”

Earlier, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)’s “I Live Alone” faced allegations of fabrication over Jun Hyun-moo’s recent spontaneous-trip episode in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The production team explained that day, “The ‘spontaneous trip’ described in the broadcast referred to Jun Hyun-moo deciding on the destination and leaving on the day of the trip without choosing the destination or booking a flight in advance.” It added, “For the program, the production team reviewed flights and filming conditions in advance in preparation for the possibility of filming overseas.”
The production team said it believed Jun Hyun-moo was likely to choose Kazakhstan. It therefore booked staff flights in advance and requested cooperation for local filming so that production could begin immediately if the trip to Kazakhstan was confirmed.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter