“Electricity service may not have been applied for” ... A KEPCO employee weighs in on Kim Min’s generator-powered life on ‘I Live Alone’

[Financial News] MBC’s I Live Alone has continued to face allegations that actor Kim Min’s life in an old house in Dongducheon was staged. The controversy grew further after an online user who identified themself as a field employee of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) analyzed the home’s electrical setup.

On the 2nd, Kim Min showed viewers on I Live Alone how he lives in a roughly 90-year-old house in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

On the show, Kim Min used a generator to produce electricity and applied cement himself to a cracked floor. He also showed himself grilling meat over a wood fire, doing carpentry and practicing martial arts.

After the broadcast, questions arose online about whether the house was really where he lived. Some online community users compared the broadcast footage with a road-view image marked as having been taken last July, claiming that the overgrown yard appeared tidier in the broadcast and that some structures also looked different. This led to suspicions that the space might have been specially prepared ahead of filming.

The generator scene drew the most questions. Some viewers said it seemed odd that Kim Min was using a generator despite the utility poles and wires visible around the house. Others pointed out that there were appliances such as a refrigerator and speakers, as well as objects that looked like a router or set-top box, and argued that the house might actually have electricity service.

A further analysis was posted in the comments on a related video by an online user who said they worked in the field for KEPCO. Citing the broadcast footage, the user explained that the service line supplying electricity to the house and the meter box were still there, but that no electricity meter was visible inside the box.

The user said the previous occupant may have terminated the electricity service contract after leaving the house empty for a long period, and that the meter may have been removed in the process. Under that explanation, the house could receive electricity again if someone applied for service, but it might currently have no contract, leaving Kim Min to use a generator whenever he needs power.

Opinions online were divided. Some said they could understand viewers’ suspicions that the variety show might be staged, while others suggested that someone who only uses a house temporarily when returning to Korea after staying abroad might not keep an electricity service contract. Some also said it was excessive to scrutinize the electricity meter after already checking road-view images.

Meanwhile, the producers of I Live Alone said that nothing about Kim Min’s life in the old house had been specially arranged or staged for filming.

The production team told Ilgan Sports on the 7th, “Just as it was shown on the broadcast, this is a home where Kim Min actually lives. The production team did absolutely nothing to fix it up separately for filming or to stage any situation,” adding, “The generator is also genuinely used because the house does not have electricity supplied to it to begin with.”

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter