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| Singer Lee Hyo-ri, left, and her husband Lee Sang-soon, pose in this promotional photo for JTBC reality show "Hyori's Homestay" / Courtesy of JTBC |
By Park Jin-hai
JTBC's new reality show, "Hyori's Homestay," featuring Lee Hyo-ri of first generation K-pop girl group Fin.K.L., is enjoying great popularity.
The show, depicting the life of Lee and her musician husband Lee Sang-soon at their Jeju home after they opened it as a homestay for guests, was enough to spark public curiosity.
The 38-year-old singer and sexy icon of the early 2000s married indie band singer-songwriter Lee in 2013. Since then the couple moved to Jeju Island and took a four-year hiatus, although she posted updates to social media of her life with three dogs and a cat and practicing yoga.
Over 20,000 groups of people applied for the homestay experience with the celebrity in just one month. The show premiered on June 25 with a record viewership. The second episode, aired Sunday, topped six percent.
Critics say the show's popularity is attributed to singer Lee's star power. "She has always been a trend-setter. After being labeled a sexy icon, she showed her undemanding side as a big name superstar, which was received as cool in the media. Since then she has been constantly evolving, getting attention from the public," said culture critic Ha Jae-keun. "Her small wedding brought about the small wedding trend among celebrities, and now she is regarded as a social entertainer for her active social engagement. By leaving the busy Seoul and making Jeju Island her home, she also triggered the current YOLO (You Only Live Once) life trend."
In the first episode, the couple who wanted to live away from public eye, decided to open their home and said they were determined not to do anything and would help guests enjoy the "boringness of Jeju." The couple's life is super slow. They take walks on the beach, make tea and sing together. They practice yoga in their front yard. Before receiving guests, they say they wanted to learn how to get along with people who are not their friends.
The latest episode depicted the couple greeting five women in their 20s. Looking at the friends traveling together and constantly bursting into laughter, Lee recalled her past when she was their age. "When I was 25, I was lonely. I made a lot of money, but my only friends at the time were my manager and my stylist. I think I didn't open up," Lee said. "Looking at those girls, I felt pity for myself."
Culture critic Lee Seung-han says "Hyori's Homestay" shows that variety shows are changing from the "art of the cast," where the cast crew constructs something for viewers, to the "art of the director," which shows the unfiltered natural selves of the cast, and reinterprets and draws meaning afterwards. "Lee and her husband don't describe how beautiful the island is nor emphasize how their life has become rich there. Instead they show their natural everyday life and the director doesn't miss such scenes in front of the camera," he said.
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