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The cast of "Halbae (grandpas) Over Flowers" pose for a photo during their backpack trip to Spain. From left are Lee Seo-jin, Lee Sun-jae, Shin Gu, Baek Il-sup and Park Geun-hyung. / Courtesy of CJ E&M |
Producer Nah talks about new season of "Halbae (grandpas) Over Flowers"
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Nah Yung-suk, Korea's most influential television show creator, has been milking the same template for repeated success: Take a group of likable but bumbling personalities, throw them in random travel destinations and wait for humorous adventures to unfold.
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| Producer Nah Yung-suk smiles during an interview with The Korea Times. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young |
After leaving KBS for tvN, a cable network run by culture industry giant CJ E&M, Nah created a similar show in "Halbae (grandpas) Over Flowers," where a group of over-70 actors join Lee Seo-jin, a 42-year-old television star who works as their "porter," on trips around the world.
"Halbae" enjoyed immediate success since the show's debut in 2013 and inspired CJ E&M to make a spin-off in "Noona (older sisters) Over Flowers," which is basically the same show done with middle-aged actresses.
There is something transcendent about the simple and unpolished humor of Nah's shows that allowed tvN to leverage their domestic popularity into international success.
"Noona" has been generating a buzz in Japan since debuting on local television last month. A Chinese broadcaster is in intellectual property talks with CJ as it looks to launch its own show that borrows Nah's format.
The Korea Times recently sat down with Nah, who has high expectations for the third season of Halbae which starts on Friday, where Lee and the senior actors — Lee Sun-jae (79), Shin Gu (78), Park Geun-hyung (74) and Baek Il-sup (70) — roam around different locations in Spain.
Q: Why do you think the Halbae and Noona shows are so popular, not only in Korea, but also overseas?
A: I think travel is a universal theme of interest. You don't need to speak the language of the show as the thrill and joy of traveling require no explanation.
I think people are also finding the cast members — senior actors and high profile actresses — as interesting.
Q: What inspired you to experiment with a traveling show starring senior actors?
A: Initially, I was just trying to make a show about backpacking. Backpack trips are activities that are normally associated with young people. A young cast would have made the show predictable.
I thought there would be much fun in sending famous people in their 70s on backpack trips — who are from a generation that didn't do those things — and I am happy about how the show turned out.
The thinking between Noona was similar — get a group of top actresses who are normally treated like princesses and flush them out of their comfort zone.
Q: So, who are next after old men and actresses?
A: We're exploring a number of ideas. If we make a program with young people, I guess the traveling may have to be a little more "hardcore."
Q: In Halbae, you show no interest in making accommodation and other experiences more comfortable for the senior cast.
A: In my experience, comfortable trips are only delightful in that moment. Laborious trips are painful at that moment but memorable afterwards. It's like how men keep talking about their experience in the military although it was painful.
I thought having such memory wouldn't be a bad idea from travelling. It's strenuous for the elderly but they talk about it gleefully afterwards.
Q: How did you pick the cast?
A: For Halbae, I wanted the members to be close friends, a group of old actors who have worked together for a long time. And they had to be at least over 70.
For Noona, I was looking for actresses who were transcendent personalities and also over 40. I wanted people who were wise, experienced and had great life stories to tell.
Q: What's special about the third series in Spain? Any key viewing points?
A: The first two episodes of the new season created interesting moments of clumsiness, which came from unfamiliarity with the environment. The grandpas must have come with self-confidence and ease this time. But we installed some hard core elements that they didn't expect coming. You'll see.
Q: Has health ever been an issue for cast members?
A: When we started filming the third season, Lee Sun-jae, 79, was sick. He had flu but he refused to rest. The staff told him to stay home but he didn't. He said, "I don't know when I'll come back. I don't know if I'll be able to come back." Hearing that was moving.
Old people value their time more than young people do. Every second, every minute meant so much more to Lee.
Q: How do you select your travel destinations?
A: For the Halbae series, the first priority was to choose a place the members would like. Second was to choose a place Korean backpackers prefer and go often.
For the Noona series, we chose Croatia. Croatia isn't a place many Korean backpackers go. But it's a country of stunning natural beauty and I was sure that the female members would love it.
Q: Do you receive help from tourism offices of those countries?
A: Case by case. If we receive help from the tourism office, we can get administrative support like getting permission to shoot at a popular film set.
But it has its downsides too. Our program is a reality show. We can't decide on where to go in advance.
Sometimes the routes change as we go but tourism offices don't like that. We would have to cater to their needs if we receive complete help. So we only ask for partial help.
Q: So then everything is decided spontaneously?
A: We have the general idea of where to go when we start. For instance, the older cast members exchange their opinions on where they want to go and Lee Seo-jin gathers the information and comes up with the rough list. Then the rest we revise as we go.
We just decide on the big cities and then make small changes within. So the backbone is there but everything else is spontaneous.
Q: Do the cast receive help from local guides?
A: Only the staff does. We have a professional guide always next to us. So when the cast members come up with a route, the guide tells us if it's a place of danger or risk. If we think it's necessary to tell the cast, we do so they can change the route; otherwise we leave it to their choice.
It's because if the guide is involved, people tend to depend on the professional. That's why people going on package tours don't think because they don't have to. They leave it to the guide and don't speak out their opinions.
If our cast has a guide next to them, they wouldn't study because they don't have to. So they can't contact with a guide, only we can.
Q: For seven years since the start of "2 Days and 1 Night," you continuously worked on travel reality programs. Is there a reason you chose to produce travel-related shows?
A: I don't consider myself a hardcore traveler. But Koreans like traveling a lot. Even when the economy is doing badly, Koreans would travel overseas. Hotels, airlines are always fully booked. And as a producer, I have to make programs of subjects people like.
People like travel but can't always go travelling unless they're a travel reporter. Ordinary people would go once a year during their vacation and the rest of the time they get vicarious satisfaction from watching others travel.
Q: What's your definition of travel?
A: My definition of a good trip is one where you leave with a very loose plan, expecting coincidence on the way. That's how I travel and how I produce my shows.
We live in a world full of information so we can set up our plans with a click even without going there. It's a matter of style, but I think differently.
I think when we travel, we expect something fun to happen to us, or wish for something to happen. But if we go with everything planned, there's no room for that to happen. There's no reason for you to take the wrong bus or get lost.
It's not the type of trip I prefer. If I get lost and end up in a different place, I think I've received a present. Some people may think they've wasted their time, but I think it's an unexpected gift. So I plan very loosely and let things happen on the way.
Q: What's the greatest thing about doing travel shows?
A: I like the experience of interacting with different people and filming the chemistry between people in unfamiliar settings.
When I film, I'm interested in how people connect, how they mingle, how they eat and sleep. Someone would complain their leg hurts and suggest taking a bus. Others would want to walk. They communicate and agree what they should do as a group. I love this process.
My interest isn't to just point to the Eiffel Tower and film it. I really believe that the focus should be on the journey, not the destination.
