Kwanghee's big challenge goes on
ZE:A member Kwanghee, second from right, poses with the members of MBC’s “Infinite Challenge.” From left are Jung Jun-ha, HaHa, Yoo Jae-suk, Park Myung-soo, Kwangee and Jung Hyung-don. / Courtesy of MBC
By Kwon Ji-youn
ZE:A member Kwanghee made his first official appearance on MBC reality show “Infinite Challenge” Saturday amid worries he would not sufficiently answer to the needs of 10-year fans who have watched and waited as members came and went.
And while most viewers and the media seem generally satisfied with his first attempt, others cannot help but wonder whether Kwanghee fit the “sixth man” glove, or the glove just happened to fit Kwanghee.
When it became known Kwanghee would become the sixth man, the show’s fans greeted his big challenge with petitions for his removal, cyber attacks and a tremendous amount of pressure. They found fault with his characteristic laugh, impoliteness and flighty attitude, and claimed he did not fit the requirements of such a coveted spot. The departures of the show’s former sixth men had been controversial and disappointing, so fans were perhaps more rigid in their evaluation of Kwanghee’s potential.
The episode that aired Saturday featured the six members going back to the basics to put Kwanghee to the ultimate Infinite Challenge test. This included slapstick humor, embarrassing costumes and a candid camera event staged by the five original members, Yu Jae-seok, Park Myung-soo, Jung Jun-ha, Jung Hyung-don, and HaHa.
The candid camera event in particular seemed to help viewers warm up to Kwanghee, whose eyes glistened with tears as a one-man protest was staged at the show’s opening. It was clear he had spent nights agonizing over the public’s disapproval of his appearance on Infinite Challenge.
Others seemed to think no other entertainer would be able to do as well under such pressure to level with veterans like Yoo and Park. Polite entertainers wouldn’t survive, they claim.
But having been selected from an eight-person pool of candidates for the sixth man position, Kwanghee will have to cut loose in upcoming episodes requisitions that any of the other seven would have shined in such a well-received reality show.
Without a doubt, Kwanghee’s first appearance was not an utter failure. He showed potential, and didn’t look awkward or uncomfortable. The original members seemed to welcome his energy, and the production crew, his prowess. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.
But Infinite Challenge has received unconditional support from fans who have watched it since it first aired in 2006. When the show’s production crew said it would begin a search for a sixth member, it may have known in some measure that the selected entertainer would only need to add his spoon to an already-set table.
Kwanghee may either have become a fruitful addition, or he may have met expectations because there hadn’t been any. This remains to be seen.