Stars of Korea's beloved 'Infinite Challenge' reveal panic, sleepless nights behind the laughs

By Xportsnews

• Published Sep 12, 2026 12:00 AM KST

MBC's "Infinite Challenge" was one of South Korea's most beloved variety shows, making viewers laugh week after week during its long run. But years after the show ended, several of its best-known cast members are revealing the intense psychological pressure they endured behind the scenes.

Haha recently said the stress of filming the hit program became so severe that, looking back, he believes he was experiencing panic disorder. His account follows similar revelations from former castmates Jung Hyung-don and Jung Joon-ha, who have spoken about anxiety, sleepless nights and the emotional toll of trying to deliver laughs every week.

Appearing on KBS 2TV's "Boss in the Mirror" on Sept. 6, Haha was asked by comedian Park Young-jin how he had managed to survive for so long in weekend variety television.

"Popularity isn't something I can decide. Viewers' reactions are what matter," Haha said.

He then recalled the anxiety he felt ahead of the weekly "Infinite Challenge" shoots.

"We filmed every Thursday, but because of the pressure, my heart would start pounding from Tuesday evening," he said.

"Looking back now, I think I was having panic disorder," he said. "Whenever we finished filming 'Infinite Challenge' on Thursday, I would always drink. Yoo Jae-suk was really worried about me."

Haha said Yoo, one of Korea's most prominent television personalities and the longtime host of "Infinite Challenge," played a crucial role in helping him through the difficult period.

Asked how he overcame his struggles, Haha said he was fortunate to have good people around him, describing Yoo as being "like a strict mother."

According to Haha, Yoo pushed him to keep working rather than withdraw because he was struggling.

"If you don't do anything, nothing will happen," Haha recalled Yoo telling him. "You have to do something before people can either criticize you or help you. You have to figure it out for yourself."

"From then on, I pulled myself together and worked like crazy," Haha said. "He came to my house all the time. Having a good senior colleague is really important. The same goes for Park Myung-soo."

Jung Hyung-don: ‘For almost six months, I wasn't myself’

Haha was not the only "Infinite Challenge" cast member to struggle with the pressure surrounding the show.

Jung Hyung-don suffered severe anxiety during the program's peak years and suspended his entertainment activities in 2015 because of health issues including an anxiety disorder, eventually leaving "Infinite Challenge."

Appearing on the YouTube channel Hawasoo in June, Jung recalled the difficult six months that followed his departure.

He said he did not watch the show at all after leaving.

"I don't know whether I deliberately avoided it or psychologically couldn't watch it, but for almost six months after I quit, I wasn't myself," Jung said.

He said he withdrew from his usual surroundings and spent time in a remote part of Australia, even changing his phone number.

"'Infinite Challenge' was the hardest part of my life, but it was also one of the brightest and most beautiful parts," he said.

Jung had previously discussed the anxiety behind his departure in a 2024 appearance on psychiatrist Oh Eun-young's YouTube channel.

"I received far more love than my abilities deserved," Jung said. "So I had this anxiety that if people found out I wasn't really that good, I would disappear."

When Oh said receiving more love must therefore have made things harder for him, Jung said the attention turned into a sense of obligation to keep proving himself.

"Being loved translated into a responsibility that I had to do something," he said. "And if I didn't do well, it ultimately became, 'Then I'll become someone nobody needs.'"

Jung Joon-ha: ‘By Wednesday, I couldn't sleep’

Jung Joon-ha has also described living through a weekly cycle of elation and anxiety during his years on "Infinite Challenge."

Appearing on the YouTube channel “Alddaldalhan Chamgyeon” in August, Jung said a successful shoot could determine his mood for the entire week.

"If I did really well on Thursday, I'd be so happy for the whole week," he said. "But at some point, if things went wrong just once, I'd start feeling depressed from the weekend."

He said he would deliberately go out for dinner with his parents to avoid watching the broadcast.

But as the next shoot approached, the anxiety would return.

"Starting Monday, my heart would pound, and by Wednesday I couldn't sleep," Jung said. "Then if I messed up again, the whole thing would repeat. I lived like this for 13 years."

"Infinite Challenge," which ended in 2018 after more than a decade on television, became a landmark of Korean variety entertainment and turned its regular cast into household names.

Years later, the cast members' accounts are revealing another side of that success: behind the weekly laughter was the relentless pressure to keep being funny.

This article from Xportsnews was adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.