'Late Night Ghost Talk' seeks to break ground in cliche-ridden TV entertainment

By Lee Gyu-lee

MBC's new TV talk show “Late Night Ghost Talk” seeks to break ground in the uninspiring, cliche-ridden TV entertainment world.

For the show, viewers submit their scariest horror stories, which are told by the hosts, including comedians Kim Gu-ra and Kim Sook. The person who sent the story selected as most frightening wins a prize of 444,444 won ($391).

Since the pilot aired in January, it has been receiving praise for its refreshing format, especially from fans who are longing for horror-related content and who are tired of the same old shows.

“Horror stories make such a big impression in such a short time … It involves all sorts of human feelings,” the show's producer Im Chae-won said during an online press conference for the show, Thursday.

“Of our emotions, fear brings out our nature the most. But, there are no shows with such content, so I thought we would have the upper hand if we aim for that uncharted area with the show.”

Adding that the producer hopes to target a younger audience, he said: “Nowadays many people consider territorial broadcasters (KBS, MBC and SBS) old media, but I think this show will serve the needs of younger viewers.”

Kim Sook expressed excitement over the decision to air the show regularly.

“I didn't expect the show to get picked up as a regular. I wondered if people would like it at first but I started to feel that it was creating a buzz,” she said. “Since there aren't any shows that deal with horror, I think a lot of people have been really craving a show like this.”

The regular series has a few changes from the pilot episodes, with Kim Gu-ra replacing Shin Dong-yup as the main host and the addition of Kim Ho-sung as co-producer.

The co-producers have reunited after working together on the investigative journalism show “PD Note.” The two noted that they will use their experiences from the previous show to address topical social issues in this series.

“The people who fall victim in horror stories are always the underprivileged ones,” producer Im said. “If social conditions stay the same, such stories will repeat themselves. So I hope this show could provide viewers a closer look at our society through horror stories.”

Kim Ho-sung added he joined the show as he hopes to “weave in social messages.”

He also said the staff have a thorough selection process for the stories to reach wider audiences. Over 20 people rate each story sent in by viewers and experts are consulted to decide which stories to show.

“How people feel fear varies depending on their background. So we run the story by different people to review and rate the stories,” Im said.

“Late Night Ghost Talk” will air Thursdays at 10:30 p.m.