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A scene from MBC’s \u2033The Secret Friends Club,\u2033 produced by Kim Tae-ho [MBC]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0 Producer Kim Tae-ho, who is behind the latest MBC reality show \u2033The Secret Friends Club\u2033 [MBC]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite its star-studded cast, the show\u2019s first three episodes \u2014 featuring the initial lineup \u2014 drew a relatively lukewarm response. Viewership ratings declined from 2.1 percent to 1.6 percent and then to 1.3 percent, according to Nielsen Korea. A scene from MBC’s \u2033The Secret Friends Club,\u2033 produced by Kim Tae-ho [MBC]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0 Scenes from MBC’s \u2033The Secret Friends Club,\u2033 produced by Kim Tae-ho [MBC]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0 BY KIM JI-YE [[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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In an era when gifts are often reduced to a few taps on KakaoTalk \u2014 Korea\u2019s most used messenger app \u2014 MBC\u2019s latest reality show, \u201cThe Secret Friends Club,\u201d created by star producer Kim Tae-ho, turns its focus back to what it means to give a gift. The producer revealed that the heartfelt concept traces back to a resonant comment by Blackpink\u2019s Jennie.
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\u201cLast August, Jennie told us she wanted to create content that could feel like a gift to viewers and fans during the year-end holiday season,\u201d said Kim during a roundtable interview at his production company TEO in western Seoul on Friday. \u201cWe were especially drawn to the word \u2018gift\u2019 and that idea eventually led us to the concept of our show.\u201d
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He added that the program also stems from his own self-reflection, as he often struggled with not knowing what to give the people he cares about most.
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\u201cWhile working on \u2018The Secret Friends Club,\u2019 even though the stars start off not knowing much about each other, the idea that \u2018I have to give a gift to someone\u2019 led them to research and learn about that person. In doing so, they sometimes came to understand them even more deeply than those who had known them for years.\u201d
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First released on Feb. 1, \u201cThe Secret Friends Club\u201d centers around a group of celebrities becoming each other\u2019s Secret Santa, which is called
\nmanito<\/i>\u00a0in Korea. After their identities are revealed, they join forces as \u201cSecret Manito\u201d and prepare gifts for a specific group.
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The show features three different celebrity lineups. The first includes Blackpink\u2019s Jennie, Dex from the second season of \u201cSingle\u2019s Inferno\u201d (2021-), comedian Lee Su-ji, TV personality Ro Hong-chul and MMA fighter Choo Sung-hoon.
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The producer, who once led one of Korea\u2019s biggest hit variety shows, \u201cInfinite Challenge\u201d (2005-18), acknowledged the underwhelming reception and expressed some regret over not clearly communicating the show\u2019s concept in advance. Still, he emphasized that the project was envisioned as an \u201comnibus film or series to watch during the year-end holidays,\u201d adding that upcoming episodes would offer more to viewers.
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While Kim underscored the show\u2019s warm intentions, the first three episodes also leaned more toward a familiar format expected of variety content, which he did not expect from the guests \u2014 it missed the mark of the feeling the show was intended to elicit. To make up for the mishap, Kim said the production team introduced a new rule requiring participants to give only handmade gifts to add more focus on the meaning of present-giving.\u00a0
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\u201cWhen we introduced a benefit for the first person to give a gift in the first lineup, it unexpectedly turned into a kind of chase,\u201d said Kim. \u201cLooking back, I think that may have kept viewers from fully seeing the careful buildup behind each gift. So we thought, \u2018What if we make them give something more handmade from the beginning? If the stars take the time to create something with their own hands and sincerity, it might lead to a different kind of flow.\u2019\u201d
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The show also adopts an experimental format, rotating its cast every few episodes. Following the first lineup, the second features actors Jung Hae-in, Go Youn-jung and Kim Do-hoon, along with comedian Park Myung-soo, model Hong Jin-kyung and \u201cCulinary Class Wars\u201d (2024-25) chef Yoon Nam-no. The third lineup includes actors Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young and Lee Sun-bin, as well as Kang Hoon and singer Kwanghee.
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Kim acknowledged that they \u201cdefinitely chose the more difficult path.\u201d
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\u201cThese days, a lot of shows run up to 12 episodes, but speaking personally as a viewer, there honestly aren\u2019t many that I watch all the way through,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of it is that I\u2019ve been so busy that I can\u2019t keep up consistently, but that also made me think of what if we condensed it into something like four episodes, where each part wraps up cleanly. I felt that could offer a different kind of enjoyment.\u201d
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\u201cOf course, if we had gone [with a fixed cast], we could have built more chemistry over time and taken a more relaxed approach with pacing and editing.\u201d
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Though “Infinite Challenge” concluded years ago, Kim has long remained closely tied to it. As a result, many of his following projects \u2014 including \u201cWorld Dice Tour\u201d (2023-25) and \u201cGood Day\u201d (2025) \u2014 have often been compared to his iconic show. It was the same for \u201cThe Secret Friends Club.\u201d
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Kim spoke about this matter, sharing that while he initially felt pressure to distance himself from the show, his perspective has since shifted, now thinking of ideas to “reinterpret the show in a way that fits today\u2019s generation and current trends.”
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\u201cI joined \u2018Infinite Challenge\u2019 when I was 31, initially thinking I\u2019d leave the following year, but I ended up staying until I was 45,\u201d Kim said. \u201cFor about 15 years, it was something I was constantly thinking about except when I was sleeping. At the time, my biggest goal was to try everything that a variety show could do and to push the boundaries of the genre as far as possible.\u201d
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\u201cAfter the show ended, I made a conscious effort to try things that were different from \u2018Infinite Challenge,\u2019 but I realized just how difficult that actually is.\u201d
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Beyond his role as a producer, Kim is also the founder of production company TEO, established in December 2021. The company has produced a range of shows, including Netflix\u2019s \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Plan\u201d (2023-25) and \u201cPhysical: Asia\u201d (2025).
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Now approaching its fifth year, Kim said the company is preparing to establish a new brand identity, noting that the media landscape has changed significantly since its launch, when there was a sense of optimism.
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\u201cAs we approach our fifth year this year, we\u2019re now looking to establish a new brand image,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been asking ourselves about what kind of company we are today, as well as discussing with our marketing team, along with external consultants, to define a more unified direction.\u201d
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MBC\u2019s \u201cThe Secret Friends Club\u201d airs every Sunday at 6:10 p.m. <\/p>\n