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| Actors Sung Dong-il, Im Si-won and Kim Hee-won pose for pictures during an online press conference for the show, Friday. Courtesy of tvN |
By Lee Gyu-lee
TvN's reality show "House on Wheels," which showcased to great success last year, is back with its second season after a minor cast reshuffle from Yeo Jin-goo to Im Si-won.
The season premiere on Friday scored a 4.4 percent viewership rating, peaking at 6.3 percent, according to Nielsen Korea.
Starring actors Im, Sung Dong-il and Kim Hee-won, the show revolves around the trio traveling across the country in a camper.
The first episode showed the three going camping in the woods of PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, during winter. They invited actress Bae Doo-na as a guest to tag along on their trip, giving her the very first camping experience of her life.
"If the first season captured scenes of warm weather in spring and summer, the second one has scenes of winter and spring," producer Kang Gung said, during an online press conference for the show, Friday. "As the season changes, the scenery of their 'front porch' and their camping food changes."
Yeo could not join the second season, due to his hectic schedule with other projects. So with Kim's strong recommendation, Im joined as the new cast member.
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| Scenes from the first episode that aired on Friday / Courtesy of tvN |
Kang revealed the chemistry between the hosts is also what's different from the previous season.
"The age difference between the three is much lower now (as Im is older than Yeo)… So it would be interesting to see how their camping life changes with the addition of Im," the producer said.
Im expressed excitement to take on his first reality show in seven years. "I'm not familiar with reality shows, but I joined this one for the opportunity to travel," he said. "Sung and Kim made me feel really comfortable, so I was able to have such memorable experiences."
But at the same time, he noted that he felt pressure in replacing Yeo. "I thought Yeo was going to be with us… but it turns out I was replacing him, which made me feel a bit overwhelmed," he said, adding that he tried extra hard to fill Yeo's spot.
Actor Sung, who had never met Im before the show, said he was pleased to have Im as a co-host. "I met him for the first time and he was really something. We went all-in on Im," he said. "Im came really prepared with cooking… he worked really hard throughout the show."
Sung added that the biggest difference between this show and other traveling or camping shows is the autonomy given to its hosts.
"We decide where to go. So when Im joined, we asked him the places he wants to visit and went there," he said. "Because we get to choose the travel spots, we go somewhere we have stories or memories about… which turns out better for the show."
Showing excitement for the series' second season, Sung showed ambition for many more seasons to come. "Our goal is to make this run longer than Country Diaries ― the longest aired TV series in Korea. I hope we three can continue to present this show to our viewers."
