Friday, September 16, 2005

No one told the girl TV was a vicious game

I had thought that Korean 'talents' (TV personalities) were tough. A recent article in the Chosun suggests that they are merely unlucky or desperate for work.

The article describes "Challenge! World Expedition Party", a show that sends 'talents' to exotic locations to perform difficult tasks. The show is under fire for not caring for it's actors. Recently, Chung Jung-ah was in Columbia looking for anacondas when she was bitten by one. That's not so bad. The director then told her to do the scene again because it didn't come out right.

I'm not sure that is so bad either. If it were Jeff Corwin or Sir David Attenborough, I would definitely expect them to keep working. As Ms. Chung was not really working as a field naturalist, perhaps she does deserve a break. Anyone who comes into contact with anacondas without knowing if they are poisonous (they aren't) probably shouldn't be out there. Again, anyone who travels without a tetanus booster shouldn't be out there either.

I remember seeing an episode of "Challenge!" or one like it, in 2000 or 2001. A beautiful Korean woman, possibly a model, was in Alaska doing a kind of Alaskan Pentathlon. I hope that I can be a tough as she was, although I also hope I don't have to be. She spent a day learning how to bicycle in the snow with spectacular falls. The next day, she cried as she dressed and huge black bruises were everywhere. She got up and did another day of training. If she was hoping that would be her breakthrough into show business, I sure hope it was. She deserved it.

Although Ms. Chung is at risk of tetanus, she was vaccinated against malaria. A wise precaution after an actor on the show died of the disease six years ago.

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