At 53, Yoo Jae-suk Returns as the Youngest Member in Happy Together's Comeback After Six Years

Broadcaster Yoo Jae-suk, now 53, is set to meet viewers through a new variety program in which he will take on the role of the youngest member within the team for the first time since his debut.

KBS 2TV's new variety program, Happy Together: It Is Good Not to Be Alone, will premiere on July 10. The show is already drawing strong attention ahead of broadcast because it marks the first time Yoo Jae-suk, Jang Hang-jun and Yoon Jong-shin will work together as a three-MC lineup.

The project brings back Happy Together after six years. The program aired for nearly 20 years, from 2001 to 2020, and became one of KBS's signature variety brands. This new version is being reshaped beyond the existing talk show format into a storytelling music audition format. In it, contestants appear on stage with a special companion from their lives and convey the meaning of their relationship through music and conversation.

The point attracting the most attention is Yoo Jae-suk's new position on the program. Known as the National MC, Yoo has led the entertainment field for more than 30 years and has been the central figure on numerous shows. Now, after entering his 50s, he will for the first time take on the youngest-member role in a team, raising expectations for a different kind of chemistry.

Director Jang Hang-jun, who will work alongside Yoo Jae-suk, is a figure from the film world who recently joined the ranks of ten-million directors through the film Wang-gwa Saneun Namja. Yoon Jong-shin is a singer and producer who has remained active over a long period while continuing to exert musical influence.

Because the three have each built distinctive careers in different fields, they are expected to show a new relationship dynamic and style of conversation that has been hard to see in existing variety programs. In particular, the unexpected situations created by Yoo Jae-suk being positioned as the youngest member, along with his natural rapport with Jang Hang-jun and Yoon Jong-shin, are being cited as the key points to watch.