Na Yeong-seok tricked cast into snowy mountain trek; Car, the garden fears more climbing

Na Yeong-seok PD revealed that he recruited his cast members by hiding the fact that they would be hiking, only to lead them straight to snowy mountains. The cast members, who actually had to scale the peaks, drew laughter from the crowd by reacting collectively, saying, "We were tricked."

On the 12th, a press conference for the Netflix variety show 'Take a Hike!' was held at the Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Na Yeong-seok PD and Park Hyun-yong PD attended the event along with Car, the garden, DAY6's Yoon Do-woon, Lee Chae-min, and Tarzan, sharing their hardships and stories from the actual snowy mountain expedition.

The program's premise was unconventional from the start.

Park Hyun-yong PD stated, "Writer Nam Yu-jeong, who works with us, loves hiking, but Na Yeong-seok PD and I hate it. After following her a few times, I experienced how we talk more than usual and become closer."

He continued, "I thought that if people who hate hiking get together, they might actually become closer."

The problem was that the intention behind the project was not properly communicated to the cast members.

Park confessed, "When recruiting the cast, I didn't mention hiking," and Na Yeong-seok also made the venue erupt in laughter by honestly revealing, "I enticed them by saying we would go somewhere, play games, and travel."

What awaited the cast, who initially thought it would be a typical travel variety show, was an unexpected snowy mountain.

Na Yeong-seok explained, "While conducting interviews, I thought, 'These friends could definitely pull through even if I give them a harsh environment,' so I rapidly shifted the direction of the show."

As a result, the cast members ended up on a journey closer to an 'extreme experience' rather than a vacation.

Car, the garden showed the most intense reaction.

Car, the garden shared his feelings at the time, saying, "I thought it was nonsense. I wondered how bad my reputation would be if I quit here."

In particular, he brought laughter by saying of himself, "I have an appearance that looks like a mountaineer even though I don't hike, but I actually ended up doing it."

However, for Car, the garden, the period after the broadcast was even more worrying.

He caused bursts of laughter by saying, "Honestly, I tell people around me not to watch this. If it becomes popular, I might have to climb mountains again." He added with his signature cynical humor, "People who dislike me will feel very good if they watch this program."

Yoon Do-woon also described the recruitment process as feeling like "being a victim of employment fraud."

He added more laughter by joking, "I was going to quit right after Car, the garden hyung quit, but he stayed until the end. So I was disappointed."

Lee Chae-min also emphasized that it was not a voluntary choice.

He confessed, "I usually like exercising, but I have never gone hiking on my own. Since I ended up going involuntarily, it was dizzying and I was very worried."

Tarzan, who enjoys exercising, was also not welcoming of the mountain. He said, "I thought my physical strength would be fine since I exercise a lot, but I thought it would be hard because I hate the cold."

However, once they actually climbed the mountain, they discovered unexpected fun.

Tarzan drew laughter by saying, "Once I actually did it, it was quite fun. I felt like I have more talent in eating once I get there than in hiking."

In this way, 'Take a Hike!' is not a story about people who love hiking climbing mountains. Rather, it starts from the extremely realistic question of why people who hate hiking must go up a mountain.

More important than the act of hiking itself is the process of people thrown into an unfamiliar environment suffering together and building relationships. It is essentially adding the variable of 'involuntary suffering' to Na Yeong-seok's unique travel variety show formula.

In particular, the fact that the cast did not want to hike in the first place is another key interest of the program. This is because it is a mountain trek started by being tricked, not a trip started out of enjoyment.

Car, the garden's joke, "If the broadcast goes well, I'll have to climb mountains again," most accurately encapsulates the identity of this program. While it is pain for the cast, there is a high possibility it will be laughter for the viewers.

'Take a Hike!' will be released on the 18th.