Variety Shows Meet Independence Movements in Andong—Lessons Amidst Pro-Japanese Controversies in the Entertainment Industry

The variety program 'Knowing Bros' faced the history of the independence movement instead of laughter and games. While sports topics like the South Korean national football team's victory in the Korea-Japan match and winning gold medals continued to trend, the program moved its steps to Andong to retrace the lives of independence activists produced by this region, such as Yi Yuk-sa and Lee Sang-ryong. This 'learning journey,' which stepped away from familiar variety show grammar, made one think about the way of remembering the past at historical locations.

In the second installment of the Andong learning journey broadcast on JTBC 'Knowing Bros' on the 3rd, Kang Ho-dong, Seo Jang-hoon, Lee Soo-geun, Lee Sang-min, Kim Shin-young, Lee Jae-yul, Mimi, Kim Young-chul, Song Ha-young, Lee Chae-young, and Bae Ji-hyun appeared. Together with history lecturer Seol Min-seok, they visited historical spaces in Andong to study the lives and the era-specific significance of the independence activists produced by the region.

In particular, Seol Min-seok emphasized what choices were made between personal comfort and social responsibility while explaining the lives of Yi Yuk-sa and Lee Sang-ryong. He said, "The higher a person is and the more they have, the harder it is to let go," adding, "However, the family of Lee Sang-ryong showed it through their actions." Rather than simply glorifying the independence movement as a heroic act, he viewed it as a matter of realistic choices where they had to give up the status and wealth they were already enjoying.

The actions of Lee Sang-ryong's family hold such historical significance. The independence movement was not sustained by grand slogans alone, but required actions that involved letting go of existing lives, property, and even social status. Therefore, remembering independence activists in history is not just about commemorating figures of the past, but also a process of examining what costs the people of that era endured to keep their convictions.

Seol Min-seok said, "The forms are different, but the essence is the same," and "If we move forward without turning away from the convictions we believe to be truth and justice, wouldn't we be able to leave our own three names proudly in history as well?" He continued to emphasize, "Let us never forget Yi Yuk-sa, Lee Sang-ryong, and our ancestors who protected this land." It was a message attempting to connect the independence movement of the past with present lives.

The space of Andong itself became an important background for understanding these historical memories. Andong is often consumed first as the home of Hahoe Folk Village, traditional culture, and the Confucian scholar spirit, but in modern and contemporary history, it has another face as a region that produced numerous independence activists. In that traditional values and modern resistance intersected within one space, the history of Andong serves as an example showing the complex aspects of South Korea's modern and contemporary history.

The reactions of the entertainers also changed. Lee Soo-geun said, "Listening to a lecture in a meaningful place makes it even more meaningful," and "I only knew Andong as the home of Hahoe masks, but I have studied the most during my life here." It was a moment when a place known only as a tourist destination approached anew as a site of historical memory.

What is important in history education is not just how much knowledge is memorized. The core is not stopping at memorizing the names and years of specific individuals, but understanding the conditions of the era they lived in and the weight of their choices. In that sense, the way popular variety shows pose questions to viewers through historical sites and figures can have a cultural effect different from formal history education.

However, caution is always required in the combination of history and variety shows. This is because if history is excessively simplified or judged through the framework of heroes and villains for the sake of laughter and fun, complex historical contexts may disappear. The point where this broadcast holds meaning lies on the opposite side. It lies in the fact that it allowed the independence movement to be viewed not as a subject for a preserved commemorative day, but as a matter chosen by a human being by staking their own life.

After finishing the time of learning, the members continued their journey by tasting Andong's Heotjesatbap and Andong Hanwoo. They essentially inserted history study into the everyday scenery of variety shows involving eating and laughing. In the end, what 'Knowing Bros' learned in Andong was not just the achievements of specific individuals. It was the fact that history is not a story that has already ended, but a present-progressive question asking what people living today will remember and what values they will respond to.