‘I Live Alone’ apologizes over Jun Hyun-moo’s 'spontaneous' Kazakhstan trip
The reality show acknowledged flights and filming support were arranged in advance of Jun Hyun-moo’s trip to Almaty, but maintained that the host did book his own ticket on the spot.
Television personality Jun Hyun-moo looks at the flight schedule at an airport before choosing to fly to Almaty, Kazakhstan, during an “I Live Alone” (2013–) episode that aired on Aug. 14.SCREEN CAPTURE
The production team behind the long-running reality show “I Live Alone” (2013-) apologized on Friday, admitting to prearranging flight bookings and filming cooperation for a segment on a supposedly spontaneous trip by television personality and cast member Jun Hyun-moo to Kazakhstan, following allegations that the show had staged the trip.
“The Kazakhstan episode followed Jun Hyun-moo's everyday habit of taking spontaneous trips, with the production team accompanying him,” the team said. “The 'spontaneous trip' shown in the broadcast referred to the way Jun decides on a destination and departs the same day, without booking a flight or setting a destination in advance.”
The team said it had reviewed flight options and filming logistics in advance in case the episode required overseas shooting. “We looked at several possibilities, focusing mainly on nearby countries reachable within a limited time frame, and judged that Kazakhstan was the most likely choice, taking into account destinations Jun has shown interest in before and the flight situation at the time,” the statement said.
“In case Jun ended up choosing Kazakhstan, we booked staff flights in advance so we could respond immediately for filming, and also requested local filming cooperation ahead of time,” the team said. “If Jun had chosen a different destination that day, or been unable to get a flight to Kazakhstan, we planned to cancel the staff's tickets and naturally capture whatever unexpected situations arose in the process as part of the trip itself.”
The team acknowledged Jun checked available flights at the airport that day and booked his own ticket to Kazakhstan on the spot. “However, in emphasizing the term 'spontaneous trip' in the broadcast, we failed to sufficiently consider that viewers could take this to mean the entire trip and filming process happened with no prior preparation whatsoever,” the team admitted.
Regarding support from the Almaty city tourism board, the team said the Almaty Tourism Bureau provided administrative assistance with procedures required for overseas filming and on-site production support, but did not provide any financial sponsorship or production funding.
The production team also addressed controversy over Jun's use of a rental car on location, after viewers questioned how he could have arranged a car so quickly, and with the proper paperwork, on a supposedly unplanned trip.
“Regarding the rental car, Jun booked the vehicle himself at Incheon International Airport, then submitted a copy of his passport and international driver's license upon arrival and received the car as guided by the rental company,” the team said. “However, after the broadcast, we became aware of concerns about missing documentation, and upon checking with the Korean Embassy in Kazakhstan, we belatedly learned that renting a car in Kazakhstan requires a notarization procedure through the Kazakhstan Embassy in Korea.” The team added, “This was an oversight on our part for not carefully checking local regulations.”
The logo for the show “I Live Alone” (2013–)SCREEN CAPTURE
"'I Live Alone' has always held delivering cast members' daily lives as authentically as possible as its most important value,” the team said. “Even so, in this broadcast, out of concern for preserving the show's sense of realism and immersion, we failed to sufficiently explain the actual filming process. As a result, we caused viewers confusion and misunderstanding, and we also failed to respond quickly and clearly to the questions that followed. We sincerely apologize for the shortcomings in our judgment and response.”
In the Aug. 14 broadcast, Jun was shown arriving at the airport with just a backpack for a 29-hour break, picking Almaty — a seven-hour flight away — as his destination on the spot for what was billed as a spontaneous trip.
Despite the trip being framed as unplanned, Jun was shown smoothly booking his flight ticket on-site and quickly arranging a rental car and lodging.
Soon after the broadcast, “staged broadcast” allegations emerged over whether all the staff's flights could really have been booked on the spot, and whether the rental car could really have been arranged on such short notice. The controversy deepened after the city of Almaty posted a notice stating the broadcast had received “support from the city.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
