Park Hyo-jin, a new KBS announcer known as 'Seoul National University's NewJeans Minji,' broke down in tears during her first live news evaluation, while veteran announcer Jun Hyun-moo praised her voice.
On the upcoming episode of KBS2's variety show 'The Boss Has Donkey Ears' (hereafter 'Boss Ears'), KBS's 51st class of new announcers, including Lee Sang-cheol, Shim Soo-hyun, and Park Hyo-jin, will participate in a tense 'live news evaluation.' This evaluation tests how new announcers handle various emergency situations during a live broadcast, making it a nerve-wracking experience for them.
During the evaluation, Park Hyo-jin, who is known as 'Seoul National University's NewJeans Minji,' drew attention as she broke down in tears. The reason for the high expectations from senior announcers was that Park had previously expressed her dream of becoming an anchor. As she delivered the news with clear pronunciation and proper posture, Jun Hyun-moo complimented her by saying, 'Your voice is good,' bringing smiles to everyone's faces.
The unexpected twist came when Um Ji-in, acting as the PD, announced, 'Breaking news has come in,' signaling the start of a challenging segment. She instructed Park to 'read through and wrap up,' but Park responded with 'Yes,' and paused for about five seconds without concluding, prompting sharp looks from the seniors.
Kim Sook expressed concern, saying, 'It's because of Um Ji-in,' and 'Oh dear, what to do?' while Jun Hyun-moo showed sympathy for the new recruit, saying, 'She's not used to the PD's call.'
Park Hyo-jin's live news evaluation was a tense and precarious situation. Despite her saying, 'I will be careful in the future,' Um Ji-in criticized, 'Saying you'll be careful is not enough. If this were a real broadcast, it would become a meme immediately. It's a report-worthy incident.'
The seniors were blunt, saying, 'We had high expectations because you said you wanted to be an anchor, but we're more disappointed than expected.' Nam Hyun-jong added harsh criticism, saying, 'To put it negatively, there's a term called parrot,' which brought tears to Park's eyes. Watching with concern, Jun Hyun-moo remarked, 'Hyun-jong must have been surprised too,' and blamed Um Ji-in, saying, 'Um Ji-in made her cry.'
As Park Hyo-jin wiped her tears with a tissue, she tried to explain, 'I have a cold, so my nose is running,' but the tears wouldn't stop. Eventually, she ran to the restroom, sobbing loudly, evoking sympathy from everyone.
Kim Sook commented, 'The seniors are all announcers, so even their scolding is pronounced so clearly. The precise pronunciation makes the words cut deeper,' revealing the harshness of the evaluation. However, she offered warm encouragement to Park, saying, 'But you have to go through such situations to grow.'
'The Boss Has Donkey Ears' airs every Sunday at 4:40 PM.
Tae Yuna, TenAsia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr