PD Kim Tae-ho, who is doing 'noise marketing' as Hwasa,

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Self-proclaimed star PD Kim Tae-ho who leads the entertainment world. He knows how to 'use' the stars who appear on the show. They show their charms and lead them to prove it through viewership ratings.

In tvN's 'Dance Singer's Wandering Troupe', a new variety show that PD Kim is showing off this time, his manpower recruitment shined. Kim Wan-seon, Uhm Jung-hwa, Lee Hyo-ri, Boa, and Hwa-sa travel across the country to meet and enjoy fans in person, and the story of a national tour concert that they enjoy together is raising expectations even before the airing.

However, controversy erupted even before the program aired. Hwasa, the youngest member, was recently embroiled in a controversy over her 'obscene performance'. Hwasa was embroiled in obscenity controversy due to the sensational movements she showed at the Sungkyunkwan University festival. During the performance of 'Don't Give Me', he licked his fingers with his tongue and then put his hand on a specific body part and performed a sweeping performance. The majority of reviews for this were "unpleasant" and "vulgar". It is pointed out that it is too obscene and far from 'sexy'.

The program trailer that came out amidst the obscenity controversy was like pouring oil on a burning house. In the preview video released before the first broadcast, Hwasa did not hesitate to make unconventional remarks. Hwasa confessed that she wanted to do a 19-karat gold strip show and declared, "I'm going to be debauched," which surprised everyone. In addition to sexual remarks, he joked with Lee Hyori, saying, "Senior's main character's disease" and joked, "Senior, what are you doing? Please send me home."

If it was usual, it's a comment that could be overstated to the extent of being bold or easy-going. It was pointed out that the production team's preview video rather increased the controversy surrounding Hwasa. An entertainment industry insider said, "There was such a controversy, but it's surprising that they responded in a way that raised more controversy."

The PD, who is in charge of production, can implement various marketing strategies for the success of the program. Noise marketing can be one of them. However, many point out that this preview video is an example of how complacent the production team is about the controversy toward Hwasa. This means that they do not understand public opinion at all.

'Dance Singer's Wandering Troupe' is a program at an important crossroads for Kim Tae-ho's division. Since PD Kim left MBC and introduced 'Seoul Check-in', there is no program that has achieved results beyond expectations. 'Canada Check-in' struggled with viewer ratings in the 1% range, being pushed back by competing films such as 'The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate House' and 'Agency'. 'Global Bull World Tour' is also exceeding the 1% level.

PD Kim gathered the best stars in the music industry to escape the sluggish situation. He may feel the pressure after standing in the judgment seat. However, in the process, we need to be careful when using any controversy as a promotional tool. This is because it can get away from the general perception of the public, and the contestant, who is the subject of the controversy, can suffer an image hit that is difficult to recover from. It depends on him whether he can calm down the controversy with PD Kim Tae-ho's unique directing skills, or whether he will lead the program with noise marketing.

Reporter Ryu Ye-ji and Ten Asia ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr