Jang Seong-gyu and Park Jin-ju, how to deal with being late for live broadcast

When conducting a live broadcast, many variables arise. The host is often late. Depending on their attitude toward being late, viewers' reactions vary from encouragement to anger.

Broadcaster Jang Seong-gyu was late for the ongoing radio program MBC FM4U's 'Good Morning FM Jang Seong-gyu' on the 18th. On this day, Jang Seong-gyu did not appear during the opening, and announcer Ahn Joo-hee, the host of the previous broadcast program, gave the opening remarks instead.

Jang Seong-gyu, who arrived at the 'Good Morning FM' booth, explained, "There was a big accident on the way. I was late because my car was backed up." He also apologized, saying, "I'm sorry for causing inconvenience. I'm grateful to those who generously understood and I'm sorry to those who felt uncomfortable. I'm embarrassed."

The reason why Jang Seong-gyu's recent tardiness is more disappointing is because he promised 'not to be late' and is scheduled to leave the show on the 21st. When Jang Seong-gyu took over as host of 'Good Morning FM' in 2019, he expressed his determination, saying, "I promised myself not to be late even once." In 2020, the one-year anniversary, he said, "I feel like I'm lacking in physical fitness management and I'm not doing well," and "But because of my will to fulfill the promise I made to my listeners when I first started radio, 'I won't be late,' I'm here. “I was able to come this far,” he said.

In addition to Jang Seong-gyu, Jeon Hyun-moo, Park Jin-ju, and Bae Seong-jae were late to the live broadcast. Jinju Park was late for SBS Power FM's 'Choi Hwa-jeong's Power Time' on March 28th. Min Kyung-ah, who appeared as another guest, reported Jin-joo Park's situation, saying, "The manager used the wrong navigation and went to Ilsan out of habit. Now he's coming in a hurry."

Jinju Park reflected on the phone, "I'm sorry. Human habits are scary, so I naturally went to Ilsan. Because I watch radio, I will kneel so that my knees can be seen as soon as I get there." Jinju Park, who arrived at the radio booth late, knelt down and apologized. Jinju Park explained, "I was so excited that I got the clothes tailored, but I ruined everything. Since I go to Ilsan every week, I naturally went to Ilsan," and added, "I'm a person who is good at keeping promises."

Bae Sung-jae was about 40 minutes late for SBS Power FM's 'Bae Sung-jae's Ten' in July 2021. On this day, the broadcast started not with DJ Bae Seong-jae but with guest Park Moon-seong alone. Bae Seong-jae, who had an Olympic soccer broadcast the day before, forgot that there was a live radio broadcast.

Bae Seong-jae, who came to the radio booth about 40 minutes after the broadcast began, bowed his head to the camera and apologized profusely. Bae Seong-jae said, "I forgot. After the soccer broadcast, I watched the fencing finals together (with the broadcasting crew). After seeing that the gold medal was won, I said that I should hurry up and see it after work because the opponent in the quarterfinals could be Japan. I was watching the Japan vs. France game after work, and something happened. “I was surprised when I saw the cell phone,” he said. He also reflected, "I've been doing radio for 5 years, and a day like this is coming," and "I think it will be remembered in my mind as the worst broadcasting accident in history."

Jeon Hyun-moo was late four times while he was a radio DJ. He was even late from his first week as DJ for ‘Good Morning FM’. Jeon Hyun-moo said, "The radio started at 7 o'clock, but I woke up at 6:54. There were over 20 missed calls. The manager knocked on the door for 30 minutes. In the end, announcer Lee Jin took over for the opening." He appeared in a documentary and confessed, "I don't even break out in a cold sweat and my mind is blank. All I can think about is that I have to go first. When I was at MBC in Yeouido, I didn't trust myself, so I often slept in the sauna." Although listeners called him a 'latecomer', they encouraged and forgave him because they knew of his efforts.

On the other hand, there are also cases where a 'live punk' was released and aroused anger with a shameless attitude. In the past, Kang Yu-mi once arbitrarily crashed a live broadcast.

Kang Yu-mi's live punk broadcast became known when the writer of KBS1 Radio's 'Kim Seong-wan's Current Affairs Night' posted an article criticizing Kang Yu-mi's punk on her social media. The writer said, “Kang Yu-mi, a comedian with a punk background, is in trouble if the broadcaster has no concept of live broadcast time.” He added, “The interview that was supposed to be done as a representative commemoration of the 1,000th episode of KBS’s ‘Gag Concert’ was held just an hour before the live broadcast. "I checked, but then forgot about it? Live broadcast funk is the worst. Don't you know that time is a knife in live broadcasts?" he wrote. As the controversy arose, KBS said, "It is true that Kang Yu-mi interrupted the broadcast due to loss of contact," and added, "The article was posted in the writer's personal space and was not intended to be a public criticism." Kang Yu-mi belatedly said, "I am truly reflecting, and I would like to take this opportunity to once again apologize to the broadcasting staff, including the writer and producer of 'Kim Sung-wan's Current Affairs,' who may have been harmed by me, and also express their disappointment in my wrong actions. “I sincerely apologize to the many people I have hurt,” he said in an apology.

Keeping the live broadcast time is a strict promise to viewers. Frequent tardiness deserves reprimand, but presenters are also human and may make the mistake of being late from time to time. Even if you are late, if there is a sincere apology and reflection, the public will also accept it leniently. Even if you make a mistake, your response and attitude afterwards are important.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr