Baek Jong-won, who became a swearer, suffered a hardship while losing weight, 'Baeksajang'

Baek Jong-won's self-employed appearance is revealed.

On the 29th, a production presentation for tvN's 'Business Genius White Sand Beach' was held at the Seoul Garden Hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Producers Baek Jong-won, Lee Jang-woo, Kwon Yuri, John Park, BamBam, and Lee Woo-hyung attended the event.

‘Business Genius Baeksajang’ is Baek Jong-won’s story of Baek Jong-won, a restaurant management expert, who takes on the challenges of starting a restaurant and running a restaurant in a wasteland of Korean cuisine. Lee Jang-woo and BamBam participated in 'Surviving as a Rice Vendor in Africa', and John Park and Kwon Yuri participated in 'Surviving as a Rice Vendor in Italy'.

This is PD Lee's second entertainment program collaboration with Baek Jong-won, following 'Backpacker'. He said, “This plan is one that has been discussed for a long time. I think it’s been about 3-4 years. Teacher Baek Jong-won confessed the intention of the plan, saying, “I wanted to take on the challenge of a wall club with someone who cannot be said to be second to none in the restaurant industry, so we talked about it.”

He continued, “I couldn’t go because the situation was bad due to the coronavirus, but after some time, I decided to show it. I hope you find it fun. If you look at 'Alley Restaurant', it is a tiger mentor, and it would be good to see it as if you were watching his first day of self-employment. “I think it would be good to get a feel for how good they are,” he added.

Regarding the difference from other entertainment programs that open Korean restaurants overseas, he said, "It is carrying out Baek Jong-won's main job. I think there is a big difference there. The globalization of Korean food is secondary. We focused on how to do business there." “Rather than going into an existing location and performing the business, we focused on how to open it. How to open the business is a big point, and it is different from other entertainment that only performs the performance,” he said.

Baek Jong-won, who took on the challenge of running a rice business in a wasteland of Korean food, said, "At first, they talked about the 'globalization of Korean food' and said good things about it, but there was no way it would move. Later on, people started stimulating me. 'It won't work,' and 'It's hard to start a business without preparation, right?' There are things that make me angry because I do things like this. What I am thankful to PD Lee Woo-hyung is that in the highlight video, I was surprised and swore twice, but he edited it out. The cast here must have learned swearing from me rather than Korean food. It was very difficult. In the end, I was fooled too. “I went. I said, ‘Try it!’ and it was difficult for people,” he said.

Lee Jang-woo said, "I worked really hard, and I hope to be rewarded with viewer ratings. I filmed it in a very realistic way. I think you can feel the real energy. I think that will be the differentiator."

John Park confessed, "I was in charge of the hall in the Naples episode. It was difficult and a big challenge, but looking back, I think it was a very good memory. Sometimes I dream of running a business. I don't know if it's a nightmare or a good dream. That left a big impact on me." It made me laugh.

Regarding Season 2, Baek Jong-won said, “I can’t do it. I don't think I can. “To the point where I don’t want to do it again,” he said. “As you can see from the broadcast, I lost a lot of weight in my face. I knew this because I tried ‘Backpacker’, but the members had a really hard time. It's really hard. “I got through it well this time, but I think I’ll be embarrassed next time,” he said.

However, “It seems like interest in Korea has increased tenfold. Rather than this broadcast promoting Korea, there have been many similar programs so far, but I think it is an evolution. I think it can give a possibility to people who see real business in action and think, 'I want to give it a try.' I also wish there were more programs like that other than ours. Foreign countries are thirsty for Korea. “I don’t think you should miss this.”

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