New Family Reality Show 'My Child's Private Life' Set to Premiere on ENA

"Although TV viewing time has decreased, weekend evenings are still a prime time for family viewing. That's why we've scheduled a parenting reality show. We're currently preparing 12 episodes as a pilot, but we hope it will become a more expansive program than 'The Return of Superman' and continue into next year."

On the 6th, a production presentation for ENA's new Saturday variety show 'My Child's Private Life' was held at Brookfield Hall, IFC Forum, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Attendees included PD Kang Bong-gyu, PD Yoo Chang-seop, Jang Yoon-jung, Do Kyung-wan, Choo Sung-hoon, Park Jung-chul, and MC Cho Chung-hyun. PD Yoo made the above statement.

'My Child's Private Life' is a variety show where viewers can observe the private lives of children through their first challenges in life, which adults may not have known about. The show will feature Jang Yoon-jung and Do Kyung-wan watching their children 'Dodo Siblings' on a trip to the U.S., Choo Sung-hoon observing his daughter Sarang's first overseas trip with her 11-year-old best friend Yuto, and Park Jung-chul watching his daughter Da-in's life as a new elementary school student.

PD Kang said, "I've been watching these children grow up for the past 10 years. When I contacted them for casting, I was curious about how they were doing. I wondered what would appeal to viewers if we made a program with Sarang's family and Yeon-woo & Ha-young's family at this time."

PD Yoo discussed the dilemmas of parenting reality shows, saying, "There's always a dilemma about how it will affect the children. What are the pros and cons? In the early days of 'The Return of Superman,' we had a lot of concerns about this. But from the third year, we confidently cast participants. While it's hard to say there are no cons, the pros far outweigh them."

Jang Yoon-jung joked, "Part of the reason for appearing was to create a job for Do Kyung-wan. We appeared on 'The Return of Superman' when our children were young and received a lot of love by showing their growth process. At that time, we were worried that it might be a burden on the children since it was a decision made by the parents. We were even considering reducing the exposure of our children on our YouTube channel when Do Kyung-wan had no work."

She continued, "When we asked the children, they were very excited. They seemed to see it as a mission to accomplish without their parents. A personal motivation is the great trust we have in the production team. We've worked so well together that we could trust them."

Jang Yoon-jung also spoke about her son Yeon-woo's acceptance into the CTY program sponsored by Johns Hopkins University, saying, "Although it's called a gifted discovery project, it's more about meeting certain criteria to participate. I usually ask my children for their opinions. When I explained that he would go to the U.S. for a month if he passed the test, he was very eager. He achieved it on his own."

Choo Sung-hoon said, "Compared to 'The Return of Superman,' our Sarang has grown a lot. The public showed great love for her. We started because we wanted to show her cute side. This time, Sarang wanted to take on the challenge." He added, "I'm curious about what challenges Sarang wants to take on. Watching the program, I hope many parents will have the opportunity to respect their children's independence."

He continued, "A lot has changed since the program. Sarang is 14 years old by Korean age. Our apartment is on the 20th floor, and she couldn't even go to the convenience store in front of our building alone, so I went with her. After the program, she started taking taxis alone and paying for them. It's both happy and sad to see."

'My Child's Private Life' will premiere on Saturday, the 7th, at 8:30 PM.

Lee So-jung, TenAsia Reporter forusojung@tenasia.co.kr