Kim Jong-min's 'Lecture Battle Show' Struggles with Low Ratings Despite Engaging Content

Singer and broadcaster Kim Jong-min's new role as an MC on the variety show 'Lecture Battle Show: The Historians' is facing challenges with ratings stuck in the 2% range. Previously, the show saw a change in its MC lineup with Seo Jang-hoon stepping down and Kim Jong-min and Kang Ji-young stepping in.

The fourth episode of JTBC's 'The Historians', aired on the 29th, featured stories under the theme 'The Richest of the Century'. It continued from last week's episode with Shim Yong-hwan's story of the late Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung, and Park Hyun-do's lecture on the world's richest man, Mohammed bin Salman. The episode also introduced stories by Kim Ji-yoon and Choi Tae-sung, recording a nationwide rating of 2.2%.

Choi Tae-sung revisited the hidden truths of wealth through Park Heung-sik, known as the richest man in Gyeongseong during the Japanese occupation. Park, who started as a paper wholesaler and established the Hwashin Department Store, was a symbol of self-made success. However, it was revealed that he amassed wealth through collaboration with the Japanese, including the production of military aircraft and forced labor mobilization.

Kim Ji-yoon introduced the Astor family, a symbol of 'Old Money' that set the standards for American high society, and the Vanderbilt family, a representative of 'New Money' that rose through the railroad business, showcasing the financial wars of New York. She explained that 19th-century New York high society was not just about wealth competition but also a battleground for class and power.

Particularly, she highlighted the creation of the Metropolitan Opera by 'New Money' as a symbolic moment that overturned the social order of New York's elite. Kim Ji-yoon noted, "We remember JP Morgan, Rockefeller, and Carnegie, but Astor and Vanderbilt are less known," emphasizing that the difference lies not in asset size but in the direction of wealth redistribution to society.

At the end of the intense lecture battle on 'The Richest of the Century', Kim Ji-yoon emerged as the winner. Her lecture, which revisited the true meaning of wealth through the lens of New York's social scene, left a lasting impression and naturally led to her selection by the 'History Panel'.

Reporter Se-yoon Jung, TenAsia yoon@tenasia.co.kr