| Alt Name: | Happy Sunday -The Return of Superman |
| Genre: | Reality television |
| Creative Director: | KBS Art Vision Digital Arts Center for Visual Arts |
| Starring: | Lee Dong-gook Sam Hammington Ko Ji-yong Park Joo-ho |
| Narrated: | Lee Won-joon (2004-11-07 - 2008-03-23) Byun Young-hee (2007-04-22 - 2008-09-09) Lee Chul-yong (2008-09-18 - 2008-11-16) Kim Shi-hyang (2008-11-23 - ?) |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Language: | Korean |
| Num Episodes: | 732 |
| Executive Producer: | Lee Min-ho Cho Seung-wook Shin Won-ho Cho Sung-sook Shin Hyo-jung Choi Seung-hee Kim Yang-hwi |
| Producer: | Kim Young-shik |
| Editor: | Kim Hyo-chan |
| Cinematography: | Kang Chan-hee |
| Camera: | Multicamera setup |
| Runtime: | approx. 1 hours 35 minutes (95 minutes) |
| Company: | Koen Media Corporation Vision Productions |
| Channel: | KBS2 |
| Related: | 다녀오겠습니다 (KBS Joy) |
Happy Sunday (ko|해피 선데이) is a Korean reality-variety show shown on the KBS2 network, which competes directly against MBC's Sunday Night and SBS's Good Sunday line-up. Although it has been broadcast since 2003, its line-up of shows has frequently changed, with a complete revamp occurring in Spring of 2007. At that time, three new shows were introduced – Are You Ready, High-Five, and Immortal Songs. Due to its poor reception, Are You Ready quickly evolved into 1 Night 2 Days, with most of its cast intact. In late November 2008, Happy Sunday had a revamp of its shows keeping 1 Night 2 Days as the second segment and bringing back Immortal Songs which was previously liked by viewers. However, in late March, Immortal Songs ended once again and was replaced with Qualifications of Men, making Happy Sunday an all-male cast, with a total of 14 members. In 2013, Qualifications of Men was cancelled and replaced with Star Family Show Mamma Mia. On November 3, 2013 Star Family Show Mamma Mia was moved to Wednesday nights and replaced with The Return of Superman.
Out of the three Sunday night shows, KBS's Happy Sunday, MBC's Sunday Sunday Night and SBS's Good Sunday, only KBS has kept its program as a "whole program". Both MBC and SBS has divided their Sunday night show into two parts, the first segment as one program and the second as another. Both MBC and SBS have done this to record better TV ratings, which is important in South Korea media to prove the show's popularity. The key variety programs which garner Sunday night ratings and are usually compared to one another are KBS Happy Sunday's 1 Night 2 Days, MBC Sunday Sunday Night's Real Men, and SBS Good Sunday's Running Man.
During the 1990s KBS2's Sunday program was called Super Sunday (슈퍼선데이). But in February 1998, the name was changed to Joyful Super Sunday TV (슈퍼 TV 일요일은 즐거워). In November 2003, the name was changed again to 101% Sunday (일요일은 101%). On September 13, 2004, voice (dubbing) artist and 2003 KBS Entertainment Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) winner, Jang Jeong-jin (장정진), was recording for The Lord of the Alley (골목의 제왕) segment where he had to eat rice cakes during a game and was later hospitalized.[1] Because of this incident, Jang died a month later (October 11, 2004) due to necrosis ("brain death") and loss of oxygenation to the brain.[2] The segment was abolished and since November 2004, the program has been renamed Happy Sunday.
In the segment 1 Night 2 Days, the members go on an overnight trip to various places of interest in Korea. The aim of the segment is to recommend holiday destinations to its viewers. Throughout the show, there are several mini-games played to see who will eat dinner (as opposed to a simple snack), who will do the chores or work that needs to be done, and who will sleep comfortably.
The show is enormously popular, that even its re-runs (which airs on the same night) has viewership ratings within the Top 20 Sunday night programs.
See main article: The Return of Superman (TV series).
In the segment The Return of Superman, celebrity fathers spend 48 hours with their children without their mothers.
Shoot-dori (means shooting kid, / Nal Ah Ra Shoot-dori) is a variety show where a group of kids train and practice their football skills to compete with other mini-leagues. It is still airing, however at a different time slot and is no longer a part of Happy Sunday. This program now airs on the KBS N Sports channel. It is into its fourth season with a different cast.
K-1 fighter Choi Hong-man and celebrities participate in various physical challenges and games.
This variety show has a school theme, where male celebrity guests come and firstly try to partner with the heroines of their choice, through dance (usually) or special performances. Should more than one male choose the same heroine, then they battle it out to win their girl. They will have to do the most bizarre things, like role playing, singing, etc. Afterward, they play two very original games – "Catch the Mouse" and "Dibidibidip".
Are You Ready was a variety show where its cast and special guests played games. The first three episodes were games that were related to the Chinese language, while the following episodes leading to its last episodes were physical and logic-based games. Due to low ratings, Are You Ready was replaced by 1 Night 2 Days with its original cast still in place.
Hosted by Jee Seok-jin, High-Five focuses on having its five female stars try out different jobs; over the course of the show, they have become flight attendants, farmer, stuntwomen, and police officers. Because of the stars' backgrounds, comic twists and events are often added in during training. At the show's start, comedian Jo Hye-ryun, entertainer Hyun Young, singer Chae Yeon, MC Park Kyung-lim, and actress Kim Min-sun were the High-Five stars. Due to filming commitments, Kim had to leave the show on its November 4, 2007 broadcast. She was replaced by news anchor Lee Jung-min. This show was replaced by Delicious Quiz.
The first episode aired June 1, 2008 replacing High-Five, while retaining Hyun Young and Jo Hye-ryun as part of the cast. Delicious Quiz was a food-based variety show where they traveled around Korea visiting famous restaurants or places related to food. The MCs must answer quizzes related to food and get a certain number of questions correct before they are able to eat the food. The show aimed to introduce viewers to the variety of great foods available in Korea. This show was last aired on September 7, 2008 and was replaced by Schoolympic.
The first episode aired September 14, 2008 replacing Delicious Quiz (only Hyun Young was retained). Olympic stars compete in simple yet nostalgic games and activities on a set created to look like a classroom with celebrities as their competitors. The games will require the "athletes" to use simple school necessities like chairs, desks, mops and even buckets. Aiming to bring a more interesting and fun school environment, the show combined elements of sport and school activities with the help of sports stars and celebrities. This show was short lived and it was not replaced; instead, the 2 segments Kko Kko Tours Single♥Single and 1 Night 2 Days both extended their airtime.
See main article: Kko Kko Tours Single Single.
The first episode was aired on September 21, 2008, replacing Immortal Songs. It was co-hosted by former Country Kko Kko band members Shin Jung-hwan and Tak Jae-hoon. Celebrities invite someone they're interested in and get to know them during a trip. Audiences will get to see the true, sensitive side of celebrities as they open their hearts on air. Only 2 trips was aired over a span of 10 episodes. This segment was cancelled due to high production costs and low ratings. The show was replaced with a new season of Immortal Songs which had been previously cancelled.[12]
See main article: Immortal Songs.
Immortal Songs was co-hosted by former Country Kko Kko partners Shin Jung-hwan and Tak Jae-hoon. Although the show initially had various co-hosts, Kim Sung-eun became the final permanent host alongside Shin and Tak. The special guest for the week is their "vocal coach", usually a famous Korean singer, although sometimes record producers and composers have appeared as the special guest. During the course of the show, the special guest's top singles (as voted by netizens) are revealed and the "students" must sing karaoke-style. At the end of the show, the best singer/student is chosen by the special guest and receives a special prize. This segment started from Kim Won-joon's episode where he brought in presents on his own accord. The show has typically showcased older singers from the past who may or may not be still active in the entertainment industry, including Lee Seung-chul and Kim Heung-gook. However they have also had episodes featuring more recent artists, including S.E.S., in recognition of their 10th anniversary since debut, as well as Sung Si-kyung just before he left for military service in July 2008. This show aired its final episode on September 14, 2008 and was replaced by Kko Kko Tours Single♥Single.
Happy Sunday brought back Immortal Songs with the same hosts, Shin Jung-hwan, Tak Jae-hoon and Kim Sung-eun. Its first returning episode began airing November 30, 2008, replacing Kko Kko Tours Single♥Single. Kicking off the second season, Patti Kim was the special guest.[13] Patti Kim was the first Korean artist to be invited and perform on Japan's NHK network as well as The Johnny Carson Show in Las Vegas, United States.[14] In season 1, Patti Kim was one of the guests that they wanted to invite on the show but was unable to. This segment was cancelled in late March 2009 and has since been replaced with Qualifications of Men.
See main article: Qualifications of Men.
Qualifications of Men (; also known as Qualifying Men or The Qualities of a Man), replaced the second season of Immortal Songs in late March 2009. It is a show where a group of mostly middle-aged male celebrities try to complete missions (deemed to be of a quality required of a "qualifying man") given by the producer or sometimes thought of by the members.
In the first episodes, the cast joked that their primary aim was not to disturb the ratings of 1 Night 2 Days. However, the show was an unexpected success and rivaled their sister corner 1N2D in the 2009 KBS Entertainment Awards. The cast includes the main MC Lee Kyung-kyu, who made his comeback into the Korean TV industry with this show; Kim Gook-jin, a famous comedian who recently came back from attempting to become a professional golfer; Kim Tae-won, leader of the legendary rock-ballad band Boohwal; Lee Yoon-seok, a comedian known for his doctor's degree and conversely his ridiculously weak strength (though since joining the show, Kim Tae-won has virtually taken over his title of "Weakling of the nation"); Yoon Hyung-bin, a famous comedian from the show Gag Concert who frequently compares himself to Lee Jung-jin, although often to no avail; Yang Joon-hyuk, one of the greatest players in Korean baseball history and currently holds the records for home runs, RBI, and best batting average; and Jun Hyun-moo, a KBS news announcer and reporter known for his variety and comedic skills, who is rising in the entertainment world (also known for his parody of SHINee's "Lucifer" dance).
The cast has been through a variety of physically and emotionally taxing missions, usually spanning over 24 hours, performing the likes of serving mandatory military service again, crying, becoming employees of random companies, not smoking for a day, wake-boarding, singing in a choir, participating in an amusement park parade show, and forming an amateur band. The most memorable moment for the program was when 2 of the members (Kim Gook-jin and former member Kim Sung-min) was selected as a guest for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds Acrobatic Team, during their 2009 Far East Tour at Osan Air Base, in South Korea. For the Choir episodes, both of the Choir team won awards (the most recent was the 2nd Place during the KBS National Choir Contest "The Harmony", with Kim Tae-won as a conductor).
In late 2010, Kim Sung-min was dropped from the program after being arrested for meth use and smuggling. He was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison, suspended for 4 years.[15]
On April 10, 2011, Korean baseball legend Yang Joon-hyuk made his debut as a member of the show.
On May 8, 2011, Lee Jung-jin appeared in his final episode and Jun Hyun-moo became the newest and 7th member of the show.
On July 31, 2012, Yang Joon-hyuk and Jun Hyun-moo left the show, and 2 new members—actor Joo Sang-wook and Gag Concert comedian Kim Jun-ho—joined the crew.[16]
Qualifications of Men initially maintained good ratings; in 2009, it placed second among the most viewed Sunday night programs for 16 weeks with more than 30% viewership ratings.[17] But after four years on air, ratings dropped, until it was overtaken in popularity by MBC's Dad! Where Are We Going?, which premiered in 2013.[18] KBS cancelled the show, and it aired its last episode on April 7, 2013.[19] The show had begun in 2010 under the catchphrase, "101 things to do before you die", but with its cancellation four years later, the show's raison d'être was unfinished, with the program coming to a close before the cast members were able to finish filling out the list of 101 things, only getting up to #94.[20]
Star Family Show Mamma Mia (; also known simply as Mamma Mia) is a talk show in which Korean celebrities and popular figures bring their mothers.[21] One of the hosts, Choi Min-ho left the show after five episodes; he was replaced by Cho Kyu-hyun beginning May 19, 2013.[22] This segment was moved to Wednesday nights. Mamma Mia was replaced with Superman Return on November 3, 2013. Then, on 18 October, 2013 Kyuhyun had announced to leave the show because of the overlap schedule with 'Radio Star' on MBC.[23] The regular on the show and comedian, Heo Kyung-hwan will replace Kyuhyun's place as the MC of the show.[24]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Nominated work | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | Happy Sunday | |||
| 2005 | Best Entertainer Award | Shooting Kid | [25] | ||
| Excellence Idea Corner Award | I'm Going to See | ||||
| Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | |||||
| 2006 | Excellence Award, Female MC in a Variety Show | Heroine 6 | |||
| Best Entertainer Award | |||||
| Top Excellence Idea Corner Award | Shooting Kid | ||||
| 2007 | Best Entertainer Award | 1 Night 2 Days, Gag Concert "We Need Conversations" | |||
| Immortal Songs | |||||
| Excellence Idea Corner Award | |||||
| Top Excellence Idea Corner Award | 1 Night 2 Days | ||||
| Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | High-Five | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Female MC in a Variety Show | Heroine 6 | ||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Immortal Songs | ||||
| 2008 | 20th Korean PD Awards | Best Show Host | 1 Night 2 Days | [26] | |
| Grand Prize (Daesang) - TV category | Happy Sunday | [27] [28] | |||
| 15th Korea Entertainment Art Awards | Best Comedian | 1 Night 2 Days | [29] [30] | ||
| Best Program | |||||
| Best Variety Show Writer | [31] [32] | ||||
| Best Newcomer in a Variety Show | Lee Soo-geun | ||||
| Top Popularity Award | Lee Seung-gi | ||||
| Viewer's Choice Program | Happy Sunday | ||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Kang Ho-dong | 1 Night 2 Days | [33] | ||
| 2009 | 21st Korean PD Awards | Best Variety Show | [34] [35] | ||
| Top Entertainer Award | Qualifications of Men | [36] [37] | |||
| Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | 1 Night 2 Days, Sang Sang Plus Season 2 | ||||
| Viewer's Choice Program | Happy Sunday | ||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | 1 Night 2 Days | ||||
| 2010 | Special Merit Award | Qualifications of Men | [38] | ||
| Top Entertainer Award | 1 Night 2 Days, Crisis No. 1 | ||||
| Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | 1 Night 2 Days | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | |||||
| Viewer's Choice Program | Happy Sunday | ||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Qualifications of Men | ||||
| 2011 | 38th Korea Broadcasting Awards | Best Entertainment TV Program | 1 Night 2 Days | ||
| Achievement Award | Kang Chan-hee (cameraman) | [39] [40] | |||
| Special Merit Award | Qualifications of Men | ||||
| Best Newcomer in a Variety Show | |||||
| Top Entertainer Award | 1 Night 2 Days | ||||
| Qualifications of Men | |||||
| Top Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | |||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | 1 Night 2 Days | [41] [42] | |||
| 2012 | Best Teamwork | Qualifications of Men | |||
| Best Variety Show Writer | Choi Jae-hyung | 1 Night 2 Days | |||
| Best Newcomer in a Variety Show | Joo Won | ||||
| Qualifications of Men | |||||
| Top Entertainer Award | 1 Night 2 Days | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Male MC in a Variety Show | 1 Night 2 Days, Win Win | ||||
| 2013 | Producers' Special Award | The Return of Superman | [43] [44] | ||
| Top Entertainer Award (Variety) | |||||
| Mobile TV Popularity Award | The children of The Return of Superman | ||||
| Top Excellence Award (Male, Variety) | 2 Days & 1 Night | ||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Kim Jun-ho[45] | Gag Concert, 2 Days & 1 Night, The Human Condition | |||
| 2014 | Viewer's Choice Program of the Year | The Return of Superman | [46] | ||
| Top Excellence Award (Male, Variety) | |||||
| Producers' Special Award | Lee Hwi-jae | ||||
| Song Il-gook | |||||
| Best Scriptwriter Award | Kim Jung-sun | ||||
| Excellence Award (Variety) | 2 Days & 1 Night | ||||
| Best Newcomer Award (Variety) | |||||
| Top Entertainer Award (Variety) | |||||
| 2015 | Viewer's Choice Program of the Year | [47] | |||
| Top Excellence Award (Variety) | |||||
| Excellence Award (Variety) | The Return of Superman | ||||
| Hot Issue (Variety) Award | Choo Sunghoon | ||||
| Top Entertainer Award (Entertainment) | |||||
| 2 Days & 1 Night | |||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | The Return of Superman, Vitamin | ||||
| 2016 | 43rd Korean Broadcasting Grand Prize Awards | Best Variety Show | 2 Days & 1 Night | [48] | |
| Viewer's Choice Program of the Year | [49] | ||||
| Top Excellence Award (Variety) | The Return of Superman | ||||
| Excellence Award (Variety) | Lee Beom-soo | ||||
| Ki Tae-young | |||||
| Best Newcomer Award | 2 Days & 1 Night | ||||
| Writer Award | Jung Sun-young | ||||
| Popularity Award | The children of The Return of Superman | The Return of Superman | |||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | 2 Days & 1 Night |