After the upset loss against Korea and Japan, new director Kim Yeon-kyung, a jinx was formed...I look like a slam dunk? I'm proud
Nov 17, 2025
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Producer Kwon Rak-hee said at a meeting of the MBC headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 17th, "'New Director Kim Yeon-koung'" that "I got jinxed after losing the game against Korea and Japan\'Slam Dunk\' I was proud when I said it looked like a 'Slam Dunk'."
Rookie director Kim Yeon-kyung is considered the first volleyball entertainment that combines game scenes and dramatic narratives. The program draws growth and a new leap forward around a team of releases, unknowns, and returning players from retirement. Coach Kim Yeon-kyung was a rookie coach in his 0th year and oversaw all areas from team foundation to training, tactics and mental care.
The tactics, judgments, replacement cards, mental and leadership shown in the unfamiliar position of 'Director Kim Yeon-kyung' drew attention every time. The actual score is also good. The 8th episode of the most recent episode of 'New Director Kim Yeon-koung' proved its overwhelming competitiveness by topping Sunday entertainment shows for five consecutive weeks in 2049 ratings. The broadcast on this day soared to 4.4% of Nielsen Korea's households in the metropolitan area and 5.0% of the highest ratings.
In addition, Kim Yeon-koung ranked first in TV-OTT non-drama popularity for two consecutive weeks in the Good Data Fundex survey and first in the cast's popularity. Wavve ranked No. 1 in driving new subscriptions during the Chuseok holiday, up 124% from the previous week.
Volleyball is an indoor sport, so cameras, lighting, and sounds are all tricky, so he also confessed the difficulties of the filming method. 'Pilseung Wonder Dogs' was on the verge of dismantling with a 33% win rate after losing the match against Japan against Shuzhizugo, but beat even professional team Jeong Kwan-jang Redsparks to confirm the team's survival by winning its first three consecutive games.
Producer Kwon Rak-hee said, `My hands and feet got cold when I lost for two consecutive games earlier. I made a pledge that I would not disband the team if I played seven games and won a majority, but I could go to the team dissolution. Usually, if I take a good picture of an entertainment program, I edit it well and release it, but depending on the results of the game, how it will come out next and how it will come out as a result is out of my grasp. You will be affected by pledges in real time. That part makes it an attractive and deadly device."
Also "The staff got jinxed too. The color of each person's inner room, 'I think I'll win', has come up with something like that. When Jeong Kwan-jung won, I was relieved.
Producer Choi Yoon-young said, `I remember having a countermeasure meeting in the hotel lobby all night after losing the game against Korea and Japan.'
Producer Lee Jae-woo said, "It was my first time doing sports entertainment. There are some relay cars on the spot, some camera directors we work with, and the audio is different from usual in the gym. Everyone understood all of those things. "What we do is that the world's best player, Kim Yeon-kyung, is being coached by the team and the failed players are doing it, so our problems seem small," he said.
Then "The broadcasting teams play volleyball for an hour or two and go. People who are not volleyball fans have come to like volleyball as well."
Producer Kwon watched a lot of "'Fear Club', and it was good when I saw a comment saying 'Fear Club'Fear Club'. I asked him to watch "The First: Slam Dunk" and come back, but there's a cut that only follows the ball. Each and every camera is precious, so let's try something bold. I said let's set an editing point, and I think the viewers liked it in that detail. I was proud when I said it looked like 'The First: Slam Dunk.'"
Fourteen players from various backgrounds, including Pyo Seung-joo, Lee Jin, Munhwa, Han Song-hee, Koo Hye-in, Incusi and Tamira, joined the Wonder Dogs.
After retirement, Pyo Seung-joo returned to the court and even took on the role of captain, emerging as the central axis of the growth narrative, while the foreign duo of Incusi and Tamira attracted viewers' attention for their explosive growth in blocking, serving, and attack.
In addition, there are many players who have emerged rapidly in the second half, such as Gu Sol and Gu Hye-in. Producer Lee said, `When you observe the players who actually played in the game, there are always really growing players. That was the fun part. There were doubts that the players who failed to become professionals would grow in a month or two, but there were real changes as the players made it and the coach coached them. It just sheds light on the fact that there are really good players. I think the viewers liked it."
MBC 'New Director Kim Yeon-kyung' will air the last episode at 9:10 p.m. on the 23rd.
rightlight@sportschosun.com
