[Interview②] 'Escape the Big Room 3' PD Jeong Jong-yeon on Kang Ho-dong's Attitude Controversy: "I Think It's Excessive, He Actually Yielded"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] ‘Great Escape’ PD Jeong Jong-yeon expressed his trust in Kang Ho-dong.

On the 10th, PD Jeong Jong-yeon shared various stories about the tvN variety show ‘Great Escape’ Season 3 (hereafter ‘Great Escape 3’) in an interview with our outlet at a cafe in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

‘Great Escape’ is the only domestic adventure variety show that has returned with unpredictable developments and stages that transcend the boundaries of locked rooms, loved throughout its three seasons. PD Jeong Jong-yeon, who directed the ‘The Genius’ (2013) series and ‘Society Game’ (2016), took on the role of chief director, with Kang Ho-dong, Kim Jong-min, Shin Dong, Yoo Byung-jae, Kim Dong-hyun, and P.O attempting to escape.

Season 1 of ‘Great Escape’ began on July 1, 2018, with the private gambling den episode and received great responses with creative escapes from locations such as an abandoned hospital, a gene bank, and a haunted prison. One year after it ended, on March 17, 2019, the second season returned, gaining popularity with episodes including the first-ever escape failure at the Infernal Prison, the Hope Research Institute, Jomateo Psychiatric Hospital, and the Murder Prison. Returning in March with Season 3, ‘Great Escape’ continued its popularity with legendary episodes such as the Time Machine Laboratory, Zombie Factory, Dark Villa, and Bread Factory.

Season 3 started airing on March 1 and concluded with a special episode on June 14. At the end of the last episode, ‘Back to Gyeongseong,’ aired on the 7th, a subtitle appeared stating the show would return in 2021, raising expectations for Season 4.

On this day, PD Jeong Jong-yeon expressed trust, saying, “Kang Ho-dong has recently been giving screen time to juniors in variety shows,” and added, “Perhaps he is considerate in allowing the younger members to have more screen time.”

There were also reactions expressing regret about Kang Ho-dong telling some members to yield the deduction in the final episode ‘Back to Gyeongseong.’ PD Jeong Jong-yeon candidly shared, “The members joke with each other on set and have such conversations, so I think such criticism is excessive. Kang Ho-dong also sometimes hears such comments in return.”

PD Jeong Jong-yeon said, “There is an unspoken rule among the cast on set. When multiple people crowd around a single clue, it is difficult to capture it with fixed cameras. In the beginning, there were times when nothing was filmed because the angle was missed in such situations. There is an effort to minimize such risks. Reading clues or one person touching something is an action by the cast to consider the production team.”

He added, “Once filming starts, we shoot with the mindset of completing it without mistakes. The supporting actors, directing team, and special effects team approach it with the spirit of putting on a musical or theatrical performance.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.