[Interview③] 'Blood Game' PD: "Folding Pizza Boxes in Semi-basement, Inspired by 'Parasite'"

Photo by MBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] "We got the motif from the movie 'Parasite' and divided the classes into aboveground and underground."

Producer Hyun Jeong-wan said in an interview with Asia Economy at a cafe in Sangam MBC, Mapo-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 24th, "The difference from existing survival variety shows is that eliminated contestants do not get eliminated but live in the underground floor."

'Blood Game' is a reality survival variety show where players compete for the grand prize of 300 million won by engaging in psychological warfare to become the last one standing. Ten participants including announcer Park Ji-min, former baseball player Jung Geun-woo, rapper Queen Wasabi (Kim So-hee), UDT veteran Dex (Kim Jin-young), YouTuber Park Jae-il, police officer Lee Tae-gyun, and oriental medicine doctor Choi Yeon-seung live together in one house and compete.

On this day, Producer Hyun Jeong-wan said, "I felt it was unfortunate that eliminated contestants were forgotten in the later stages of existing survival shows," adding, "'Blood Game' moves eliminated contestants to the underground floor immediately, and the first elimination occurred in episodes 7 to 8."

He continued, "The outcome is not simply decided by gaming skills, but we focused on how relationships are formed and played out in unpredictable situations and on changes in relationships."

"During the planning stage, I thought of class stratification and got the motif from 'Parasite.' I was curious about what it would be like if eliminated contestants lived in the underground floor. While the mansion is comfortable and provides everything, the underground floor had them folding pizza boxes to live. To create a stark contrast effect, we made the underground floor look like a harsher environment."

The production team never intervened and watched the play through monitors. Producer Hyun Jeong-wan said, "I was surprised to see Choi Yeon-seung folding pizza boxes from start to finish. I thought she was unexpectedly diligent. I expected Park Ji-min, being an announcer, to care a lot about her image, but she was 'overly immersed' from day one. Rather, Song Seo-hyun seemed more like an announcer," he laughed.

He added, "Every day was unpredictable. I never expected Choi Yeon-seung, Lee Tae-gyun, and Lee Na-young to create the underground floor rules. I thought they would stay silent, but they created their own world, their kingdom. It was fun to watch."

He continued, "I believed minimizing director intervention would allow for more interesting play. The participants whispered so quietly during post-production that it was inaudible. They even had secret talks in the bathroom and sometimes removed their microphones," he said. "Scenes that didn’t make sense were ultimately edited out."

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