Singer Kim Jong Kook, broadcaster Yang Se Hyung, actor Lee Yi Kyung, and Oh My Girl's Mimi will be joining forces for a new SBS variety show, 'Authorized Personnel Only'.
May 9 KST, 'Authorized Personnel Only' announced, "'Authorized Personnel Only', which showed off its pilot trilogy in January, will kick off the regular season on June 1. Kim Jong Kook, Yang Se Hyung, Lee Yi Kyung, and Mimi have been confirmed to appear as MCs.”
'Authorized Personnel Only' is a program that unlocks the story of forbidden areas shrouded in the unknown by receiving a pass for one day and entering the 'Authorized Personnel Only' areas that outsiders cannot approach or look into. In the pilot episodes, the Seoul Southern Detention Center, Seoul Southern Prison, and the forbidden areas of Incheon International Airport relieved viewers' curiosity, while honestly capturing the stories of insiders who silently fulfill their duties in undisclosed places.
Regarding this, PD Lee Dong Won of 'Authorized Personnel Only' said, "Thanks to the great interest of the viewers, the regular program was decided as soon as the pilot broadcast last January. I traveled all over the country without a break for the past three months. Thankfully, numerous security facilities willingly allowed us to film. There are places that have never been exposed on TV." PD Lee Dong Won also added, "In these forbidden areas, the lives of many people who silently work for our society are hidden. We plan to tell viewers their touching stories that have never been revealed to the world as they are."
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Something disturbing I discovered through this program is the advantaged livelihood of Korean prisoners compared to Korean college students/lower class living quarters. There are numerous 고시텔s that are half the size of inmate facilities. This is the room I lived in with other students, low wage workers, foreigners, and travelers:
Unlike Korean prisoners who are served three nutritious meals, we were given ramen, rice, mixed coffee, and kimchi. Some places do not even provide anything other than a shared kitchen. While Korean students, lower class, and travelers are paying an unreasonable amount of money for bare amenities, Korean prisoners are given free access to privileged services through public taxes. Incredibly outrageous to say, but at this point it would be better to commit a crime than live a life of a righteous student in Korea.