The upcoming tvN variety show “I’m a Survivor,” which brings together six female celebrities for survival training, is set to air its first episode at 8:40 p.m. on Thursday.

“I’m a Survivor” focuses on teaching celebrities how to survive in a crisis situation under the instruction of Park Eun-ha, a former non-commissioned officer of the 707th Counterterrorist Special Mission Battalion. Her charges are actress Kim Sung-ryung, former boxer and actress Lee Si-young, comedian Kim Min-kyung, former announcer Oh Jeong-yeon, fencing Olympic gold medalist Kim Ji-yeon and K-pop group (G)I-dle member Yuqi, who all hail from different backgrounds and age groups.

“We finished filming and as you can see we survived. I hope viewers enjoy the program,” said Kim Sung-ryung during an online press conference held Wednesday.

“As you can see from the title, there are many disasters and crisis that threaten our lives today,” said director Min Chul-gi. “Even my son in elementary school was worried about it and was watching a survival program. After seeing that, I wanted to make a program teaching survival skills for my son. I also wanted viewers to think about the value of life after seeing well-known celebrities go through the survival program.”

The six participants go through everything from learning how to light a fire to rowing across the sea. In addition, they learn to make survival tools from everyday objects and receive physical training as well. Shoveling was a major part of the program as well. The preview trailer showed the participants overcoming their fears of height and water as well. They were also seen eating bugs to survive.

The director differentiated the program from other military-based training shows, emphasizing that the program centers on surviving, not training.

“We didn’t cast instructor Park because she had a military background, but because she is a survival expert,” said Min. “There is part of survival that requires basic physical and mental training, but it’s not the biggest part. If we were a military program, the participants would not have come aboard.”

(G)I-dle‘s Yuqi also expressed delight in being cast, as this is her first time being part of the cast of a variety show.

“We wanted to show that people can learn survival skills regardless of gender, age or occupation,” said Yuqi. “The skills are useful in everyday life so I hope you enjoy the show.”

The show will air Thursdays at 8:40 p.m. on tvN.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)