With KBS reportedly mulling potential hosts for the latest season of its leading reality show “1 Night, 2 Days,” reports are suggesting that the local broadcaster is trying to get popular comedian Kang Ho-dong to appear on the show again.

The Star News reported Tuesday that several high-ranking officials from KBS visited Kang while he was filming the latest episode of a sports variety program “Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education.”

Quoting an unnamed KBS official who was present at the site, the local news outlet claimed that Kang and the KBS big names talked about Kang possibly making an appearance on season 3 of “1 Night, 2 Days.”

Later in the day, KBS denied the report and said that the visit was merely to encourage Kang and the other members of “Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education.” An unnamed official from KBS said that producers of the “1 Night, 2 Days” were not leaning toward having Kang host the show.

Earlier this month, another news outlet said that Kang and singer Eun Ji-won received offers to appear on the show’s most recent season. Both denied the report.

Rumors of Kang’s return appear to reflect the public’s anticipation that the comedian, once the kingpin of the variety shows in the country, will be able to restore “1 Night, 2 Days” back to its former glory. Kang was the main host of the show’s first season, which enjoyed huge popularity until the comedian temporarily left show business after a tax evasion scandal in 2011.

While Kang is no longer the top dog among TV show hosts, his ability to entertain the crowd remains intact, as shown by the huge success of “Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education.”

In addition, Kang’s popularity was at its highest while hosting “1 Night, 2 Days,” which also peaked during Kang’s era. With the subpar performance of season 2, many fans of the show are hoping Kang’s return cant reignite the spark the show had in its heyday.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)