Star TV director Kim Tae-ho, 46, is all confidence in presenting his upcoming reality show “Seoul Check-In,” the first project that Kim directed after leaving terrestrial broadcaster MBC in 2021.

“Lee Hyo-ri is an amazing source for producing a show. Everything about her becomes a story when the camera is shooting her. I believe Lee’s straightforward gestures and frank attitude are the charms that electrify viewers,” director Kim said in an online press conference held on Wednesday.

Kim joined MBC in 2001 and became widely recognized for producing “Infinite Challenge” (2006-2018), one of South Korea’s longest-running and most successful variety shows. Though the director continued his success with “Hang Out With Yoo,” a new project launched in 2019, Kim decided to leave the company for a new challenge and experience.

“When I was producing the show on a weekly basis, some episodes were released even though they were a little unsatisfactory. But I am happy that I now have enough time to make up for any problems before the official release. I personally think streaming platforms are providing a more comfortable environment for content creators,” Kim said.

The director explained that the program started with a question about how Jeju Island resident Lee Hyo-ri spends her time after work and enjoys city life in Seoul. Lee is something of a diva in K-pop scene. She debuted as a member of the now-disbanded girl group Fin.K.L, and went on to perform as a solo artist. Upon marrying a musician, Lee left the glamour and glitz of Seoul to pursue a life of yoga, meditation and tea drinking on Jeju Island.

Asked about the decision to release a pilot episode on a streaming platform, Kim said that he was surprised by the great interest and love from viewers for “Seoul Check-In.”

“We started shooting the show after the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards. And instead of shooting a separate teaser, our team decided to showcase the MAMA episode in the form of a pilot program, hoping to see the viewers’ reaction and decide on whether to reveal the full episodes afterwards,” the director said.

The pilot episode became a hit for local streaming platform Tving, tripling the number of paid subscribers in the three days following its release.

Kim shared his excitement about the new challenge of producing a reality show.

“Because of my previous projects, I recognized the widespread prejudice about producing only variety shows. As a content creator, I am interested in other genres, like reality shows and sitcoms,” Kim said, explaining the reason for the minimum appearance and intervention of staff members in “Seoul Check-In.”

“I am thrilled to see how the viewers will react to ‘Seoul Check-In,’ which does not have any opening segment, talk show or missions, unlike my previous variety shows,” the director added.

The six-part episode will premiere Friday exclusively on Tving.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)