Invincible Youth () is a South Korean variety show which aired its first season on KBS2 from October 23, 2009 to December 24, 2010. Season 1 featured seven girls (collectively known as G7) from K-pop idol groups wherein they experience how it is to live and survive in the Korean rural outdoors. It started its second season on November 12, 2011 featuring eight girls.
Background
Season 1
The first season of the show involved Korean entertainers meeting weekly to work and learn about farming in a Yuchi-ri village in Hongcheon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. This involved both agricultural work, interacting with members of an aging rural community, and competing in challenges involving agrarian or domestic tasks. As the show's popularity grew, the cast and crew began work to make their filming location a sustainable site for agritourism, enter produce in food competition, and promote environmentally conscious farming. Some of the products were sold within the local community, to the general public, or distributed as gifts.
The G7 girls initially included Narsha of Brown Eyed Girls, Sunhwa of Secret, Hyuna of 4Minute, Hyomin of T-ara, Sunny and Yuri of Girls' Generation, and Hara of Kara.
On Friday, May 14, 2010, the PD of the show Kim Ho-sang announced that Sunny, Yuri, and Hyuna would be leaving the show due to scheduling conflicts with their respective groups' overseas promotions. Their replacements were decided through private auditions with members of other K-pop girl groups.
On May 30, it was confirmed that After School's Jooyeon, f(x)'s Victoria and Kim Sori will become the three new members of G7 on Invincible Youth. Kim Jong-min (of Koyote) also became a semi-permanent member for a month under the moniker of being a "Variety show mentor" for the new members.
On the August 27th episode, it was announced that Kim Tae-woo will be taking a temporary leave of absence due to a surgery he is to receive for his throat. He vowed to come back to the show as soon as he makes a full recovery. Starting episode 44, Song Eun-i filled in as a semi-permanent MC in Kim Tae-woo's absence. On December 8, 2010, it was revealed that Invincible Youth finished recording their finale episode. They had filmed for over one year, since October 2009.
In an interview with Star News on December 10, production director (PD) Kim Sang-ho said, "We're not discontinuing the show because of low viewer ratings. There has been a lot of conflicting schedules due to girl groups like KARA expanding their activities overseas. It was difficult to take out some of the fixed members, so we decided to end season one for now. There's a lot of trust being placed on the worth of the Invincible Youth brand. After discussions with other producers, everyone agreed to end season one and go ahead with season two next year."
Season 1 Slogan: 청춘은 지지 않는다~ 청춘~ 불패 (Youth Don't Lose! Invincible Youth!)
Season 2 Executive producer (CP) Kim Ho-sang told Star News on August 31 that the second season will take place in a fishing village in Daebu Island, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
G8 members included Girls' Generation's Sunny and Hyoyeon, Amber (f(x)), Suzy (miss A), Bora (Sistar), Yewon (Jewelry), Ko Woo-ri (Rainbow), Jiyoung (Kara). Lee Soo-geun, Ji Hyun-woo and Boom served as MC's. Sunny is the only returning member from Season 1, although Hyoyeon, Jiyoung and Bora were guests during the previous season.
The first episode of Invincible Youth 2 premiered on November 12, 2011 in South Korea, while the international premiere on KBS World was on December 2, 2011.
Prior to the airing of the April 7th episode, multiple news reports were released confirming that cast members Lee Soo-geun, Ji Hyun-woo, Amber and Woori will be leaving the show. Season 1 cast member Kim Shin-young returned as an MC starting from the April 14th episode.
It was then later revealed that Sunny would also be leaving the show. As she was the only member from season 1, they agreed that she would stay on with season 2 until the program became somewhat stable. She left the show after the July 7th episode. Comedian Lee Young-ja was cast afterwards, starting with the July 21st episode.
Invincible Youth 2 stopped airing in mid-November due to scheduling conflicts with the cast members as well as low ratings. The final episode was filmed November 7 and aired on November 17.
Season 2 Slogan: 청춘이여 영원하라! 청춘~ 불패 (Youth is Forever! Invincible Youth!)
Cast members
Season 1
Hosts Cast (Hangul)DateNicknamesNotes Nam Hee-suk () 23 October 2009 – 12 December 2009 Nam MC Uncle Hee-sukLeft for personal reasons Noh Joo-hyun () 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010Village Chief Hulk Kim Tae-woo () 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010Bear Tae-woo Immature Fool Of Yuchiri Went on temporary leave after episode 44 in order to undergo throat surgery Kim Shin-young () 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010 Pig (Don) Chef Korea's Famous Comedian Song Eun-i () 10 September 2010 – 24 December 2010 Song Senior Temporary replacement for Kim Tae-woo
G7 members Cast (Hangul)DateNicknamesGroup Narsha (/) 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010Adult-Dol Reusha Hyojin Miss Laminate Brown Eyed Girls Hyomin (/) 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010Folding Screen CEO (Completely Edited Out) Wall flower Naming Master Hyoderella T-ara Sunhwa () 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010 White Paper Wet Feet Girl Blank Sunhwa Airhead Sunhwa Secret Hara () 23 October 2009 – 24 December 2010 Haragoo Goossain Bolt Stealthy Hara Quick-Mouth Hara Thief Hara Kara Sunny (/) 23 October 2009 – 11 June 2010 Soonkyu Chicken Catcher Aegyo (Cute) Girls' Generation Yuri () 23 October 2009 – 11 June 2010 Class-President Yul Yoochi-ri Village's Daughter in Law Yoga Instructor Yuri Girls' Generation Hyuna () 23 October 2009 – 11 June 2010 Maknae Producer Kim Jing Jing (Whiny) Hyuna 4Minute Kim Sori () 18 June 2010 – 24 December 2010 Vein Sori Sona Lisa Solo Artist Victoria (//) 18 June 2010 – 24 December 2010 Wu Lin Girl Censor Vic Victory f(x) Jooyeon () 18 June 2010 – 24 December 2010 Clumsy Jooyeon Dead Weight (Jim) Jooyeon After School
Season 2
Hosts Cast (Hangul)DateNicknamesNotes Boom () 12 November 2011 – 17 November 2012 Min-ho Gotta Get That Big Nose Ji Hyun-woo () 12 November 2011 – 7 April 2012 Hyung-tae Lee Soo-geun () 12 November 2011 – 7 April 2012 Uncle Soo-geun Lee Soo-geun 2NE1 Kim Shin-young () 14 April 2012 – 17 November 2012 44 Shin-young Empty Stomach Lee Young-ja () 21 July 2012 – 17 November 2012 Mom (Eomma)
G8 members Cast (Hangul)DateNicknamesGroup Hyoyeon () 12 November 2011 – 17 November 2012 Hyoding (Kid Hyoyeon) Yoghurt Ajumma Sancho Breaky Breakomaneci Girls' Generation Yewon () 12 November 2011 – 17 November 2012 Laminate Ducushong U-Go-Girl Fish Market Aunty Chitty Chitty Bongsuni Un-Grown Katydid Jewelry Bora () 12 November 2011 – 17 November 2012 Bosain Bolt Nacho Ggamanova Boraski Alba Lucky Icon Infant Sistar Jiyoung () 12 November 2011 – 17 November 2012 Jigoo (Ji-fool) Am-Tell Girl Dacushong All-Grown Giant Baby Kara Suzy () 12 November 2011 – 17 November 2012 Nation's First Love Giant Maknae Jobless Him Suzy King Feet 285mm from Gwangju Bacushong Eonnyeoni Grown-feet miss A Ko Woo-ri () 12 November 2011 – 7 April 2012 Granny Rainbow Amber (//) 12 November 2011 – 7 April 2012 Eunyoung Terminator The Rising Star in Farming f(x) Sunny (/) 12 November 2011 – 7 July 2012 Soonkyu 60's Sunny Louisoddong Gaeddongi/Dog Dung Grasshopper Girls' Generation
List of special guests
Season 1 Episode NumberAirdateGuest starsNotes Episode 6 November 29, 2009 Minho (SHINee) Episode 10 December 25, 2009 Go Se-won Park Hwi-sun Son Hoyoung (g.o.d) Onew (SHINee) Im Seulong (2AM) Heo Kyung-hwan Christmas Special Episode 18 February 19, 2010 Heechul (Super Junior) B2ST Yeon Jung-hoon Lee Kye-in Nicole Jung (Kara) Hyoyeon (Girls' Generation) Episode 19 February 26, 2010 Roh Yoo-min Shindong (Super Junior) Replaced Kim Tae-woo who held a concert in the United States Episode 20 March 5, 2010 Lee Kye-in Episode also featured the cast from the documentary Old Partner Episode 22 March 19, 2010 Sooyoung (Girls' Generation) Replaced Yuri who could not participate due to the swine influenza Episode 23 March 26, 2010 Sooyoung (Girls' Generation) Koo Jun-yup Ock Joo-hyun Episode 24 April 9, 2010 Koo Jun-yup Episode 26 April 30, 2010 Ham Eunjung (T-ara) Kim Jong-min (Koyote) Ham Eunjung replaced Hara who did not appear due to Kara's sponsorship promotions in Thailand Episode 27 May 7, 2010 Lee Joon (MBLAQ) Jeong Jun-ha Episode 29 May 21, 2010 Cast Gag Concert Referred to as "Gag 7" in reference to "G7" Episode 30 May 28, 2010 Cast Gag Concert Referred to as "Gag 7" in reference to "G7" Episode 36 July 9, 2010 Secret Shin Ji (Koyote) Surprise guests for G7's Special Army Concert Episode 37 July 16, 2010 Sunny Special invitation for G7's trip to Japan Episode 38 July 23, 2010 Sunny Special invitation for G7's trip to Japan Episode 39 July 30, 2010 Jung Myung-hoon Go Joo-won Episode 40 August 6, 2010 MBLAQ Episode 41 August 13, 2010 MBLAQ Jiyeon (T-ara) Lee Seok-hoon (SG Wannabe) Park Hyun-bin Summer Vacation Special Episode 42 August 20, 2010 Yuri Special invitation for G7's Farm Products Exhibition Episode 43 August 27, 2010 2PM Lizzy (After School) JeA (Brown Eyed Girls) Replacing Hara and Victoria who were absent due to their respective group's promotions in Japan Episode 44 September 10, 2010 Karam (The Boss) Kim Young-chul Song Eun-i Episode 48 October 8, 2010 Park Gwang-hyun Episode 51 October 29, 2010 Sunny Hyuna Go Joo-won Lee Kye-in Chung Myung-hoon Kim Tae-woo 1 Year Anniversary Special, Part 1 Episode 52 November 5, 2010 Luna, Sulli, Krystal (f(x)) Song Jieun (Secret) Kang Jiyoung (Kara) 1 Year Anniversary Special, Part 2 Episode 53 October 8, 2010 Bora (Sistar) Episode 54 November 26, 2010 Bora (Sistar) Replacing Hara and Narsha who were absent due to their respective group's promotions in Japan Episode 55 December 3, 2010 Taemin (SHINee) Replacing Victoria Episode 58 (Finale) December 24, 2010 Kim Tae-woo Surprise Appearance
Season 2 Episode NumberAirdateGuest starsNotes Episode 9 January 15, 2012 Im Ha-ryong Episode 12 February 25, 2012 Song Dae-kwan Tae Jin-ah Missing Sunny and Hyoyeon due to Girls' Generation's promotions in America Episode 17 March 31, 2012 2AM Episode 19 April 14, 2012 Choi Hong-man Kim Shin-young debut and missing Jiyoung but appear later in the show Episode 20 April 20, 2012 Shinhwa Episode 21 April 27, 2012 Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Jung-shin (CNBLUE) Missing Jiyoung Episode 22 May 5, 2012 Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Jung-shin (CNBLUE) Taeyeon (Girls' Generation) Narsha (Brown Eyed Girls) Replacing Bora and Suzy Episode 23 May 12, 2012 Gong Hyung-jin Missing Jiyoung but appear later in the show Episode 24 May 19, 2012 Sung Min (Super Junior) Episode 25 May 26, 2012 Park Sang-myun Hyuna, Sohyun (4minute) Missing Jiyoung Episode 26 June 2, 2012 Andy (Shinhwa) L (Infinite) Lee Hyun-woo Baek Sung-hyun Kang Kyun-sung Park Hwi-sun Missing Sunny, Hyoyeon, Bora, Jiyoung Episode 27 June 9, 2012 Joo Sang-wook In Gyo-jin Hyomin (T-ara) Sunhwa (Secret) Missing Sunny and Hyoyeon but they appear later in the show Episode 28 June 16, 2012 Jo Min-ki Son Byong-ho Episode 29 June 23, 2012 Kang Dong-ho Kang Ji-sub Goo Hara (Kara) Replacing Bora who did not appear due to Sistar's music video shooting in Hawaii (Hara), Dano Special Episode 30 June 30, 2012 Baek Ji-young Episode 31 July 7, 2012 Jo Kwon (2AM) Lee Joon (MBLAQ) Hwang Kwanghee (ZE:A) Sunny farewell Episode 33 July 28, 2012 Wooyoung (2PM) Episode 37 September 1, 2012 B2ST Initially missing Hyoyeon but she appears later in the show Episode 38 September 8, 2012 Chung Hoon Cho Jun-Ho Song Dae-Nam Kim Jae-Bum (2012 South Korea Judo Olympic Team) Episode 44 November 3, 2012 Taru Salminen Abigail Cancian Brownwyn Mullen Bianca Mobley (Global Talk Show) Missing Jiyoung
Music