Kian84 opens second guesthouse in Daegwallyeong: 'I wanted to cry'

Webtoon artist and broadcaster Kian84 has opened a second guesthouse, this time in Daegwallyeong, Gangwon Province, following his first venture on Ulleungdo.

The Netflix variety show "Daehwanjang Kianjang" — which drew attention with its wildly unconventional guesthouse featuring a home floating on the sea and a bed with no roof — returned for a second season one year and five months after its debut.

At a press conference held Tuesday in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Kian84 said expectations had risen so high after the first season that he agonized over how to build the second location.

"I exchanged ideas with the production team for about a year and threw out around 10 concepts," he said. "Because we were racing against deadlines, the result ended up being noticeably more unusual than the first. Designing it was fun, but when I actually came face to face with the finished second location, I was taken aback."

The show follows Kian84 and a staff of employees as they welcome guests to a guesthouse built entirely from his outlandish ideas.

Director Lee So-min, who helmed both seasons, said Kian84 suits extreme environments. "Season 1 was set against the midsummer sea of Ulleungdo, so for Season 2 I thought, why not go to the complete opposite — deep in the mountains in the dead of winter?" she said.

The second guesthouse bills itself as "the world's largest accommodation." Every piece of furniture and every prop inside has been made in oversized dimensions, evoking a scene from "Gulliver's Travels."

Co-director Kim Ji-hyun said Kian84's early ideas — a house that flies through the sky, one that rolls across the ground, an insect-shaped house hanging from a tree — had to be rejected as impractical. "The second location may look ordinary from the outside, but the closer you get, the more surprising it becomes, and the more you look inside, the more unexpected twists you find," she said.

Kian84 said he was largely satisfied with the finished guesthouse but admitted that actually living there proved far harder than he had imagined.

"In my head I was thinking, 'What would it be like to step into a fairy-tale world?' but when it came down to it, it was no fairy tale," he said. "It was so tough I genuinely wanted to cry. I had to keep working with nowhere to hide. In the early days — around Sept. 3 and 4 — guests were telling me my face looked so gloomy."

Yet when asked whether he would choose the first or second location as a paying guest, he did not hesitate: the second.

"Daegwallyeong has far better service, and it is well equipped with private rooms, a sauna and various other amenities," Kian84 said. "If it were a hotel, I'd say it has gone up about two stars."

The new season features a fresh lineup of staff members, including volleyball player-turned-broadcaster Kim Yeon-koung, singer and actor Lee Jun-ho, and Kazuha of the group Le Sserafim.

The staff count was also increased from three to four, reflecting the larger venue and the longer indoor hours that come with a winter setting.

The new staff members shared candid impressions of the second location. Kim Yeon-koung, who stands 192 centimeters tall, said she had expected the oversized space to suit her, but it proved uncomfortable even for her. "It is a place full of dreams and hope, but if I had to pay to stay there, I might think twice," she said with a laugh.

Lee said he joined the show at a moment when he was craving a new kind of excitement. "When I first saw 'Kianjang' I really felt like I had stepped into a fairy tale, but once I started working there, I ended up with bruises all over — my knees, hands and the soles of my feet," he said. "I experienced healing and killing at the same time."

Kazuha, who joined the press conference via video call due to an overseas schedule, said the moment that stayed with her was watching guests arrive and light up like children as they explored the house. "There were also so many facilities you can only experience at 'Kianjang,' like the sauna and the skating rink," she said.

Kian84 said nearly 10 days of working side by side had brought the team closer together. "Like the ground hardening after rain, we developed a real human warmth for each other," he said, adding that Kim Yeon-koung had been a steadying presence the rest of the team leaned on.

Broadcaster Dex is set to make a surprise appearance as a part-time worker. Director Lee said Dex — known in variety show circles as part of the "Kian line" — rushed straight from the airport to Daegwallyeong after finishing an overseas shoot. "Thanks to him, the nights at 'Kianjang' got a lot more heated," she said.

Kian84 said he feels the weight of responsibility as the designer behind the show and urged viewers to tune in. "The longer you work in variety, the more sensitive you become to ratings and scores," he said. "I thought a lot about what might draw viewers. I hope everyone enjoys it."

"Kianjang" Season 2, a 10-episode series, released its first four episodes Tuesday at 5 p.m., with the remaining episodes to follow over the next three weeks.

husn7@heraldcorp.com