Actor Kim Min. [Herald Muse]
Actor Kim Min. [Herald Muse]

Actor Park Won-bin has come to the defense of his colleague Kim Min, who has faced manipulation allegations after appearing on MBC's "I Live Alone," saying viewers need "the sense to watch a variety show as just a variety show."

On Tuesday, Park wrote on his Instagram, calling Kim Min a "free spirit," and said he was taken aback after reading the comments section following the episode. "Everyone had their magnifying glasses out in full analysis mode," he wrote. He added that while watching, he momentarily thought he had tuned into "That's Incredible" — a program known for investigative storytelling — rather than "I Live Alone."

Park said that if watching the show left viewers feeling at ease and refreshed — thinking, "Ah, so there's a life like that, carefree and unhurried" — that should be enough. "Instead of holding a serious hearing over someone else's lifestyle, I think most of us just wanted to live as freely and coolly as Kim Min," he said.

The allegations surfaced shortly after Kim Min appeared on the Friday episode of "I Live Alone," in which he shared his daily life in a nearly 90-year-old house in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

The episode showed Kim Min running a generator each morning to produce electricity, pumping groundwater for daily use, and patching cracked floors with cement himself. Some online users compared the house as it appeared in a map service's street-view footage captured last July with scenes from the broadcast, questioning whether the home had been specially staged for filming.

Others questioned why Kim Min used a generator to power appliances such as a refrigerator and speakers when utility poles and power lines were visible near the house.

It was the second time in about a month and a half that "I Live Alone" had been caught up in manipulation allegations. Earlier, broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo had drawn scrutiny over a segment depicting what was presented as a spontaneous trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan, with viewers suspecting the journey had been planned in advance.

The production team at the time acknowledged that staff members had purchased airline tickets to Kazakhstan in advance and arranged local filming cooperation in case the trip went ahead. "We caused misunderstanding and confusion for our viewers, and we were not able to respond quickly and clearly to the questions that followed," the team said, adding, "We sincerely apologize for the shortcomings in our judgment and response."


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