A screen grab from MBC's "I Live Alone" shows broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo departing on an impromptu trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan. [Screen grab]
A screen grab from MBC's "I Live Alone" shows broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo departing on an impromptu trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan. [Screen grab]

Documents including a pre-written scenario for broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo's Kazakhstan trip — which had already drawn allegations of staging — have been made public, reigniting questions about the segment's authenticity. The production team behind MBC's variety program "I Live Alone" had previously defended itself by saying it had prepared for Kazakhstan as one possible destination, but the disclosure of a pre-written scenario is expected to fuel fresh doubts.

According to a Chosun Ilbo report Friday, documents obtained by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from Incheon International Airport Corp. show that MBC submitted a filming permit application on July 22 specifying that it intended to film Jeon checking in at an Air Astana counter and departing on Aug. 6.

The documents contained Jeon's Kazakhstan departure schedule and detailed filming plans.

The application also specified the departure flight as the 11:10 a.m. service on Aug. 6, and Jeon has since been confirmed to have left on that exact flight.

A scenario submitted alongside the application described Jeon saying, "I've been to China too many times — maybe I should try Kazakhstan," before calling cast members Gu Seong-hwan and Lee Ju-seung to confirm the destination. The actual broadcast showed Jeon appearing to browse destinations at random before settling on Kazakhstan after a phone call with Gu.

The production team maintained that it had simply prepared for Kazakhstan as one of several candidate destinations, but no alternative destinations appeared in the documents submitted to Incheon International Airport Corp.

MBC attached only a filming consent form from Air Astana's Korean branch — the Kazakh national carrier — without seeking cooperation from any other airline.

Viewers had raised questions about possible staging after Jeon's Almaty travelogue aired on Sept. 14 and Sept. 21.

Their concerns centered on Jeon renting a car within 40 minutes of arrival without the translation and notarization of his Korean driver's license required under local regulations, and on the practical difficulty of a large production crew securing flights and accommodation on the spot.

The production team denied the staging allegations.

The team initially said "there was no support from the Kazakh side," then later corrected its position to say it had not received financial support but had received filming cooperation from the Almaty City Tourism Bureau. As criticism continued, the team added that it had booked crew flights and arranged local cooperation in advance in case the Kazakhstan trip was confirmed.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com