TV: The struggles of a 'Superman' VJ

"Ajusshi, what're you doing?"

"Please blow on my finger"

"Why won't you reply?"

"Did you sleep well? muah"

Article: The hidden "ajusshis" in the triplets' home, what're you up to?

Source: Oh My News via Nate

The small tents are easily spotted if you're a viewer of the KBS 2TV show, 'Superman'. In charge of recording the 48 hours the children spend with their fathers, the tents belong to none other than the hidden camera VJs who are affectionately called 'ajusshis' by the children.

The tents may look small now but they're an upgrade from the smaller boxes that were used at the start of the show. The VJs compare it to moving from a one room to a 30-pyeong sized apartment. Although the size of their work environment grew twice the size, the hidden nature of their work hasn't gotten any easier. They still must stay in those tents for 3-4 hours at a time and eat meals through kimbaps or sandwiches slipped to them while time permits.

Despite hiding themselves to the best of their abilities, they're no stranger to the triplets who visit as often as they can. Recently, even Jion's dog Saebom took an interest in just who lives behind the tents.

The hardest part of the job is probably ignoring the children, especially Minguk's aegyo. Even when Minguk sticks his finger out for him to blow on, the VJ must stick to his code of invisibility. The children first became aware of the VJs in their home through the cameras they affectionately call 'alligator' or 'dinosaur'. Even though they're in hiding for the majority of the filming, they still have to come out and expose themselves to swap films and tapes. Naturally, they developed a relationship with the children enough so that Minguk was spotted worrying for a VJ when he coughed off camera, and the twins, who everyone thought was too young to notice, began calling them 'uncles'.

Kang Bong Gyu PD said, "There are about four VJs per home and 2-3 of them are fixed so they've gotten a lot closer with the children. Minguk is such a caring child that he reacts a lot to the VJs bustling about or coughing."

"At the beginning of filming, Song Il Guk-ssi taught the kids to greet the 'dinosaur uncles' as soon as they got up in the morning. Daehan, Minguk, and Manse will all come up to the tents and give their greetings without a second thought."

Regarding the film style of having hidden VJs in the home, the PD said, "I think we're the first variety show to try something like this. The tents are actually more for the fathers than the children. Having the VJs exposed causes a big difference in the way fathers act. They notice the cameras and act awkwardly at times but if we hide the VJs, their actions get more natural just a few hours into filming since they forget about their existence."

The cameras are also a great way to pick up on the natural habits of the children. Since Jion loves mirrors, the show came up with a way to hide the cameras behind mirrors. "Jion loves mirrors so we figured she'd stare at them a lot and came up with a way to configure our cameras behind them. Having hidden cameras like this does come with its pros and cons, cons being that we can't follow them around and film every little thing. The pro is that we can get a more natural view of their every day life. We used to film about 7-8 hours at a time at the start of the program and would come out to stretch a bit before going back in again. It's not an easy job."

The VJs revealed that Minguk would freely give kisses to them and the producers off camera, easily relieving the stress of a long day's worth of filming. Despite the harsh work conditions, the VJs feel contented in being able to see the children's actions and expressions so up close. Hilariously, despite their growing relationship, the triplets are still hesitant on sharing their food with the VJs.

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1. [+833, -38] I feel like it'd be awkward for them to eat. When do they eat? Do they eat with the people who own the home?... ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

2. [+777, -10] I actually like that the children, especially the triplets, are so interested and curious of the tents and actively try to communicate with the ajusshis. They're like little vitamins.

3. [+617, -12] I'm so jealous of them... they get to experience the triplets' aegyo and kisses firsthand..

4. [+54, -3] Once again, I'm surprised at Song Il Guk's parenting style. Considering the concept of the show, you're not supposed to acknowledge the presence of the cameras but he makes them go and greet them ㅎㅎ That's so important in teaching the kids respect and manners as they grow up.

5. [+39, -2] Children are the reflection of their parents. The children are obviously showing how important family education is. Because their parents use formal language, they naturally use formal language too. Lee Hwi Jae's kids are beginning to speak too so I hope the triplets set a good example for them.

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Source: Naver

1. [+18,243, -517] Minguk's so cute ㅋㅋ

2. [+15,721, -167] Hard work for all of the producers ㅠㅠ

3. [+11,574, -149] So, so adorable... ♥

4. [+1,891, -34] It must be absolute torture having to stay quiet and unresponsive when Minguk's doing aegyo right in your face ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

5. [+1,721, -27] It was so cute when one of the VJs coughed and Minguk was worried for him ㅋㅋ ㅠㅠ

6. [+1,549, -14] The tents are absolutely necessary. When they didn't have the tents that one episode and just had the VJs exposed, the triplets set up an audience with all of the chairs up in front of him and asked him what he was doing over and over again ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

7. [+1,031, -16] It's totally a torturous job ㅋㅋ Can't even go to the bathroom when you want because you can't leave the cameras, have to eat alone in the tent by yourself ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

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