The 10-episode variety show <Yoo Jae-seok Camp>, released on Netflix on the 26th of last month, is the first variety program to fully front the name of Yoo Jae-seok, South Korea’s ‘No. 1 in variety.’ A set was built where people can eat, sleep, and do recreation for the camp, and with pre-registered ordinary participants, two 2-night, 3-day camps are held. Thanks to his reputation, <Yoo Jae-seok Camp> became the most-watched program on Netflix in South Korea as of the 29th of last month.

However, for a program billed as ‘first,’ many scenes feel already seen. Only the change from celebrity cast to ordinary people is new, while the 2000s MBC variety show <Goal Attainment Saturday> segment “Star Survival: Donggeo Dongrak” is repeated. Because the ‘familiar taste’ has been recurring in recent shows featuring Yoo Jae-seok, the freshness feels lacking.

<Yoo Jae-seok Camp> was produced by PD Jung Hyo-min, who directed <Hyori-ne Minbak> and <Daehwanjang Kianjang>, joining hands with Yoo Jae-seok. Although it emphasizes that it is a successor to the ‘guesthouse variety’ Jung directed, it runs on a different track from <Hyori-ne Minbak>, which opened the door to guesthouse variety shows, and <Daehwanjang Kianjang>, where the unique wit of Kian84 stood out.

As the title suggests, this is a camp, not a guesthouse. Camp leader Yoo Jae-seok leads the camp’s main programs, and staffers Lee Kwang-soo, Byun Woo-seok, and Ji Ye-eun serve as team leaders for groups of ordinary participants. Yoo Jae-seok presides over the camp check-in ceremony and wake-up, as well as group recreation.

In episodes 1-5 released through the 1st, there are many familiar scenes. Participants lift the seat cushions they are sitting on to chants, recreating the “Cushion Quiz,” in which Yoo Jae-seok playfully keeps increasing the multiple-choice options. There is also the “Delivery Box Quiz,” where an item is placed in a metal delivery box and Yoo Jae-seok rapidly opens and closes its lid. Playing a song at wake-up and having the celebrity staff and ordinary participants sing together in a talent show segment is a format often seen in past variety shows such as “X-Man.”

The key figures also evoke deja vu. Lee Kwang-soo and Ji Ye-eun each worked with Yoo Jae-seok on SBS’s long-running variety show <Running Man> at different times. In episodes 6-10 to be released on the 2nd, the couple Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon will appear as previewed. Lee Hyo-ri, too, has worked with Yoo Jae-seok across multiple variety shows since the 2000s.

Yoo Jae-seok is a representative entertainer who has ranked first for 14 consecutive years through last year in Gallup Korea’s “Entertainer-Comedian of the Year” survey. His positive image, built through self-management that avoids major controversies, and his ability to draw out another person’s character and humor through conversation remain key drivers of his popularity.

However, unlike when <Infinite Challenge> or <Running Man> first launched, his recent projects show standardized patterns. tvN’s <You Quiz on the Block>, which began as a format of meeting various people on the street, has settled into an indoor talk show, and MBC’s <Hangout With Yoo?> also does not differ greatly from an <Infinite Challenge>-style variety show. <Running Man> likewise maintains a framework in which the regular cast and guests gather to play set games.

Why does a program by the ‘top name in variety’ repeat such familiar pictures? Pop culture critic Jung Deok-hyun said, “These days, people are a generation that pick the variety programs they want according to their own tastes,” adding, “Because there is definite demand for the familiar and comfortable programs they watched in the past, production can follow that.”

<Yoo Jae-seok Camp> also underscores that there was demand for “Donggeo Dongrak.” In pre-interview scenes with ordinary participants shown during the program, many asked to try the “Cushion Quiz” themselves. At a production presentation on the 19th of last month, Yoo Jae-seok said, “I thought that having participants try inside the camp what they used to watch on TV would be a ‘fantasy that is not a fantasy,’ so we prepared many ‘Donggeo Dongrak’ games.”

While Yoo Jae-seok’s distinct strengths in variety clearly show, some say the freshness falls short. Pop culture critic Kim Gyo-seok said, “Yoo Jae-seok’s ability to draw out human charm in talk shows that introduce new people or in ‘character shows’ aligns with the current flow of variety,” yet added, “If one thinks that merely scaling up and repeating the formats of existing variety shows will further elevate Yoo Jae-seok’s reputation, that would be a problem.”

At the production presentation, PD Jung Hyo-min said, “I know what many people are worried about. The task is to make it feel familiar yet not boring,” adding, “I believe we created our own new narrative from a familiar combination.” Yoo Jae-seok also explained, “I always ponder freshness as well. Creating and showing a balance of freshness and fun is the work we must continue to do.”