Actor Lee Seo-jin and renowned producer Nah Yung-suk head to Texas, with no set plan, relying solely on Lee’s lead. Having built a 15-year relationship, the duo brings an almost romantic comedy-like chemistry that viewers can look forward to, according to the show’s producer.

“While working on the postproduction, I found myself thinking they were like a bubbly, bright female lead and a cynical male lead,” said producer Kim Ye-seul during the show’s news conference held in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. “On set, it just felt like they had great back-and-forth chemistry, but as I kept rewatching the footage during editing, it really started to come across like a romantic comedy.”


“Lee would complain, saying things like, 'Why do we even have to do this?' but then the moment he sees how much Nah enjoys it, he watches from the side with a pleased smile. It felt very much like a classic rom-com trope, with the male lead complaining at first, but then quietly smiling when he sees the female lead happy.”

Aligning with this, the producer added that the viewers will also notice Lee’s geotbasokchok charm, a Korean term describing a person who seems cold on the outside, but is warm and soft on the inside.

Produced by Nah and Kim, the reality show “Ready or Not: Texas” follows the crew traveling across the Lone Star State entirely according to Lee’s plan and based on his preference — a state that Lee often mentioned as somewhere he would like to live after retirement.

The producer emphasized that the show differs from the typical travel reality shows, where the production team maps out a detailed itinerary.

“It definitely wasn’t a standard travel course,” producer Kim said. “We even joked that we’d be in trouble if anyone actually used our show as a guidebook for a trip to Dallas, Houston or anywhere in Texas.”

Nah added, “It’s not the kind of trip where you follow a guidebook. It really moves according to Lee’s personal tastes. So I think part of the fun for viewers is simply watching where that journey takes them.”

One particularly unconventional stop was a Korean gamjatang, or pork back-bone stew, restaurant located some distance from one of the major city centers.

“That restaurant is somewhere tourists would never normally go,” Nah said. “The reason we ended up there wasn’t because it’s a well-known Korean restaurant in a big city, but because Lee insisted we had to try it.”

“When we asked why, he said there’s a large Samsung factory nearby, and a Korean restaurant where the employees regularly go would be on a completely different level from a typical touristy Korean restaurant. And when we heard that, it did sound pretty convincing. So, we actually went and tried it, and I remember being genuinely surprised by how good it was.”

Lee added, “The place does better gamjatang than most you’d find in Seoul.”

Following Lee’s lead, the producers also visited a number of sports venues, including AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL team the Dallas Cowboys.

“There was one place Lee kept going on about even before the trip, saying we absolutely had to go, and that was the Cowboys’ football stadium,” Kim said. “When we finally got there, you could really see his genuine excitement come out.”

Kim also noted that Lee often shared interesting facts and bits of history about the places they visited. However, some details later turned out to be inaccurate, leading the team to include occasional on-screen correction captions — something she believes will add entertainment to the viewing experience.

The show’s earlier iteration, “New York New York,” began as a YouTube project before being reworked for a global release, and the team admitted to feeling a certain level of pressure.

“To say there was no pressure would be a lie,” Nah said. “The project actually started off quite casually, with us just thinking we’d film something fun for YouTube when Lee had free time.”

“But once Netflix came into the picture, it did start to feel a bit more daunting for us. At the same time, we’re really curious to see how Lee’s travel content would be received on a platform like Netflix."

When asked whether there will be a second season, Lee expressed that he already has some ideas in stock, saying, “I already have a long list of cities in mind.”

Reality show “Ready or Not: Texas” was released on Netflix on Tuesday.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]