In an era when gifts are often reduced to a few taps on KakaoTalk — Korea’s most used messenger app — MBC’s latest reality show, “The Secret Friends Club,” created by star producer Kim Tae-ho, turns its focus back to what it means to give a gift. The producer revealed that the heartfelt concept traces back to a resonant comment by Blackpink’s Jennie.

“Last August, Jennie told us she wanted to create content that could feel like a gift to viewers and fans during the year-end holiday season,” said Kim during a roundtable interview at his production company TEO in western Seoul on Friday. “We were especially drawn to the word ‘gift’ and that idea eventually led us to the concept of our show.”


He added that the program also stems from his own self-reflection, as he often struggled with not knowing what to give the people he cares about most.

“While working on ‘The Secret Friends Club,’ even though the stars start off not knowing much about each other, the idea that ‘I have to give a gift to someone’ led them to research and learn about that person. In doing so, they sometimes came to understand them even more deeply than those who had known them for years.”

First released on Feb. 1, “The Secret Friends Club” centers around a group of celebrities becoming each other’s Secret Santa, which is called manito in Korea. After their identities are revealed, they join forces as “Secret Manito” and prepare gifts for a specific group.

The show features three different celebrity lineups. The first includes Blackpink’s Jennie, Dex from the second season of “Single’s Inferno” (2021-), comedian Lee Su-ji, TV personality Ro Hong-chul and MMA fighter Choo Sung-hoon.

Despite its star-studded cast, the show’s first three episodes — featuring the initial lineup — drew a relatively lukewarm response. Viewership ratings declined from 2.1 percent to 1.6 percent and then to 1.3 percent, according to Nielsen Korea.

The producer, who once led one of Korea’s biggest hit variety shows, “Infinite Challenge” (2005-18), acknowledged the underwhelming reception and expressed some regret over not clearly communicating the show’s concept in advance. Still, he emphasized that the project was envisioned as an “omnibus film or series to watch during the year-end holidays,” adding that upcoming episodes would offer more to viewers.

While Kim underscored the show’s warm intentions, the first three episodes also leaned more toward a familiar format expected of variety content, which he did not expect from the guests — it missed the mark of the feeling the show was intended to elicit. To make up for the mishap, Kim said the production team introduced a new rule requiring participants to give only handmade gifts to add more focus on the meaning of present-giving.

“When we introduced a benefit for the first person to give a gift in the first lineup, it unexpectedly turned into a kind of chase,” said Kim. “Looking back, I think that may have kept viewers from fully seeing the careful buildup behind each gift. So we thought, ‘What if we make them give something more handmade from the beginning? If the stars take the time to create something with their own hands and sincerity, it might lead to a different kind of flow.’”

The show also adopts an experimental format, rotating its cast every few episodes. Following the first lineup, the second features actors Jung Hae-in, Go Youn-jung and Kim Do-hoon, along with comedian Park Myung-soo, model Hong Jin-kyung and “Culinary Class Wars” (2024-25) chef Yoon Nam-no. The third lineup includes actors Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young and Lee Sun-bin, as well as Kang Hoon and singer Kwanghee.

Kim acknowledged that they “definitely chose the more difficult path.”

“These days, a lot of shows run up to 12 episodes, but speaking personally as a viewer, there honestly aren’t many that I watch all the way through,” he said. “Part of it is that I’ve been so busy that I can’t keep up consistently, but that also made me think of what if we condensed it into something like four episodes, where each part wraps up cleanly. I felt that could offer a different kind of enjoyment.”

“Of course, if we had gone [with a fixed cast], we could have built more chemistry over time and taken a more relaxed approach with pacing and editing.”

Though "Infinite Challenge" concluded years ago, Kim has long remained closely tied to it. As a result, many of his following projects — including “World Dice Tour” (2023-25) and “Good Day” (2025) — have often been compared to his iconic show. It was the same for “The Secret Friends Club.”

Kim spoke about this matter, sharing that while he initially felt pressure to distance himself from the show, his perspective has since shifted, now thinking of ideas to "reinterpret the show in a way that fits today’s generation and current trends."

“I joined ‘Infinite Challenge’ when I was 31, initially thinking I’d leave the following year, but I ended up staying until I was 45,” Kim said. “For about 15 years, it was something I was constantly thinking about except when I was sleeping. At the time, my biggest goal was to try everything that a variety show could do and to push the boundaries of the genre as far as possible.”

“After the show ended, I made a conscious effort to try things that were different from ‘Infinite Challenge,’ but I realized just how difficult that actually is.”

Beyond his role as a producer, Kim is also the founder of production company TEO, established in December 2021. The company has produced a range of shows, including Netflix’s “The Devil’s Plan” (2023-25) and “Physical: Asia” (2025).

Now approaching its fifth year, Kim said the company is preparing to establish a new brand identity, noting that the media landscape has changed significantly since its launch, when there was a sense of optimism.

“As we approach our fifth year this year, we’re now looking to establish a new brand image,” he said. “We’ve been asking ourselves about what kind of company we are today, as well as discussing with our marketing team, along with external consultants, to define a more unified direction.”

MBC’s “The Secret Friends Club” airs every Sunday at 6:10 p.m.

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