The Korean entertainment industry is the only one that can pull off a KShow. Be it variety, reality, game shows, or others. I had seen my country’s effort to create some entertaining game shows, but they were so lame that they died down in silence.
I don’t know how the Korean does it, but their shows are entertaining, witty, educating, hooking, and more. Maybe because of their funny edits and suitable comedic fonts. Or maybe because of their natural wits and the apparent efforts of staff in preparing the sets. Their sets and props are no joke.
KShows’ Popularity
KShow is a general term for any Korean show including K-Dramas – it’s basically a term for any Korean TV show with multiple episodes. However, it is most widely used for Korean variety shows. They can be ‘game shows’ or ‘reality shows’ depending on what kind of format the producer chooses to start.
Among variety shows that are famous internationally are Running Man, 2 Days 1 Night, Mom’s Diary, Hangout with Yoo, I Live Alone, The Return of Superman, Knowing Bros, King of Masked Singer, I Can See Your Voice, EXchange, and many more. They are so famous to the point that they have more fans than K-Pop idols and several countries have purchased the show format to make their own version.
**Before I elaborate on my title about the latest KShow called Apartment 404, I’ll walk you through a few KShows that you need to know to understand why Apartment 404 is gaining popularity.
Village Survival, the Eight
There used to be a KShow named Village Survival, the Eight (also known as Michuri). The regular line-up of the show enveloped Korean fans with excitement, as among them are the No.1 Korean MC; Yoo Jae-suk, a global star; Jennie (Blackpink), a legendary charismatic solo singer Son Dambi, and a beautiful natural comedienne Jang Do-yeon.
Long story short, the show was received well due to its refreshing format. 6 regular members of the ‘Village’ need to play a treasure hunt – find the clues spread all over the village to know where the prize money is hidden – real cash! Mind you, the clues are not elementary. They are at least intermediate.
Another reason why people love the show is due to its funny members and witty games in between the quests. Shows like this play a big role in putting unpopular Korean celebrities (that has what it takes) to be put on the Hallyu map. All in all, it’s quite fun to watch the members racking their brains in solving the puzzles in all 3 seasons.
Busted!
This is another Kshow that features solving mysteries and puzzles. Compared with Village Survival, Busted! has more of an upper-intermediate level of puzzles to be solved. The cast includes Yoo Jae-suk (again, the No. 1 Korean MC), Lee Kwang-soo, Lee Seung-gi, Park Min-young, Kim Sejeong, Oh Sehun, and many more.
Even as an audience, you have to have a high level of general knowledge to guess along with the members – that’s how high-level the puzzles are. I guess, due to its atypical casts and puzzles, that’s why the show advanced until the 3rd season. In one of the seasons, it even features Korean celebrities who are known for having high IQs to have a group battle against the regular cast.
By far, Busted! is my favourite mystery-solving Kshow since it’s a bit challenging for my brain – which is a forte for an INTP like me. Oof! I almost forgot to mention, the setup and props in this show are TOP TIER!
Apartment 404
As mentioned several times in my previous paragraphs, Yoo Jae-suk, the nation MC, is one of the permanent members in all of them. It’s because he loves puzzles and playing detectives more than anything (I suspect he is a T like me as well). Apart from being the game master in ‘Village Survival, the Eight’ he also plays a James Bond role in ‘Running Man’ and a private investigator in ‘Busted!’. He is also well-known for becoming a very reliable person in brainstorming ideas with producers and writers of KShows that he featured in.
Hence, that might influence the creation of the Apartment 404. Once again, the show exceeded viewers’ expectations in terms of mystery and suspense. The casts are the mix of the best in every show Yoo Jae-suk used to be in. Oh Na-ra from Sixthsense. Jennie from Village Survival. Yang Se Chan from Running Man, and Cha Tae Hyun from X Man. Lee Jung Ha (KDrama Moving) is the only rookie, and people know why he’s there – Jae-suk loves to help people shine.
Why did I need to mention ‘Village Survival’ and ‘Busted!’? it’s because Apartment 404 manages to combine the selling features of those 2 shows. Funny casts like Village Survival’, and interesting puzzles like ‘Busted!’
The show uniquely uses true Korean crime cases that involve apartments in South Korea. Due to that, the goal of the members is to uncover the secret of the apartment through clues that they received after they won a game. It sounds ordinary, isn’t it? But every episode has its twist – sometimes twist(s)! I was mindblown from Episode 1. I won’t tell you why, but I was amazed by one of the members. Oh, the secrets of the apartment in each episode are not ordinary as well. That’s what makes it interesting.
Verdict
Even though the puzzles in Apartment 404 are not as hard compared with those in Busted!, they are still interesting facts of true crime cases – that really happened! Every case they need to investigate in the show also features clips from the news during the time of the crime.
When they are using true crime cases, it means they are all in the past. One of the cases even dates back to the 1940s. The production staff went all out in creating the ambience by decorating not one house, but two or three houses with 1940s decorations. Everything is on point, from the colour scheme of interior designs to the brand of pencil used in the decoration back then.
Every extra cast and stun actors are top-tier. Given that half of the regular members in the show are outstanding actors, it makes the show not awkward at all. In fact, they pulled you into their act and suspense. So, to conclude, whether Apartment 404 will be my go-to Kshows to watch while I’m eating? It will be, and that says a lot if you are a Kshow fan.
Overall, I give it an 8/10 rating for the twists and turns, as well as the performance of every member. If you would like to read other reviews on Korean content, you can read them here. TTO BOJA!
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