Entertainment or Bullying?

I truly enjoyED this show. It had four of the main ingredients of joy in life for me: travel, food, games and community (friendship). It was a real pleasure to travel, eat, play and bond with these guys vicariously all along South Korea.

And I’m talking in past tense because, after enduring many of the last episodes (after hundreds of them), I cannot cope with it anymore. I’m highly empathic and sensitive and it gets into my skin how the cast is bullied by the crew. And since they have become so bitter because they have to endure things that are almost psychopathic (extreme exhaustion, extreme cold, extreme trials…), they also bully each other. Like a lot.

The fun is completely gone for me too. I don’t enjoy watching people suffer, much less, enjoy people making others suffer. Some of the trials are incredibly sadistic and you can tell how bad the cast feel about them. Before Ravi and the woman director left, there was teasing, playing and sweet competition… now it’s all about hard competition, insulting each other and one hardship after another. I don’t feel the love amongst the cast members at all now, it’s just, as Moon Se Yoon put it: “let’s make some money and go home”.

Also Na In Woo is leaving and the real reason I could keep watching the show until now. He is the only one who still keeps his integrity and values and has never insulted or thrown under the bus anyone. His kindness, generosity and honesty brought me so much hope in the human being. And I’m truly grateful for him.

I hope this show can get back to its rails and stop associating fun with punishment, entertainment with bullying. Enough of this. Please.

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