Jung Hyung-don and Defconn Officially Stepping Down from ‘Weekly Idol’ MC Positions

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Jung Hyung-don and Defconn are officially stepping down from their MC Positions of ‘Weekly Idol’, which they have been hosting for 7 years. On February 22nd, a source said “Jung Hyung-don and Defconn are leaving MBC Every1’s show ‘Weekly Idol’ after their last shooting on March 7th”.

The two have been hosting the show since July, 2011. Although the show didn’t get much recognition during the beginning, Jung and Defconn’s perfect harmony with a lot of idols has led the show become popular. And at some point, the show has become a “mandatory” show for many idols to appear on. All of the top idols have been on the show, including Big Bang, BoA, Girls’ Generation, BTS, Super Junior, EXO, and IU.

It’s especially a special show for Jung Hyung-don. In December, 2015, Jung had to take a break because of his health problems. Defconn and a special MC led the show until March, 2016, when Kim Hee-chul and Hani hosted the show as temporary MCs. In October that year, Jung Hyung-don came back and has been hosting the show since then.

Yet, both Jung and Defconn will step down from their MC positions, and the program may also change to a seasonal show. There is nothing specific decided in terms of the show’s format or next MCs.



sources: KPopLove via isplus

Comments

[spainawards2008.livejournal.com]

This makes me sad.
I live for my favourites being on Weekly Idol

[revedesnuages.livejournal.com]

They've had some fun episodes, but I've always thought Jung Hyung-don and Defconn were a little overly touchy with idol groups and some of them looked visibly uncomfortable.

In keeping with the rhyming names and also since they have previous experience, I hope Sunny and Hani are the next MCs.

[ironicmustache.livejournal.com]

end of an era.

infinite should be the last guests. if not them, then it better at least be btob or apink.

[a0kigahara.livejournal.com]

and nothing of value was lost. bye, perverts

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

Yes.

They should just make Hani host it. Heechul isn’t necessary either.

[msgrottesca.livejournal.com]

I keep seeing ppl say they were pervs in one breath, and saying Heechul should host in the other.. and I can't wrap my mind around it because 99% of the time there's a girl group around he acts like a nasty otaku lmao lateral move.

[babyjenkski.livejournal.com]

Watched almost all episodes since the start. I think some hates it but I really enjoyed watching this show. I got introduced to lots of group through WI coz they don't just invite the popular ones but even those who are pretty new. I read that even the PD's leaving so I guess its gonna be a totally new show replacing it.

[theonlysolution.livejournal.com]

Eunhyuk the variety show killer struck again

the super junior curse is real pic.twitter.com/hSvCQiYakh (https://t.co/hSvCQiYakh)

— 🍂 (@kyushire) February 22, 2018 (https://twitter.com/kyushire/status/966757079229911047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

I'm not particularly torn up about this or anything, seven years is a pretty long time. If anything I'm surprised they stuck around for so long. Though I do hope the show is able to stick around since it's pretty much the only show nugus can appear on besides After School Club.

[thebloomroom.livejournal.com]

lmao OMG

[violoncelliste.livejournal.com]

asdfghjkl lol

[queenhinata.livejournal.com]

rip last great idol show (that wasn't a group's own show)

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

I'm sad about this b/c it was the first thing I would watch whenever I was getting into an idol group. I definitely share some of the criticisms people have of Doni and Coni, but without Weekly Idol, where are we gonna watch our faves as a group? Unless they have their own shows or go on Knowing Bros, there's not much is there? I like some of the stuff groups do for Arirang's youtube channel, and there's ASC, but that's not a very good show for getting to know an idol's personality, since most are way too awkward cause of all the English.

It's just sad. The end of an era. I hope something rises out of this that gives a platform to idols and allows them to interact with other groups, because I'm tired of everybody sticking to their group dynamics and boring idol images. There are clearly some idols who'd be willing to throw their image away for variety, and I want there to be a platform for them.

Variety is my favorite thing about kpop b/c it's something that we don't really have in the US.

[msgrottesca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Weekly Idol honestly became pretty much the only idol variety I ever watch lol. ASC's format drives me insane and triggers my anxiety (the live translating and live fans and eugh it just puts me on edge, so many things could go wrong lol)

I get why some ppl think Doni Coni are too much - I couldn't watch girl group episodes at all because they're vile. But other shows play it TOO safe and just ask the same dumb questions over and over and nothing funny ever happens because it's just bland PR shit like "do aegyo" and "talk about your favorite foods"... and they're usually still pervy with girl groups so it's boring AND problematic lol plus yeah, you usually only get to see one or two members at a time instead of a whole group guesting.

Variety is so much my fave thing about kpop, I usually end up stanning the variety member of the group lol this is really depressing to me, there just aren't any good idol shows these days! Weekly Idol was the only one that made any effort to disguise how scripted it was.

[violoncelliste.livejournal.com]

The end of an era. I hope something rises out of this that gives a platform to idols and allows them to interact with other groups, because I'm tired of everybody sticking to their group dynamics and boring idol images

i hope someone hears this and listens because i love all my idols but i'm so bored of keeping them caged like that

also let men and women talk, jesus christ

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

I liked that Idol Keymaster thing but I think its ended?

[noonakaia.livejournal.com]

Totally agree with your entire comment, I really hope that we will have a variety show in the same format. I really liked it when they brought more than one group and they all interacted together and had fun. Anytime I got into a group, I needed to see them on Weekly Idol or at least checked if they already did it. The end of an era indeed...

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

tbh i cant imagine this show going on without them ....

it was one of the few (if not the only) show that give a chance to nugus and small companies idols

[10135.livejournal.com]

I personally don't think that they were such good hosts to the point that I miss them, but now that they are gone, I know the show will go bye-bye and they probably won't have good enough rating to support any more guests. That being said, the guests made the show. It really sucks because I liked the games they did, like the sped up dancing, as well as the food games. All of it was pretty good in terms of a fun show, especially that white backdrop.

[h0ly-ravioli.livejournal.com]

Good riddance

I hope they'll be replaced by someone less gross who won't make girls bend over just to measure how flexible they are

[msgrottesca.livejournal.com]

Good luck w/ that cuz pm every variety show is vile as fuck when girl group members guest, unfortunately lol I find myself getting pissed off no matter what show it is. Female idols are treated like show ponies.

[h0ly-ravioli.livejournal.com]

i know, sometimes it's very hard to watch varieties. I remember seeing on twitter some guy blatantly hitting on gfriend's umji(?) while she was still underage and it gave me the creeps. also, the knowing bros ep with jonghyun and irene was one of the most uncomfortable things to watch, they all circled her with the excuse of finding a mole on her head and you could tell she was not here for that.

[msgrottesca.livejournal.com]

I literally hate seeing female guests on Knowing Bros lol they either get ogled the entire time or insulting for their bodies/looks/not being submissive enough the entire time. Fuck that.

[yixingsforehead.livejournal.com]

the point of the show was to expose the ugly/real side of the industry, so if it's going to be someone less gross, they might as well just shut the thing down

[yuujinchous.livejournal.com]

sad because exo went on weekly idol only once in 2013 and ever since then, the mcs have been wanting them to appear at least one more time but somehow it never happened. i blame sm. also sad because got7's weekly idol episodes are legendary, especially the one where the punishment for making mistakes during random play dance was getting their pre-debut videos exposed lmao

[daynr.livejournal.com]

yes!

[keki7.livejournal.com]

Small correction, Exo was on twice in 2013.

[yuujinchous.livejournal.com]

ah it's been so long, i don't even remember anymore. sad! thanks for the correction :*

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Most are suspecting that this has to do with FNC buying the company who produces Weekly Idol.
Seven years is a reaaally long time and, while the hosts had really good moments, sometimes it's good to change. Even for them. I think the moment Doni had to step down to focus on his health proved that other hosts could do just as well. I hope they make special episodes with Infinite, APink and BtoB for their last shows!

I really hope Weekly Idol or something similar will go on, it's such a great set up to discover new groups, and for the groups to be entertaining in a different way than most variety shows. But please let's pick hosts that aren't as creepy with the girls. DoniConi has been less creepy in the last episodes I've seen but uh there were some really uncomfortable moments.

My favourite pick would be Sunny + someone who's not exactly an idol so that one of the hosts can play clueless.

[myungung.livejournal.com]

yes to Apink and BtoB, I love their WI episodes! (I don't follow Infinite so I'm not too sure about their episodes, but I guess EXID could be added in too since Doni and Coni love EXID too)

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

I think Infinite is the group that went the most on WI: as a group, subunit or solos; for special events; and even Sunggyu as a host when Doni was taking a break. I think they were also the first to guest too, they're totally part of the WI family!
Infinite episodes are hilarious lmao even without being a fan, they have some really entertaining moments!!!

EXID is a really good pick too, I hope it happens :)

[daynr.livejournal.com]

I hope they try to replace it, because I like watching the groups do variety as a whole. It's half of what makes kpop fun for me. And I love when there are several groups on at once, and they have to interact. And I will miss GOT7 episodes ... they seemed to get Jinyoung to crack his idol facade a few times -- I was hoping they would achieve some Jinyoung strippage at some point! Or how EXO would be now that they're less controlled.

[myungung.livejournal.com]

they truly love Jinyoung, almost every WI episode with GOT7 features a small section dedicated to Jinyoung (the name change and Dream High reenactment ones come to mind)

[daynr.livejournal.com]

they were going to go for peaches next. And JB was going to die laughing.

[chenetic.livejournal.com]

I think the show should just end. It was great to learn about smaller groups but without these guys, it'll be kind of lackluster. An idea is to start afresh with a new show, same kind of idea for nugus but not with the name

[yixingsforehead.livejournal.com]

i'm gonna miss the show... i don't think it's gonna be the same show without them.

they were gross or perverts or whatever? that was the whole point of the show, to show how gross the industry is. this is the closest you got to knowing how bad the idols are treated. i didn't see bullying being mentioned here, but that was also a big theme. and yes, some might just write it off as the hosts being bullies or encouraging bullying. (note how they mostly picked the more powerful members as targets.) but the point was to show how it works behind the scenes, how easily bullies are made, how you can become the next target again.
weekly idol dared to show the public the tip of the iceberg. they were the ones to allow idols to show how much they are suffering, being tricked into doing stuff they don't want to do. the idols always had screentime to complain, unlike most other apperances they make.

with weekly idol gone from the screen, the exploiting of idols will still be going on, it's just you won't have a peephole.

[miwa201.livejournal.com]

lmao i think you're looking too much into the show

[yixingsforehead.livejournal.com]

either that. or i did enough research on formats to be able to tell them apart.

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

Dude, it was a variety show, not a documentary on the human condition. People were meant to laugh at the idols getting punishments and doing tricks for food prizes, not ruminate on the dark realities of the underbelly of the Korean entertainment industry.

[yixingsforehead.livejournal.com]

...except there were and are other shows where you're supposed to laugh at idols, and this one was the only one where they gave the idols lots of space to reflect on the show itself, plus where they did a lot more research on said idols compared to other shows

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

well ... if you put it that way it sure seem like korean entertainment dont know any better
netizens always look down on idols , one of the reasons it could be how idols (without exception) are constantly portrayed on variety shows
at first i thought it could be that many mcs have comedy background but then again some of the greatest comedians (particullarly females) dont ever use this condescending tone with juniors


imo most male entertainers feel threatened by idols (even those without any kind of variety talent)

[yixingsforehead.livejournal.com]

oh they definitely look threatened....the looks, the youth, the following, idk what else makes them feel like that

(these mc's kinda sorta played the pressed netizens here and there, but mostly the creepy older types/managers)

[audiograms.livejournal.com]

Not a fan of the hosts, but like a lot of people it was one of the few places i could see my faves appear. I liked a lot of the games they played too.

[blck-ink.livejournal.com]

oh wow that's weird!! i really liked the show and how idols were able to act a bit more freely. i wonder how the show will continue and with who.

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

Time to pass the mantle on to the NEW nation’s host Sunny.

[sayuridoll.livejournal.com]

we love the nation's new MC sunny