The people who make ‘GagCon’

From food props to location security

‘Beads of sweat’ for the safety of the cast and audience

There are people sweating at the backstage of KBS 2TV ‘Gag Concert’ (photo). They are not widely know, but they are the main characters at backstage.

On the 27th (Wednesday), we meet these people in front of the ‘Gag Concert’ stage. They prepare the stage props and are responsible for the dress up, beads of sweat are rolling for the safety of the audience and the cast.

FD Byun Sung Gil has been handling the stage settings and props of ‘Gag Concert’ for nearly 20 years, ever since it was a pilot programme in 1999. He said that “the props have become increasingly sophisticated as with the increasing eye level of the viewers.” To create sophisticated props, he goes around busily, as if 24 hours in a day is not enough. To get props for the skit ‘Descendants of Pyongyang’, visiting sites selling pre-owned items on the internet is a must, and he visits Insa-dong, Seoul etc., looking around the country in some place to find props. FD Byun says “I put extra attention into the hygiene of food props used for the whole of summer, and I check in advance for any nails that have come unscrewed on the stage floor,” he stressed about ‘safety awareness’.

Security guard Jo Young Jin studies the safety of the location as early as 5 hours before the recording. It has been 3 years. There are 4 security guards who spread out to guard the waiting rooms and stage. He said, “I haven’t been a security guard at ‘Gag Concert’ for a long time, but I already know the faces of all the staff. There are many waiting rooms, so we pay more attention to control the admission into these rooms. The KBS staff cannot enter carelessly,” he laughed.

The main star, Team Leader of the Make-up Team has many experiences erasing all the make-up and applying another without rest during recording. The Team Leader said that “basic make-up is the same, but there’s a lot of special make-up like having to apply something on the whole body or stick something on the face.”

The 31st Class that started work on the 4th are also part of the hidden people behind-the-scenes. Arranging tables around the waiting room, they are equipped with emergency medicine and towels to help the sunbae comedians with their successful stages. Newbie comedian Park Jin Ho, who was busily moving around at the table, said that “as soon as I came in, I could feel the professionalism of the sunbaes. I’m learning a lot from them, so I’d like to be able to stand on the stage one day, soon. On that day, gagman Lee Sang Hoon bought various snacks like sandwiches, milk and more for his hoobaes at the recording. Lee Sang Hoon said “the maknaes are working very hard backstage. I was suddenly reminded about myself of that time, so I bought these.”

Translation: gagconcert@tumblr

Source: Sport Dongah via Naver

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