Choo Sunghoon "Ajossi" Earns Daily Wages While Traveling on "Gotta Earn My Meal"

Overseas Extreme Jobs in Baekdusan, Egypt, and China
A Survival Variety Show With Lee Eunji and GwakTube,
Earning Every Penny Themselves

Choo Sunghoon is sharing his thoughts on appearing at the press conference for "Choo Sunghoon's Must Pay for His Meal," held on the 23rd at IFC Yeouido, Seoul. EBS·ENA Choo Sunghoon's Must Pay for His Meal

"My daughter (Choo Sarang) is spending an incredible amount of money abroad. It's really unbelievable. I need to work hard here and give her an allowance. I'll do my best."

Entertainer Choo Sunghoon shared his strong determination to participate in the EBS·ENA variety show "Gotta Earn My Meal," where he enjoys traveling as much as the "meal cost" he earns through intense labor overseas. At the press conference held on the 23rd at IFC Yeouido in Seoul, he said, "As a mixed martial artist, I was confident in my physical strength, but I was curious about how I would handle extreme labor. I gave 100% of my ability," he emphasized.

Recently, Choo Sunghoon has gained popularity under the nickname "Ajossi" (meaning "uncle" in Korean) by sharing his friendly and down-to-earth daily life through his YouTube channel. Now, he has taken on a variety show that carries his own name. He said, "At first, I felt a lot of pressure. Since it was a program with my name on it, I didn't know what I should do, but I realized that enjoying it was the answer."

Broadcaster Lee Eunji, who is popular among Millennials & Gen Z viewers, and YouTuber GwakTube join Choo Sunghoon as they experience high-intensity and extreme jobs around the world. Choo Sunghoon worked as a Baekdusan mountain herb gatherer, a merchant on the Nile River in Egypt, and at a liquor factory in China, earning daily wages through hard labor.

He said, "Usually, if the cast is struggling, the production team sometimes helps, but this time, that didn't happen at all." He added, "We managed to do everything ourselves. In China, even the map app didn't work and English wasn't understood. Even when I wanted to buy water, I had no money, so it was really tough, but I think the program turned out to be very entertaining."

GwakTube (from left), Choo Sunghoon, and Lee Eunji are taking a photo during the filming of "Choo Sunghoon's Must Earn His Meal." Choo Sunghoon's Must Earn His Meal

Director Song Junseop explained, "There are scenes where language barriers come into play, so we didn't follow the cast around 100% of the time." He continued, "The phrase 'earning your meal' also means fulfilling your responsibilities. This isn't just a program about enjoying travel; we designed it so that the cast could approach it with sincerity." Drawing on his previous experience directing the "Gwak Junbin's World Reporter Restaurant" series, he added, "This time, I wanted to convey a unique sense of fun and realism through extreme jobs."

The cast members also highlighted the program's immersive quality. Gwak Junbin said, "I've traveled a lot, but this was my first time experiencing a job on location. Labor made the travel feel more real, and I think the show will be entertaining." He added, "When I first met Sunghoon, I was scared because he's a mixed martial artist, but in reality, he's a thoughtful and warm-hearted uncle. Eunji was full of energy and led the atmosphere."

Lee Eunji said, "I was drawn to this program because it's a survival journey. I think viewers will relate to how the three of us gradually develop chemistry as time goes on." She added, "Choo Sunghoon was so popular that locals even asked him to live and work with them."