Busted!, All The Butlers, and 3 Other Korean Variety Shows to Stream After Work Hours

If you’re looking for something other than movies and dramas to watch this long weekend, how about giving Korean variety shows a try? Unlike the scripted content that you’ve been watching, variety shows offer a quick way for you to unwind and forget the stress of the day. With a well-mixed group of idols, actors and comedians, here’s a look at 5 K-variety shows that you can consider to stream over the weekend.

BUSTED!

The cast of Busted! (Image courtesy of Netflix)
Cast: Yoo Jae Suk, Park Min Young, Ahn Jae Wook, Kim Jong Min, Lee Kwang Soo, Oh Sehun, Kim Sejeong, Lee Seung Gi
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 20
Duration per episode: Approx. 62 to 97 minutes
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In a mix of both scripted and unscripted lines, Busted! brings a popular mix of actors, idol group members and comedians, which includes Yoo Jae Suk, Park Min Young and EXO’s Sehun, together in a murder mystery variety show that sees the celebrities attempting to solve a crime. The series features a roster of guest celebrities such as actors Park Hae Jin, Jin Seyeon and K-pop idol Yoon Sungjae, who play characters that somehow get involved in the crime in each episode, eventually leading the cast to the clues they need to solve the case. Even if you’re not into crime or mystery, Yoo Jae Suk’s hilarious antics is worth the watch alone!

You can watch all episodes of Busted! season one and two here on Netflix.

QUEENDOM

Female K-pop idol group Mamamoo in Queendom. (Image courtesy of Mnet)
Featuring: Park Bom, AOA, Mamamoo, Lovely, Oh My Girl, (G)I-DLE
Episodes: 10
Duration per episode: Approx. 90 minutes
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Queendom is probably one of the more interesting concepts that is similar to a reality singing competition. The show pits well-known female Korean idol groups including industry seniors Mamamoo and Park Bom against one another to determine the winning group of the lot with points accumulated based on votes from three preliminary performances and a live comeback stage. If you’re a fan of Korean pop, you would surely enjoy the different stages that the groups put together where they refresh and rearrange the musical styles of iconic songs like ‘Fire’ by 2NE1. 

You can watch all episodes of Queendom here on Viu.

MEN ON A MISSION (KNOWING BROTHERS)

The cast of Men on a Mission. (Image courtesy of JTBC)
Cast: Kang Ho Dong, Seo Jang Hoon, Kim Young Chul, Lee Soo Geun, Kim Hee Chul, Min Kyung Hoon, Lee Sang Min
Episodes: 230
Duration per episode: Approx. 120 minutes
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Having been around for a while since 2015, Men on a Mission (Knowing Brothers) is known for their high school concept where the cast members take on roles as students in a classroom setting to welcome their line-up of guests to the show. Each episode essentially becomes a bit like a get-to-know-you session with the cast, led by popular host Kang Ho Dong, facilitating each segment which features different activities such as Let’s Play (where the guests challenge the cast to an impromptu game) and Second Period (where the guests are free to make suggestions on what they would like to do). The activities usually vary based on the guests that are set to appear so if an idol group is scheduled to appear, the episode would typically have a dance activity.

Notable guest appearances on the show have included BTS, Blackpink, EXO, TWICE, Super Junior and Girl’s Generation.

You can watch all episodes of Men on a Mission here on Netflix.

ALL THE BUTLERS (MASTER IN THE HOUSE)

The cast of All The Butlers. (Image courtesy of SBS)
Cast: Lee Seung Gi, Yang Sehyung, Shin Sung Rok, Kim Dong Hyun, Cha Eun Woo
Episodes: 120
Duration per episode: Approx. 90 minutes
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Join the five hosts of All The Butlers on a journey to gain knowledge and wisdom as they spend two days and one night together with different reputable figures of various fields or professions. In the duration they spend with their ‘masters’, the hosts would learn a variety of skills or life lessons from the accomplished individuals like veteran actress Youn Yuh Jung who shared her own experience on how important it is to just be yourself, and how memories are priceless when singer-songwriter Jeon In Kwon told them of the time he turned down a billion won (approx SGD$1.2 million) offer on his house because it had become a significant part of his life.

Other notable guest appearances include Park Ji Sung, Park Ji Young, Kim Nam Gil, and Lee Young Ae.

You can watch all episodes of All The Butlers here on Viu.

COFFEE FRIENDS

The four drama actors who run the café in Coffee Friends. (Image courtesy of tvN)
Cast: Yoo Yeon Seok, Son Ho Jun, Choi Ji Woo, Yang Sejong
Episodes: 10
Duration per episode: Approx. 80 minutes
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Ever wondered what it would be like to visit a café run by K-drama actors? That’s the unique concept behind Coffee Friends which sees four actors including Winter Sonata‘s Choi Ji Woo run a quaint cafe on a tangerine farm in Jeju Island where they serve coffee and brunch to visitors. Inspired by a donation project run by Yoo Yeon Seok and Son Ho Jun, instead of listing the prices in their menu, the cafe lets their customers decide on how much they would like to pay for their food and beverage. Keep an eye out for famous idol and actor guest stars such as Kang Daniel and Nam Joo Hyuk who help out at the café as part-time workers and dishwashers!

You can watch all episodes of Coffee Friends here on Viu.

 


Banner image courtesy of SBS, Netflix and Mnet.