Super Junior's Kim Heechul personally explained why, after temporarily stepping away from JTBC's Knowing Bros, he's meeting viewers again through the new reality show Love War.
On the morning of the 23rd, the production presentation for JTBC's Love War was held online. CP Kwon Haebom and PD Park Eun-young joined MCs Lee Hyori, Seo Jang-hoon, and Kim Heechul to talk about the program.
Love War is a dating reality show where three MCs meet real couples on the brink of breaking up, listen to their conflicts, negotiate on their behalf, and help them reach a final decision about their relationship. Viewers are curious to see how the strong trio of Lee Hyori, Seo Jang-hoon, and Kim Heechul will approach and resolve each couple's problems.
Kwon Haebom pointed out unexpected sides of the MCs. Kwon said, "At first I thought Seo Jang-hoon would be the tough-love 'whip' and Lee Hyori the 'carrot,' but it turned out to be the opposite," adding, "Kim Heechul says he's a 'T' himself, but he really looks after the participants. I could tell he's a seasoned dater," drawing laughs.
Flustered yet honest about being called a "seasoned dater," Kim Heechul shared his take. He said, "Watching the participants made me reflect on my past," adding, "I think I used to be like that, too. It made me look back on whether I was a good boyfriend." He continued, "I'm supposed to be the one giving advice, but it actually felt like I was getting a reality check," and added, "If I date again, I realized I have a lot to learn."
The hot topic was why he joined Love War after temporarily stepping down from Knowing Bros. Kim Heechul began, "Honestly, it's something I deserve to be criticized for." He explained, "Love War was a program I'd agreed to do from early this year," adding, "Seo Jang-hoon reached out at the production team's request and asked me to do it with him. That became the push."
Even so, Kim Heechul made his affection for Knowing Bros clear. He said, "Knowing Bros is incredibly precious to me. Along with Super Junior, it's the show that helped elevate me to where I am," he said, defending the program.
He decided to step back for a while due to scheduling and stamina. Kim Heechul shared, "Knowing Bros records every Thursday, but because I have many overseas schedules, we sometimes had to move shoots up or film two episodes in a day to match my flights," adding, "I couldn't accept it when I couldn't fully focus." He continued, "Even if I'd just flown 20 hours or wasn't in great shape, if viewers saw that, I wouldn't be a pro," explaining, "I decided I needed to rest. Letting it show that I'm struggling didn't feel professional to me."
Kim Heechul confessed he discussed the issue several times with Seo Jang-hoon over drinks. He said, "I really like Seo Jang-hoon hyung, so we talked about it a few times while drinking," adding honestly, "I also thought I'd get criticized if I took Love War."
The Knowing Bros staff respected his decision as well. Kim Heechul said, "The production team really supported me. And right now, Kim Shin-young is doing an amazing job, so I'm relieved," expressing gratitude.
Attention is on how Kim Heechul, who has stepped away from Knowing Bros for a while, will confront real couples' conflicts on Love War. Love War premieres today at 8:50 p.m.