The cast of "Take a Hike!" on Aug. 12 pose for photos at a news conference held at Hotel Naru Seoul M Gallery in Seoul's Mapo-gu District. From left are singers Car the Garden, Dowoon from Day6, actor Lee Chae-min and singer Tarzzan from AllDay Project.

By Oh Jung Eun
Photos = Netflix

"Take a Hike!"

This new reality show under the theme of mountain hiking is ready to capture viewers both at home and abroad. The program follows four people with no previous interest whatsoever in hiking to take on the challenge of reaching the summit of snow-covered mountains in midwinter.

At a news conference for "Take a Hike!" at Hotel Naru Seoul M Gallery in Seoul's Mapo-gu District, the show's main producer Park Hyun-yong said, "I thought that people who dislike hiking can bond and grow closer if they go hiking together."

"We intentionally didn't talk about hiking during the casting process. The four cast members probably had a really hard time because they didn't want to hike."

The cast of "Take a Hike!" go along a trail with the ridge behind them.

The four people suddenly forced to go hiking in extremely cold winter are singers Car the Garden, Dowoon from DAY6, Tarzzan from ALLDAY PROJECT and actor Lee Chae-min, all fresh faces hardly seen on variety shows.

"We thought long and hard to come up with a new combination never before tried," said creator and producer Nah Yung-suk, who supervised production. "I was convinced that these people had great hidden potential that was just not yet well-known."

Though the journey began with concern, their teamwork was second to none. "I was very worried at first when we started climbing because we weren't close, but after going up and down mountains together, we developed a sense of camaraderie, which was great," Lee said.

"No one complained," Tarzzan added. "Everyone was considerate and respected one another's time. I think that our teamwork was 11 out of 10."

The cast of "Take a Hike" eat at a Korean barbecue restaurant.

The four members showcased the beauty of the country's winter scenery by climbing iconic mountains such as Seoraksan, where the temperature plunged to minus 27.5 degrees Celsius, Taebaeksan, where they saw the sunrise, and Hallasan. With full support from Netflix, the production team used state-of-the-art cameras to capture stunning images of the mountains.

Nah said Korean hiking culture will appeal to global viewers as something fresh and intriguing. "I've heard that many foreign tourists these days go hiking as soon as they arrive in Korea," he said. "I think Korean viewers will relate to the program and foreign viewers will find it fascinating."

"Korea is the only place with a culture of packing gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) and ramyeon (instant noodles) to take on a hike. I thought it would be interesting to show Korea's unique hiking culture."

The show boldly discards the conventional formula of variety shows that comedically display the difficulty of outdoor activities.

"Variety shows in the past expected participants to cry on cue if they reached the summit after an arduous hike and watched the sunrise," Na said. "But these guys said they couldn't stand that. I think this is a genuine reaction and what resonates with audiences today."

The first five episodes of the show, which feature the nation's beautiful snow-covered mountains and landscapes and the unedited reactions of variety show novices, debut on Netflix worldwide on Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. Korean Standard Time.

cloveroh@korea.kr