Infinite Challenge

Infinite Challenge
Promotional Logo
Also known as	Muhan Dojeon
Genre	Comedy, Variety, Reality
Directed by	Kim Tae-ho[1] Kim Joon-Hyun (co-dir.) Jo Wook-Hyeong (co-dir.)
Creative director(s)	Song Seung-Jong
Presented by	Yoo Jae-Seok
Starring	Park Myeong-su Jeong Jun-ha Noh Hong-cheol Jeong Hyeong-don Ha Dong-hoon Gil Seong-joon Jun Jin (~ November 2009)
Opening theme	Non stop, vive Fosset by Vive la Fete
Country of origin	South Korea
Language(s)	Korean
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	260 (as of July 30, 2011, for its 4th season) (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Kim Tae Ho
Location(s)	Worldwide
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	75-80 minutes per episode
Production company(s)	MBC
Broadcast
Original channel	MBC TV
Picture format	NTSC; ATSC for 2008 Infinite Challenge concert
Audio format	Monophonic
First shown in	South Korea
Original run	April 23, 2005 (2005-04-23) – Present
Chronology
Preceded by	Super Recommended Sataurday (강력 추천 토요일)
Related shows	Infinite Girls (spin-off)
External links
Website

Infinite Challenge (a.k.a. Muhan Dojeon; Hangul: 무한도전; Hanja: 無限挑戰; abbreviated Mudo) is a Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC. As of June and July 2009, it still has the largest market share for its timeslot, between 13.8 percent and 19.7 percent of Korean television viewers watched Muhan Dojeon at 6:40 PM every Saturday night.^[2] This makes it the top free-to-air television program on Saturday evening, and also the most viewed non-drama program in South Korea every week (excluding special sporting events, since November 2006, with the exception of January 2009,^[3] April and May 2010^[4]).^[5] It has kept the same scheduled time, since first airing in 2005. Since 2009, it lasts for roughly 70 minutes, excluding ten minutes of advertising. Episodes are also frequently rerun on several Korean cable broadcasting channels.^[6] Since February 19, 2011 (237th episode), this programme has been aired with High Definition(HD).^[7]

Real-Variety

Infinite Challenge has been reported as the first "Real-Variety" show in Korean television history.^[8] The program is largely unscripted, and follows a similar format of challenge-based Reality Television programs, familiar to the audiences in the West, but the challenges are often silly, absurd, or impossible to achieve, so the program takes on the aspect of a satirical comedy variety show, rather than a more standard reality or contest program. In order to achieve its comedic purposes its 6 hosts and staff continuously proclaim, the elements of this show are the 3-Ds, Dirty, Dangerous, and Difficult.^[9]

History

Season 1

Further information: List of Infinite Challenge episodes#Season 1

The title of Season 1 was Reckless Challenge (무모한 도전). At that time, hosted by Yoo Jae-Seok, 6 or more Korean entertainers (with Noh Hong-cheol and Jeong Hyeong-don as a joint panel) tried to challenge a 'sporting' mission in an outdoor studio, which was based on a viewer's suggestion through the show's homepage. For example, in one episode, the members were made to compare their strength to a 50-ton bulldozer by the members (and a guest) pushing a medium-sized car and the bulldozer pushing a bus. It lasted only from April 23, 2005 to October 22, 2005, and had strong supporters, however its average ratings were very low (roughly 5 percent). For this reason, reruns of Season 1 and sporting episodes of Season 4 (i.e. WM7) episodes are frequently aired on MBC Sportsplus, MBC's satellite and cable network for sports-casting.

Season 2 and 3

Further information: List of Infinite Challenge episodes#Season 2 and 3

Aired from October 29, 2005 to April 30, 2006, the title of Season 2 was Excessive Challenge (무리한 도전). For the first few episodes, it was fairly similar to the first season. However, because they wanted re-create their characters, they decided to change the whole program concept, calling it 'Infinite Challenge - Master of Quiz' as their third season. Since then, 6 hosts (Yu Jae-seok has managed as a 'host-in-chief') performed a Korean-letter game called 'Ah-ha'(see below) to compete in their knowledge, mental power, on-line popularity polls about some specific themes, and comic features.^[10] And although the average ratings were low, the unity of the members has significantly improved. A panelist from Season 1, Park Myeong-su, came back as a co-host, and Ha Ha and Jeong Jun-ha also became co-hosts of this programme.

Season 4

Further information: List of Infinite Challenge episodes#Season 4 (2006), List of Infinite Challenge episodes#Season 4 (2007-1), List of Infinite Challenge episodes#Season 4 (2007-2), and List of Infinite Challenge episodes#Season 4 (2008-1)

Since May 6, 2006, the fourth and current season (format) of the programme 'Muhan Dojeon'(Infinite Challenge, 무한도전), went on air. Special coverage of 2006 World Cup Germany was featured for the entire month of June 2006, and some Ah-ha specials (with Shinhwa, for example) on their beginning. However, since July 8, 2006, the program began its memorable first-step as the first 'Real-Variety' television program in Korean television history, with the airing of 'Please, come early': 6 members were asked to come on time when it had been scheduled (일찍 와주길 바래, a part of the 'Please, be...' series see below), combining elements of both Reality TV and Variety programming, including Comic features from 6 'Infinite (Challenge) Members'(무한도전 멤버들, see 'hosts'). Thereafter, they have been making challenges with regard to anything which can happen in real life (excluding some critical issues such as politics, religions, and sexual references), in outdoor studios, with little acting or heavily-based plotting. Since December 2, 2006, it has received the highest ratings of prime-time lineups for Saturday evening.^[11]

Contents

On Muhan Dojeon there are 6 male entertainers who face difficult challenges every week. Some of the absurd challenges include racing in a foot powered swan shaped paddle boat against a motor boat, playing a tennis match against Maria Sharapova, appearing live on stage at a public fashion show, and playing football against Thierry Henry. A large part of the humor comes from the fact that the cast is generally not well suited to the challenges they attempt. This program can be compared to the filmed-in-studio Wetten, dass..? of Germany, as the program mainly focuses on the process and progress of the challenges, rather than focusing on the accomplishment of a mission.^[12]

Occasional segments

These segments are part the show but are only featured from time to time.

• "Jimotmi" - Jimotmi which stands for 지켜주지 못해서 미안하다 (Jikyeojuji motaeseo mianhada), which means 'sorry I could not look out for you' where the members play pranks on each other to see how they react.
• "Muhan News" - This comic-based newscast presents bits of stories which report events that happened to some or all of the members of Muhan Dojeon, and also reports some pieces of their life outside of Muhan Dojeon. As Yoo Jae-seok, the moderator of this newscast, says at the beginning of the segment every time, the reason for this segment is 'just for fun', rather than focusing on the truth of reports. Recently, however, this segment has turned to focusing more on the actual truth of its reports and also keeping a balance between facts and humor.
• "Muhan Theatre" - The members of Muhan Dojeon present a conte (short-term comic stories) unexpectedly.
• "Please, be..."(series) - This segment was introduced to instill common principles to all of the members (apart from their trademark, 'selfishness'). '"Please, come early"' (Korean: 일찍 와주길 바래) and '"Please, be friendly"' (친해지길바래, featuring Ha-Ha and Jeong Hyeong-don) were two memorable segments.
• Ah-Ha - This is a game in which one member says a word, and the next person says that word backwards. eg) Mu-han-do-jeon (Name of this program in Korean) - Jeon-do-han-mu. This segment premiered in the 2nd season (Muhan Dojeon - The master of Quiz).
• "Ha & Su" - A situation comedy (sitcom, Korean: 주간시트콤 '하와 수') acted out by Jeong Jun-ha and Park Myeong-su. During each scene, they are always at odds with each other about petty issues.
• '"Hidden Camera"'(Korean : 몰래 카메라) - This was also introduced by the staff to catch and record the members' natural behavior in certain situations.
• "One-flash Telepathy" - After hearing a word which has been given from the production booth, each member presents a gesture and hopes to have presented the same gesture as the other members. The original purpose of this segment was to unite the minds of the members, however, they have yet to succeed. A voice narration for this segment (including 'Ah-ha') has been made by Na Gyeong-eun, who serves as the announcer for the MBC and eventually entered a relationship with Yu Jae-seok.
• Television Advertisements - Throughout the episodes, they create some satirical Korean television advertisements. For recent example, Jeong Jun-ha does a parody of Neutrogena by New Caledonia and also Hauzen by Samsung.
• Calendar-making Project - For last three consecutive years(2009, 2010, 2011), members of Muhan Dojeon has been poised to produce a series of unique calendars, and donated profits for public occasions.

Elections 2008

Candidates Votes Notes Yoo Jae-seok 5 (13.9%) Park Myeong-su 10 (27.8%) Elected, but thought to have meddled with the votes Jeong Jun-ha 7 (19.4%) Jeong Hyeong-don 6 (16.7%) Noh Hong-cheol 2 (5.5%) Ha Dong-hoon 6 (16.7%) Others 6 (Invalid votes) Total 42 (100.0%) Turnout: 84.0%

After an enormous request by Park Myeong-su to have 'a new leader in a new year 2008', all Muhan Dojeon members and staff held a vote for a new 'host-in-chief' on December 31, 2007, at the nation's own natural gas field near Ulsan.^[13] This episode aired on January 12, 2008.

Major Campaign Pledges

• Park Myeong-su - Promised that he will wipe out the 'unpopular' and 'old-fashioned' comedy, if elected (썩은개그, 낡은개그 청산)
• Jeong Jun-ha - Providing 'Winter clothes' for all hard-working staff (모든 스태프에게 방한복 지급)
• Ha Ha - Liberalization of individual hairstyle (두발 자유화)
• Jeong Hyeong-don - Serving a wide range (selection) of lunch for all members and staff (다양한 중식 제공)
• Yu Jae-seok(Inc.) - Pledged for all eligible voters to serve as a host-in-chief again (재선 도전)
• Roh Hong-cheol's pledge one was not on the air.

Votings
All entertainment managers and co-ordinators cast their vote earlier that day (06:00 AM) at the South gate of the MBC Headquarters, and the members and other staff of the MBC voted the night of the election, after attending a meeting where all candidates stated their pledges. All votes were counted on the morning of New Year's Day (08:00 AM).

Results
Most voters expected Yu Jae-seok to return as the 'host-in-chief' without much difficulty; However, to everyone's shock, Park Myeong-su was found to have earned the most of the votes. (Though, on-air evidence suggests that Park somehow rigged the vote box, as he attempted and succeeded in destroying the CCTV evidence of the culprit; and also the tally after the vote count revealed only 36 votes, when Yu Jae-seok had declared that there were 42 votes the previous day.) Therefore, Park Myeong-su was elected as the new host-in-chief. Following an agreement that every candidate agreed to before the election, the new host-in-chief's leadership was to be tested in the next 3 weeks, and if the winner did not show sufficient leadership skills, they were to be recalled and a re-election was to be held. Also as a result of this vote, Roh Hong-cheol, the candidate with the least votes, was chosen to prepare traditional goods (a grand sum of 200 kg rice from Icheon). He chose the new leader Park Myeong-su to help him with this task.

Aftermath

Candidates Party Name Votes Notes Yoo Jae-Seok Kung-festival Party (쿵잔치당) 29 (60.4%) Elected, Regained his leadership Park Myeong-su Wideopened-hair Party (열린머리당) 3 (6.3%) Jeong Jun-ha Our Ji-min Party (우리지민당) 0 (0.0%) Jeong Hyeong-don Creative Awkward Party (창조어색당) 7 (14.6%) Noh Hong-cheol Anal fistula Party (치루치루당) 4 (8.3%) Ha Ha Absentee Party (무재자당) 5 (10.4%) Total 48 (100.0%) Turnout: 96.0%

• At the beginning of episode 88 of season 3, (assisting MBC's historical drama series 'Yi San' challenge; aired on January 19, 2007), Host-in-chief Park Myeong-su nominated his manager Jeong Seok-kwon as the chairperson of the 'Host-in-chief Transition Committee'. Although Yu Jae-seok, who had been left at the bottom by the other members members on that day, strongly argued and resisted them. However, Park Myeong-su eventually did his job of opening and closing that episode, with the name of 'Host-in-Chief Park's Muhan Dojeon'.

• After a poor performance for three whole weeks by Park Myeong-su, he announced at a 'press conference' (prepared by Muhan Dojeon) that he would, following the promise, step down as the three weeks have passed, and wait for the new election to take place. The Host-in-chief was changed back temporarily to Yu Jae-seok as an interim on February 2, 2008. The second host-in-chief election was held on February 4, 2008 at the 'MBC Dream Centre' in Ilsan. The re-election coverage was on air on March 15, 2008. At the re-election, Yu Jae-seok won the majority of the votes and was once again reinstated as the 'host-in-chief'.

WM7

From July 2009, with its president of the club(협회장) Park Myeong-su, the members started training for the long term WM7 (Wrestling Muhan Dojeon 7) project, the pursuit of professional wrestling within the Infinite Challenge programme. Inviting Son Star(손스타). junior-professional wrestler and the drummer for popular band Cherry Filter, as their coach, the members began learning professional wrestling moves to perform in front of an audience. After numerous injuries (including a concussion suffered by Jeong Hyeong-don), setbacks and delays, the members finally put on a performance in front of a live audience on 19 August 2010 at Jangchung Gymnasium. The training process itself was broadcast, in half hour segments except for the last two episodes, from 3 July 2010 to 11 September for a total of 11 episodes. DVD edition(products) of this longest and hardest challenge has been eventually made by MBC, with several designated untold stories and full-live performance that has not been aired.

Hosts

Name	Joined	Nickname	Character Description and Notes
Yoo Jae-Seok (유재석, Host-in-chief)	Since April 2005	Chief Yu/Yu banjang (유반장)[14] The First-in-command (1인자) National MC (국민 MC) The grasshopper (메뚜기) Nal Yu (날유) 저쪼아래 촐싹촐싹	As host-in-chief, he led all Muhan Dojeon members in reaching the goal of each episode. In 2008 he was replaced by Park Myung-Su, but was reinstated as host-in-chief.
Park Myeong-su(박명수)	May - July 2005[15] Oct. 2005 - Incumbent	Giant Star Park/Park geo-seong (박거성)[16] Father (아버지) The Second-in-command (2인자) The Son of the Devil (악마의 아들) Cool Guy (쿨거성) Kabuki Park (가부키박) Sancho Park (산초박) Omsas Chung (옴사스) Alien (외계인) The leafhopper (벼멸구) Worthless brother (하찮은 형) Unique Myeong-su (고유명수, A play on 고유명사/"Proper noun") Chief Park/Park banjang (박반장) pimple man (여드름아저씨)	He has continuously procalimed his nickname (Geo-seong, or Giant Star). He is often referred to as "Father" by the rest of the members due to his elderly look and age. This is especially prevalent when Myeong Su's hair is flattened or his make-up is removed. See his page for more details. His (on-air) persona is that of a veteran grumpy "upperclassman" of the other members. He often shouts or reprimands his "underclassmen," but which usually about humorously trivial or his trademark humorous grumpiness.
Jeong Jun-ha(정준하)	Since March 2006	The Helmet (헬멧),[17] The Lord of Eating (식신)[18] Monster (괴물) The Third-in-command (3인자) Lacking brother (모자란 형) Lacking neighbourhood brother (모자란 동네 형) Stupid brother (바보형) Mr. Jeong Joong-ang (정중앙씨) Fat-fatso (뚱뚱보) Jjeori Jjang (쩌리짱) Global Moron[19]	He is known mainly for 3 things: size, appetite, and a degree of slowness in judgment/stupidity. His extraordinarily large head (8 kg) has gotten him, on a few occasions, called "Chivas Degal" (Degal = is a shortened word for "Degari", a vernacular word for "head"). In the 50th episode special of season 3, he was challenged to eat 50 plates of noodles in 300 seconds. The plates altogether weighed about 10–30 kg. (He succeeded, but had to go straight to the lavatory and subsequently slept in the back of the studio). On episode 61 of season 3, he went to a hair salon with Hong-cheol to curl Hong-cheol's hair. He asked a woman who was working there if she knew Jun-ha's name, but she said Joong-ang by mistake. Since that time, the members, including the creator Yu Jae-seok, have frequently teased him as Mr. Jeong Joong-ang (정중앙씨), which means 'Mr. Square-in-the-middle'.
Jeong Hyeong-don(정형돈)	Since April 2005	Fatso (뚱보) Awkward fatso (어색한 뚱보) [20] Jinsang (진상, nuisance) Jeong Hang-don (정항돈) Doni (도니) 미친존재감 (Crazy Existence)	A comedian by profession, before joining the team, used to appear in Gag Concert(Do-Re-Mi Trio being one of his many skits). But over many episodes, he has demonstrated remarkable talent in everything imaginable except in comedy. He is teased by the other members for this, though this is often proven wrong. He also has the ability to make anyone around him awkward.
Noh Hong-cheol(노홍철)	Since April 2005	Stone Kid/Psychopath/Crazykid/Dol+I('돌+아이'),[21] Quickmouth (퀵마우스)[22] Noh Jji-rong (노찌롱) Fraudster (사기꾼) 턱주가리아	'돌+아이/Dol+I' was created by Yu Jae-seok during episode 22 of season 3. Quickmouth was his original character, due to his extremely fast speed of speech. 돌+아이 (when written without the plus sign) is a Korean curse word meaning psychopath, or an extremely crazy person. Since this is a show watched by families, they humorously put a plus (+) sign in the middle to separate the word so its literal meaning becomes 'Stone+Kid' when in actuality it meant 'psycho'.
Ha Ha(하하) (Ha Dong Hoon, 하동훈)	December 2005 - March 2008 March 2010 - Incumbent	Shorty (단신)[23] Little one (꼬마) The M.A. Ha (석사 하하) The Top Little one(상꼬맹이) haroro (하로로)	As mentioned, he sometimes shows seemingly stupid decisions. He is currently obtaining a Master of Arts in Theatre & Film at Daejin University. However, during the episode of the 50th special, he got only 20 points on an elementary-level spelling test. Recently (in episode 62 of season 3), he sang a song called 'A Little Boy's Story' (키작은 꼬마 이야기) as a tribute to his height. It was a huge sensation with viewers.
Gil(길) (Gil Seong-joon, 길성준)	Since April 2009	Bbaak-Bbaak-ei (Baldy, 빡빡이) Fat-fat-fatso (뚱뚱뚱보) Ip-sae (입새, as he only brushes his teeth once a day) Gilmeo (길메오, as a 'cameo' proclaimed by Yu Jae-seok) 무리수(absurdity)	He is a de-facto member of Infinite Challenge as 'the 8th'. Once he joined, he proclaimed roughly 99% share of the Muhan Dojeon's official online board, until Jeong Jun-ha misbehavioured against Chef Myeong Hyeon-ji during a cooking challenge preparation in NYC on November 2009. In January 2010 when Boxing episodes occurred, he presented his 9-year-long specialty.
The following were previously permanent co-host of Muhan Dojeon, but have since left the show, due to the mandatory Korean military service obligation, as a Public Interests Service personnel.
Jun Jin(전진) (Park Chung-Jae, 박충재)	June 2008 - November 2009	Junstin Jimberlake (전스틴) The roll-in kid (굴러들어온 놈) Jan Jin (잔진) The Million Dollar Boy (백만돌이)	Since June 2008, he has replaced Ha Ha. Jin showed extraordinary talent and was a target for all the other members of Muhan Dojeon, who envied his looks and abilities.

Occasional Appearances

• There are a number of people who both individually work for this program and irregularly appear with the Muhan Dojeon members (hosts) to bring more extra fun. They are frequently referred to as '9th members' (제9의 멤버).

Name	Nickname	Occupation	Character Description and Notes
Jeong Seok-kwon (정석권)	Manager Jeong (Jeong Sil-jang 정실장) Narrow-mouth Frog Brother (Mangkongei Hyong 맹꽁이형)	Long-time buddy & Entertainment Manager of Park Myeong-su	At first, he was often criticized when appearing with a lot of 'ambitious but overacting' scenes (that were cut from broadcast), however, he currently helps both his friend Geo-seong (although still quarreling) and this program, as manager of the very-old pop Idol group 'Muhan Dojeon'. To restrain his growing popularity, Park Myeong-su recently ordered that he not appear on the show again. However, he appealed against him and currently appears as an occasional individual on the show.
Choi Jong-hun (최종훈)	Choi Co-ordi. (최코디) Almighty Co-ord. Choi (Man-neung Choi-codi /만능 최코디)	Entertainment Manager of Jeong Jun-ha	As the official coordinator of Muhan Dojeon, he is currently preparing his common hope of rising stardom (as a professional actor), with a lot of help from Jeong Jun-ha.[24] He prepared a bunch of radishes for the members on 'Kimchi Preparation' (S03E30) and 'Jun(Semi-) Hines Ward'(S03E77) episodes well, and he presented his professional agricultural skills on the episodes 'MD Goes to country' (S03E25) and 'Rice-planting' (S03E56).
Kim Oak-jeong (김옥정)	Mrs. Kim (김옥정 여사) Oak-jeong Kim (옥정 킴) Jung d'Oak-jeong (융드옥정, named after her favourite outfit, the Jung Dress)	Mother of Ha Ha	As has been regularly reported by the members, moreover, according to Roh Hong-cheol's report last year, she has minimal cooking skills, providing fun for the viewers. Recently (episode 83 of season 3), she appeared for the first time and presented passionate acting for the broadcast, in line with the top-rating members. From that broadcast, her last comment of 'Hit that jackpot!' (Dae-bak Teo-ji-se-yo! 대박 터지세요) became an enormously popular new-year greetings of Koreans.
TEO Kim Tae-ho (김태호)	Bro. TEO (태호 형) TEO PD (태호 PD)	Executive Producer of Muhan Dojeon	As the pioneer of Korean entertainment, he currently serves a job for 'reactions' which brings some extra fun in the show, by his own captioning work (just before screening each episode). With a sensitive fashion outlook, he gained extraordinary popularity when he officially opened his 'Cyworld' webpage. Recently, he has been appeared as a witness of Moot court challenge which eventually aired on February 20, 2010.
Kim Tae-hee (김태희)	Writer Kim (김태희 작가)	Writer of Muhan Dojeon	As a high-profiled co-writer of Muhan Dojeon and a Korean actress-namesake, she enjoys her huge popularity from dedicated viewers. During the 'Making a song for X-mas challenge'(S03E33) episode, she became very popular when Roh Hong-cheol said that she 'has the posterior of (actress) Kim Tae-hee, but the front of Muhan Dojeon (infinitely challenging.'
Shin Mi-so (신미소)	Miso Co-ordi. (미소코디)	Fashion Co-ordinator of Yu Jae-seok	A Busan-native, who helps Yu Jae-seok to be more fashionable, she has also been popular in this show. Her debut was in a sleeping scene as a guest during a '100-minute Debate' (episode 42 of season 3, which made her name the top online keyword of March 2007), and accidentally breaking a set of illuminators when Lee Young-ae appeared on Muhan Dojeon (episode 52 of season 3). She become popular and eventually appeared as a co-host of 'Madness Couples' (episode 75 of season 3) with the Host-in-chief Yu Jae-seok. She is known to be able to argue with all six members of the show, earning her the nickname 'Aegis ship.'

Guests

International

Name	Appeared	Occupation	Notes
Fedor Emelianenko	Season 4 Episode 18 ~ Episode 19	PRIDE heavyweight champion	Appeared two episodes; he taught each member submission holds - Season 4
Thierry Henry[25]	Season 4, Episode 57 ~ Episode 58	Football(Soccer) Player	Appeared two episodes - Season 4
Maria Sharapova	Season 1, Episode 23 ~ Episode 24	Tennis player	Appeared two episodes - Season 1
Michelle Wie	Season 4, Episode 1 ~ Episode 2	Golfer	Appeared two episodes - Season 4
Paris Hilton	Season 4, Episode 81	Starlet	Appeared one episode - Season 4
Tenku Tsubasa (前田睦美)	Season 4, Episode 189 and 190	Athlete (Boxer)	Appeared two episodes - Season 4

Korean

Several notable Korean celebrities have appeared on the show, including:

Actors Cha Seung-won Cha Tae-hyun Gong Hyeong-jin Bong Tae-gyu Choi Ji-woo Jo In-seong Kim Su-ro Kim Tae-hee Lee Da-hae Lee Young-ae Kim Hye Sung Jung Il Woo Han Hye-jin Lee Yo Won Han Ji-min Lee Seo Jin Han Sang Jin Lee Jong-soo Jeon Won Ju Jung Si Ah Oh Ji-ho Yun Sang Hyun Choi Cheol-ho Jeong Jun-ho Jang Seo-hee Kim Bum Julien Kang Park Bo-young Comedians Ji Sang Ryul Lee Yun Suk Kim Hyun Chul Kim Je-dong Shin Bong-seon Song Eun-ei Kim Shin-young Baek Bo-ram Kim Kyung Jin Park Hwi Soon Ahn Young Mi Byeon Ki-soo Kim Mihwa

Musicians Lee Jung Kim Sung-soo Bae Seul-ki Drunken Tiger Girls' Generation Jessica Jung Kim Jong Kook Lee Hyo-ri Lee Seung-cheol Ju Yeong-hun Lee Soo Young Shinhwa SS501 Tony Ahn Sung Si Kyung Jewelry Park Jeong-Ah Seo In-Young Yoo Chae-yeong Hwangbo MC Mong Lee Min Woo Bbaek Ga Wheesung Uhm Jung-hwa Son Dam Bi After School Lee Jung Hyun Tiger JK / Tasha Reid No brain Lee Sung-Jin Son Ho Young 2PM Junho Jaebeom Kara Han Seung-yeon Kang Ji-young Bada Epik High Eun Ji Won Park Hyun Bin K.will 237 AKA Sangchu One Two C.N.Blue Sistar Secret 4minute Orange Caramel SHINee Kang Ta Super Junior Donghae Kim Heechul f(x) IU Big Bang (South Korean band)

Sports/athletes Lee Yong-dae / Lee Hyo-jung Kim Yu-Na, international figure skater South Korea women's national handball team Choi Hyunmi, WBA Women's Featherweight Champion Others Ahn Hye-kyeong, broadcaster Na Gyeong Eun, broadcaster Ohm Ki-Young, then-CEO of MBC Lee Sang-bong, fasion designer Park Kyung-chu, broadcaster Huh Young-man, famed cartoonist Hong Jin Kyung, model and a CEO of food venture company Lee Hye Jung, chef Yang Ji-hun, chef Myung Hyun-ji, chef Kang Seung-Hyun, model Choi Dan-bi, lawyer Jang Jin-yeong, lawyer Jang Yoon-ju, model (Moderator of 2011 Calendar-making project)

The show in popular culture

• During the 12th episode (aired on August 16, 2007) of MBC's Monday-night variety programme 'Jippijiggi'(지피지기), comedian Park Su-hong urged Roh Hong-cheol, Jeong Hyeong-don, and Ha Ha (members of Muhan Dojeon) to create a new comic-variety program called 'Yuhan Dojeon'(유한도전, 有限挑戰, Finite Challenge). However, this was a joke when he attended this program as a guest.^[26]
• MBC Drama, MBC's Drama and Entertainment channel on Skylife and Cable TV, has decided to launch a brand-new comic variety show called Infinity Girls(무한걸스), the female edition of Muhan Dojeon. Six Korean entertainers including Song Eun-ei(송은이), Shin Bong-seon (신봉선), Kim Shin-young, Hwangbo, Baek Bo-ram and Jung Ga-eun serve as the co-hosts of this program. Previous hosts who have already left the show include Ahn Hye-kyeong (안혜경, who is former Ha Ha's girlfriend), Kim Hyeon-suk (김현숙), Bin-wu (빈우), Kim Ga-yeon (김가연) and Jung Shi-ah.^[27] It aired on September 23, 2007, as a pliot (special) program for Hangawi holidays. Since October 15, 2007, This format went a regular-scheduled programme at the 'MBC Every1', MBC's Cable and Satellite network for comedy and variety shows, eventually.
• On December 27, 2007, the SERI, a well-known economic research institute of South Korea, picked this program as the 6th most-influential products and services of the year 2007, due to the strong public popularity and its own productive characters.^[28]
• Infinite Challenge may be mentioned on other similar programs, guests asking if the staffs copied the idea from Infinite Challenge.
• On the 1st quarter of 2008, according to the Global marketing department of MBC, the format of this programme has been tried to sold at one of the European agency at Sweden, for the very first time in Korean television history. Although this mission has not been contrated, due to the reason of too many and dynamic characters to reproduce, however the mixed preview of this show has eventually been sold at Air France and Qatar Airways' in-flight broadcast to promote this programme.^[29]
• The creators of Infinite Challenge also created an advertisement about bibimbap which was shown in Times Square since November 26, 2010.^[30]

References

1. ^ Infinite Challenge to His Life, article from The Granite Tower, June 5, 2007
2. ^ Mudo 19.7 percent, highest during 2 months(Korean), Newsen.com, Retrieved on July 12, 2009
3. ^ Demonstration against controversial media-related bills draws 4,000, The Hankyoreh, Retrieved on December 31, 2008.
4. ^ MBC labor union suspends strike, Allkpop, Retrieved on May 31, 2010
5. ^ List of the Ratings of South Korean TV Programmes(Korean), Conducted by TNS Media Korea corp.
6. ^ The resource of the superb power of Muhan Dojeon(Korean), Joongang Ilbo, Retrieved on May 28, 2007.
7. ^ MuDo has been laughed in High Definition(Korean), Sports Hanguk, February 19, 2011, Retrieved on March 1, 2011
8. ^ Ibid.
9. ^ 'Muhan Dojeon Dictionary' got huge popular(Korean), Dkbnews, Retrieved on January 22, 2007
10. ^ Korean True-face, Muhan Dojeon(Korean), Hankyoreh 21, Retrieved on October 31, 2006
11. ^ The rating of Muhan Dojeon renewed again to its highest mark(Korean), Starnews, Retrieved on November 26, 2006
12. ^ Showmanship, demolished the wall(Korean), The Hankyoreh, Retrieved on June 8, 2007.
13. ^ [1]
14. ^ Popular Nickname boosts the Programme(Korean), Starnews, Retrieved on January 31, 2007
15. ^ S01E04(May 14, 2005) - S01E15(July 30, 2005).
16. ^ The Rank of Korean Celebrities after starting Military service(Korean), Segye Ilbo, Retrieved on May 4, 2007
17. ^ Jeong Jun-ha crosses straightly(Korean), The Hankyoreh, Retrieved on January 8, 2007
18. ^ Ibid.
19. ^ Infinite Challenge Ep. 78 4/7(00:50)
20. ^ Awkward as a progress of combining each programme(Korean), Starnews, Retrieved on January 24, 2007
21. ^ 'Editing' decides the quality of Variety programmes(Korean), Starnews, Retrieved on March 28, 2007
22. ^ To live happy, not discouraged(Korean), Ohmynews, Retrieved on March 12, 2007
23. ^ Ibid.
24. ^ Choi Jong-hoon; "My common dream is to become an actor", Starnews, Retrieved on July 16, 2007
25. ^ French soccer star Thierry Henry’s appearance on a Korean comedy program KBS World, Retrieved on June 26, 2007.
26. ^ Are Hongcheol, Hyeongdon, Haha creates a new programme with Park Su-hong?(Korean), Muhan Dojeon Gallery, Daum.net, Retrieved on August 25, 2007
27. ^ 'Muhan Girls', The female's edition of Muhan Dojeon will be on air(Korean), Starnews, Retrieved on September 18, 2007
28. ^ Weekly Insight: Korea’s Ten Hit Products and Services of 2007, the SERI, Retrieved on December 27, 2007
29. ^ Deal of Muhan Dojeon programme has not been contracted with Sweden agency(Korean), Newsen.com, Retrieved on March 7, 2008
30. ^ Bibimbap advertised at Times Square in NYC Dec. 02, 2010

External links

• Official Homepage (Korean)
• MuDo's Infopage, made by its fans (Korean)
• Infinite Challenge to His Life (English) (Article from The Granite Tower, June 5, 2007)
• The Unbearable Lightness of the Changing Code of Laughter (English) (Article from Korea Focus, May 19, 2007)