After his self-imposed hiatus following his tax evasion ordeal, the nation's MC, Kang Ho-dong, will be making his comeback to the small screen!
According to insiders, Kang will be returning to all three of the main networks (SBS, MBC, and KBS) within the year.
On SBS, there will be some broadcasting changes after the Korean Thanksgiving in the first week of October. One of those changes will include Kang's comeback. Kang has chosen "Star King" as his first comeback program, a show that he used to MC before his hiatus. SBS
officials mentioned that with one of their current MCs, Lee Teuk, having to enlist in the military later this year, a change in the MC lineup was inevitable. So they figured, why not go back to the original MC Kang Ho-dong? There's also talks of brainstorming going on for a brand new variety show to start up next Spring, featuring Kang Ho-dong.
As for the MBC network, Kang will also be returning to a show that he had hosted pre-scandal: Kneedrop Guru. Kang was originally supposed to make his return in October, but Kang had felt uncomfortable with the idea of making his comeback on too many shows at once, so his comeback was pushed back to November. An inside source shared that Kang is
hoping to feel out the public's reaction to his comeback one show at a time; to ease into things.
MBC also decided to have Kang return on an already established show over creating a new program to play it safe. MBC variety programs have been dropping in ratings overall, and thus, it was too much of a risk to create a totally new program for Kang. MBC staff members are hoping that their Golden Fishery lineup will return to top ratings once the original MCs of Kang on "Kneedrop Guru" and Kim Guro on "Radio Star" make their returns.
Last but not least, Kang will be making his return to KBS as well...in December. Though there were talks of him returning to his original show "1 Night 2 Days", officials thought that with the newly added members Kim Seung-woo and Cha Tae-hyeon, there wasn't enough room for Kang. Thus the plan is to create a completely new program that will be appropriate for Kang's character and also receive a lot of love from the viewers. Kang is currently meeting with "1 Night 2 Days (season 1) producer Na Young-seok and writer Lee Woo-jung to brainstorm for ideas.
