XMan (No, not the comic)

[poisenedrice]

So I somehow stumbled onto vids of this Korean show called "XMan" the other day, and been slacking off at work cuz of it.

In these clips, they have Korean celebrities compete in this bit called "Dangyunhaji" (the subtitles say it means "of course"). What they do is have two contestants from opposing teams tease each other with witty put-downs, the person receiving the put-down has to say "of course!" to stay in the game. The winner of the round is the one who says a putdown that's too witty to elicit a response from the loser.

Some of the funnier clips I've seen are below (with Englishs subtitles):

maogirl's FAVORITE actress, the spoiled chick from Kim Sam Soon, VS. some ugly dude:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZTUHV7QGm8

the "Queeon of Dagnyunhaji", Lee Ji Hyun (god i am in love) VS. Yun Eun Hye:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRecA2AekvQ&mode=related&search=

More Lee Ji Hyun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h75Fhih0_M

Lee Ji Hyun loses to Jung Rin (really funny):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwiBZQLEvio

and Lee Ji Hyun has the hots for Fany (also really funny):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW5LLukuPNA

[averagejoette]

i loved xman. hated the new version, and I'm also sad that they're not having new episodes. But, to understand this, I think that you need to know something about korean pop culture. I really liked "of course" with Shin Jung Hwan and Kim Dong Wan...i believe its also referred to as "the infamous porn CD incident."

[lopan]

I'm not quite sure i understand the premise of the game. If the object of the game is to say "of course!", why wouldn't you keep on saying it, regardless of whether you were agreeing to something offensive or embarrassing? Is the ojbect of the game to say "of course!" to truths/semi-truths?

In one of the vids, one of the guys loses becuase he refuses to admit to "applying nail polish to his toes". Who cares? I'd say yes, if it meant not losing!

[lopan]

... and why do they get all riled up when they admit a "crush"? Is that a cultural thing i'm not getting?

[theme]

You're suppose to embarrass your opponent by making them say 'of course' to accusations that you make. If they don't say 'of course' then they lose. For example, if I said you like to sleep with your sister you either have to say 'of course' and be embarrassed or lose the game.
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I was a big fan of the older episodes. Really funny stuff. And if you follow it enough you sort of get the understand that Korean culture is really really conservative.

[Vahz]

That's exactly Lopan's point.

Why not just say "of course" to everything and win?

[Scowl]

I'm thinking it's a cultural thing, something along the lines of the concept of "face." From what I've seen and heard, it seems to me that some things that may be no big deal to North Americans are a big deal to native Asians, and vice versa.

[poisenedrice]

Ai-ya, I should have just told all the native Asians here about this show.

[Vahz]

I don't even understand half the jokes but damn, poisonedrice, you were right. It's really refreshing to see great looking Asian women *and* men together.

[PhoenixRisen]

I only saw one episode of the show and it was the one with T.O.P from Big Bang and they did a dope dance routine and lost. I was not happy. But it was hip hop style and I don't think the judges were down with that. But they kicked major ASS!!!!

[nskripchun]

Hahaha, I thought it was funny.

I think the added thing to consider is that this show is performed in front of a big CROWD / studio audience. Of course if someone says something really embarassing about you, it's much harder to say "of course".

[blockthebox]

I get, like, five or six Korean channels and these game shows are my least favorite. I'm Korean, but I don't get it.

[Vahz]

What the hell does she mean with the "mosquitoes" bit?

[Lum]

Wasn't there a show on BET like this? I think it was called "Snap".

[averagejoette]

What the hell does she mean with the "mosquitoes" bit?

the guy she uses it against has a really high voice, but a really muscular build. I think his name is Kim Jong Kook, listen to his song "loveable". I think in a lot of cartoons, the mosquitos talk in a really high pitched voice. Or any insect for that matter.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hj84sQLG950

and the newer xman episodes arent as good as the older ones.

[poisenedrice]

^Speaking of which, what is this New XMan that I keep seeing in the comments?

Also, I know the show itself has a base script, but I hope the lines the contestants say in Dangyunhaji are their own because I'm totally in love with Lee Ji Hyun. So small yet so much fiyah!

[averagejoette]

new xman has different games...like star battle ox (where the guest stars perform something, then the judges give an "O" or "X"
older xman has of course. the newer episodes don't. basically new xman was like a new season for the show, but since it wasnt popular they ended xman all together.

[poisenedrice]

Man, that's a bummer. I've been watching it all morning cuz it's been an unusually slow day, and I got to admit that the personas of the celebs on there are pretty entertaining. Like how Kim Jong Kook is hilarious cuz he acts hot tempered, and jokes about his small eyes gets him salty, and I love the long running joke that Lee Sung Jin is stiff-jointed.