No Plans, No Script: Can Three P-Types Make TV Magic?

No itinerary. No reservations. No destination. Just three men and a camera crew pointed at Japan.

SBS Plus has dropped two new posters for its upcoming variety show "Manly Men's Way of Traveling", and the images do exactly what a good poster should: make you curious about what happens when these three people are left alone together. The lineup is Choo Sung Hoon—former MMA fighter turned fan-favorite TV personality—Daesung of BIGBANG, and endurance athlete and Running Man stalwart Kim Jong Kook. The premise the producers are selling: all three are extreme MBTI Type P, and they're going to Japan with nothing planned.

Three Very Different Kinds of Chaos

The casting here is doing a lot of work. These aren't three interchangeable variety show regulars. Choo Sung Hoon built a second career on the contrast between his intimidating frame and his openly tender relationship with his daughter, Chuarang—a dynamic that made him one of the most watched figures in Korean parenting content. Kim Jong Kook is practically an institution: nearly two decades on Running Man have made him the rare celebrity who can be both the butt of the joke and the one landing it. And Daesung, returning to a prominent variety role after an extended period away from the spotlight, brings the kind of anticipation that only a long absence can create.

The posters frame the three of them against a Japanese backdrop, each radiating a distinctly different energy. What the production is betting on is that those energies don't cancel each other out—they combust.

Why This Format, Why Now

The "unscripted travel" format isn't new. What's interesting is why it keeps coming back. Korean variety television built its global reputation on tightly engineered entertainment—precision-timed reactions, carefully constructed group dynamics, editing that never wastes a moment. It worked brilliantly. It also, over time, made audiences increasingly aware of the machinery behind it.

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The current appetite for rawness—for moments that feel genuinely unplanned—is a response to that awareness. Shows that lean into improvisation and visible discomfort are performing well precisely because they feel like a departure from the formula. Whether "Manly Men's Way of Traveling" actually delivers that, or delivers a well-produced simulation of it, is a question no poster can answer.

The Japan location is worth noting too. As cultural and diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan have warmed in recent years, Japan has re-emerged as both a major consumer market for K-content and a favored shooting destination. Filming there adds a layer of international texture—and the possibility of capturing genuine reactions from local fans—that a domestic location simply can't replicate.

The Skeptic's View

Not everyone is convinced by the "no plans" premise. The criticism that "planned spontaneity" is still just planning has followed this format for years, and audiences have grown sophisticated enough to ask the question out loud. If the three men are mic'd, followed by a crew, and edited into a weekly episode, how unfiltered can any of it really be?

There's also the question of whether the cast chemistry translates on screen the way it does on paper. Three high-energy personalities in an unstructured environment can produce compelling television—or it can produce noise. The posters suggest confidence. The show itself will have to deliver.

For Daesung specifically, the stakes feel slightly higher. BIGBANG's activity as a full group has been sporadic, and variety television has long served as the connective tissue between K-pop artists and fans during quieter periods. A strong showing here could meaningfully reinvigorate his individual public profile. A flat one would be a missed opportunity.

What It Means for K-Variety's Global Reach

For international fans, programs like this one serve a function beyond entertainment: they offer access to a version of these artists that concert stages and music videos don't provide. The off-duty, unrehearsed register is exactly what global fandoms have increasingly come to crave—and increasingly expect streaming platforms to deliver.

SBS Plus is operating in a landscape where domestic cable channels are under sustained pressure from streaming services with deeper pockets and global distribution. A cast with strong recognition across multiple markets—Daesung's fanbase extends well beyond Korea, Kim Jong Kook has a significant following in Southeast Asia, and Choo Sung Hoon draws viewers from Japan through his fighting career—gives this show a structural advantage if the content holds up.