Invincible Youth episode guide

Introduction (geeking out):

This show was a South Korean variety/reality show that aired from October 2009 to December 2010. The concept was to take 7 members of the six hottest girl groups (G7) of the rising second generation Hallyu wave and bring them to the rural farming village of Yuchi-ri in Hongcheon to experience the basics of farming and agriculture.

I don't know where to start about why this is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. The bottom line is the feel of the show; the feeling of community, the appreciation of a simpler, rural life and the beauty of nature, the camaraderie and affection and fun between the cast members. There's a lot of happiness in the show, lots of laughing, some crying, and hard times, too. And hard work. Many of the guests on the show express surprise at how "real" the show is. It's a TV show, Idol Village is an on-location TV set, and there's an entire TV crew behind every shot, which is sometimes shown (and plenty of times the crew can be heard laughing), but the work is real, and the interactions and heart are real.

The relationship with the villagers is also as real as a one-day-a-week shoot can provide. Unlike other shows where the locals are sent off and the celebrities are the focus, or the interaction with the local people is a one episode one-off, the cast members did build a relationship with villagers over the course of the year and two months, and the villagers seemed to appreciate the notoriety and tourist business the show was bringing.

The show also sincerely expresses values rare on entertainment shows, including caring about the environment, promoting eco-farming/tourism, and caring for the elderly and appreciating the work of farmers. Entertainers are usually too wrapped up in their jobs to entertain or egos to maintain their careers to express the concerns and values this show does. The cast are celebrities, but they're not when they're on set. As Narsha explains in the finale, the villagers didn't treat them as celebrities, but welcomed them and treated them like daughters. Certainly they were aware of the cameras and the need to entertain, but they were able to be less self-conscious and naturally entertain as themselves to a certain degree.

And then there's the uncanny chemistry between the primary G7 cast members themselves. There was no effort to hide their awkwardness at first, but by just being themselves they were able to bring out and develop their natural talents as entertainers. And the range of experience of the members probably helped, as the more seasoned and mature members essentially acted as mentors to the newcomers (unlike in the not-very-good second season where there's just a lot of screaming and yelling by girl group members).

Narsha, the oldest member, is a member of Brown Eyed Girls, who, debuting in 2006, were at the cusp of the first and second generation Hallyu waves, but their 2009 hit, "Abracadabra", associated them firmly within the second generation.

Yuri and Sunny are members of SNSD (Girls' Generation) who helped ignite the second Hallyu wave (along with Wonder Girls and boy bands such as Super Junior), debuting in 2007, and were already popular and experienced entertainers.

(NB: I'm under the impression K-pop's popularity has been constant domestically in South Korea since the first Hallyu wave in the 90s when modern K-pop was created (drawing heavily on Western pop and hip hop styles). But the second Hallyu wave, I think, is marked by international popularity, boosted by the advent of YouTube in 2005, which allowed viralization of videos and fan-made/uploaded videos (remember the Wonder Girls "Tell Me" dance phenomena?). And personally, since I generally hate corporately manufactured, mainstream pop music, but inexplicably really like K-pop, I think a hallmark of K-pop, and in particular the second generation, is really good songwriting and musically sophisticated production. That's the only way I can explain why I like it).

Hara Goo is a member of Kara, who debuted in 2007, actually before SNSD, but didn't rise to prominence until concept and member changes were made, including the addition of Hara, in 2008. She's naturally funny and fun to watch, and had no problem throwing her celebrity image out the door to have fun during shoots.

Hyuna had originally been a member of Wonder Girls, but withdrew due to health reasons, and then became a member of 4minute who had debuted by the time the show started. Despite the celebrity experience she had from her notoriety and popularity from being in the Wonder Girls, she's still the youngest member on the show and 4minute was still considered a rookie group, so she had a license for immaturity.

T-ara had just debuted when the show started filming, so Hyomin was not so well-known, and Secret had not debuted with a hit, so Sunhwa was a virtual unknown at the time. This show was a huge learning experience for them and it's fun watching how they and their confidence develop.

Yuri, Sunny and Hyuna had to leave the show after episode 32, and were replaced by Juyeon (After School), Victoria (f(x)), and soloist/dancer Kim Sori. Out of the three replacements, I think anyone would agree that Victoria holds her own in creating her own personality for the show and being entertaining.

Sori, as talented an artist as she shows she is, never really makes her mark on the show, and I think her exposure on the show was the least beneficial to her career.

Juyeon was probably the most controversial new cast member, as she quickly gained the nickname "deadweight" for being the most unable to fit in with the IY ethos. Furthermore, it's suggested (by her) that she lied about her qualifications to get on the show.

On the other hand, although After School isn't among the girl groups I like, Juyeon is an original and solid member, so she isn't exactly an untalented flake. Furthermore, it should be noted that although Shinyoung is constantly getting on Juyeon's case and complaining about her, I heard that they actually were friends and got along great off camera, suggesting a lot of it is an act. Which makes sense, because if you really don't like someone, you try to stay away from them, but Shinyoung and Juyeon are often on the same team.

Although the dynamics of the show changes with the new members, it's still better than season 2, which started airing almost a year later in late 2011 with a new location and cast.

Season two, which was cancelled in November 2012, suffered from poor ratings, was largely unfunny in my opinion, and retained none of the charm, feeling or values of season one. It was just another South Korean variety show with people competing in games, being humiliated and goofing off with the sole aim of trying to entertain a TV audience for an hour or so, and occasionally they might do some work if it didn't get in the way of being a variety show.

There was no work ethic and no sense of community. The only similarity between the two shows are the use of girl group members, and it's too bad that they even called it "season two", when really it was a completely different show that would've been cancelled sooner if not for continued fan-kids attraction to the name and the various girls.

Finally, it's worth watching the early episodes through the end credits, which feature still photography of each episode that is brilliant in capturing the feel and joy of the show. The on-set still photographer did a great job capturing the essence of moments.