As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with between 13 and 17 percent of Korean television viewers watching Infinite Challenge every Saturday night.[3] making it the most-watched free-to-air television program on Saturday evenings, and the most viewed non-drama program in South Korea every week (excluding special sporting events, since November 2006, with the exception of January 2009,[4] April and May 2010[5]).[6]
"Infinite Challenge" began airing in 2005 and ended with 563 episodes on March 31, 2018. Infinite Challenge was also listed on the longest variety show. Since 2009, it lasts for roughly 75 minutes, excluding ten minutes of advertising. Episodes are also frequently rerun on several Korean cable broadcasting channels.[7] Since February 19, 2011 (episode 237), the program has been aired in high-definition.[8]Infinite Challenge has been called "the nation's variety show" and "Korea's real first variety" for having been successful for over ten years.[9]
In March 2018, it was announced that, following the departure of lead producer Kim Tae-ho,[10] all current members have stepped down from the show,[11] bringing the program to an end. The last episode was aired on March 31, 2018, but the program continued for 3 more weeks with a recap special looking back at the program over the years.[12][13]
Contents
Infinite Challenge is recognized as the first "Real-Variety" show in Korean television history. The program is largely unscripted, filmed in almost-secrecy and followed a similar format of challenge-based reality television programs. The challenges are often absurd or impossible to achieve, so the program takes on the satirical comedy aspect of a variety show rather than a standard reality or competition program. In earlier episodes, the show's six hosts and staff would continuously proclaim that, in order to achieve its comedic purposes, the program had to be "3-D": Dirty, Dangerous, and Difficult.[14] It gives people fun to try things that seem impossible.
Recurring segments
These segments were featured in multiple episodes over the years due to their popularity.
"Infinite News" – a parody on news broadcast in which most of the reported stories happened to some or all of the cast members. Those stories revolve around their personal life and tend to balance between facts and the comedic side of them.
"Infinite Company" – an unscripted skit that parodied on the lives of office employees, similar to The Office. Initially, the skit was a reproduction of the late comedian Kim Hyung-gon work, called President, President, Our President, portraying a situational comedy around a board of directors of a company before it was changed to be about a group of employees in a small department.
"Ha & Su" – an unscripted situational comedy around the petty quarrels between Jeong Jun-ha and Park Myeong-su, where the latter is aggressive and hot-tempered while the former is timid and simple-minded. In 2011, they were awarded a "Best Couple" award for their performance.[15]
"Jimotmi" – it stands for 지켜주지 못해서 미안해 (jikyeojuji motaeseo mianhae), which means "Sorry I could not look out for you" In this segment, the members play hidden-camera pranks on each other to see how they react to certain contrived situations.
"Introducing My Ugly Friends Festival" – A segment where the members invited their acquaintances which they considered visually unappealing. Afterwards, the members organize a party where they celebrate with various games.
"Saturday, Saturday's, I Am A Singer" – Suggested by Park Myeoung-Su and Jeong Jun-ha where the program arranges a stage where old artists were given chances to return and perform their hit songs. Sechs Kies and H.O.T. were able to reunite and came out of retirement through this segment.
"Please, be..." – a segment which was introduced to instill common principles to all of the members. '"Please, come early"' forces the members to be punctual during filming day as the staff will not inform them when they would film the segment. '"Please, be friendly"', featuring Haha and Jeong Hyeong-don, were created to encourage both members to be more comfortable around each other.
"Ah-Ha" – a Korean word game in which one member says a word, and the next person must then say that word backwards. Members who failed or made mistakes would be hit over the head. This segment premiered in the 2nd season (Infinite Challenge – The Master of Quiz) and was played occasionally in following seasons.
"One-flash Telepathy" – after hearing a word which was given from the production booth, each member presented a gesture that would best represent that word. A round is cleared if all six members perform the same gesture and punishments were given when they failed. The original alleged purpose of this segment was to unite the minds of the members; however, they have yet to succeed. Voice narration for this segment was provided by Na Gyeong-eun, an announcer and Yoo Jae-suk's wife.
Television Advertisements – throughout the episodes, the hosts create some satirical Korean television advertisements.
Calendar-making Project – the members created a series of unique calendars and donated all profits from these sales to charity. This project has succeeded every season.[16]
National events
Some of the segments of Infinite Challenge also grew and become a national event where it also actively involved the audiences as well.
2008 Host-in-Chief Elections – after a humorous request by Park Myeong-su to have a new leader in 2008, all Infinite Challenge 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.[17] Prior to the election, each member created campaign pledges to encourage voters to vote for them. All entertainment managers, coordinators, MBC staff and the members voted at the South gate of the MBC Headquarters and the votes were counted on the morning of New Year's Day. Afterwards, Park Myeong-su was declared the new host-in-chief, but evidence showed him of tampering the voting box. The new host-in-chief was given 3 weeks to prove his leadership skills. However, after poor performances for 3 whole weeks, Park Myeong-su announced at an Infinite Challenge press conference that he would step down and wait for the new election to take place. In the aftermath, Yoo Jae-suk was appointed as interim host-in-chief on February 2, 2008. The second host-in-chief election was held on February 4, 2008, at the MBC Dream Center in Ilsan and Yoo Jae-suk won the majority of the votes and was once again reinstated as the host-in-chief.
WM7 – the "Wrestling Muhan 7" project is an attempt by the members to perform at a professional wrestling event. From July 2009, the members started training by inviting Sonstar, junior-professional wrestler and the drummer of Cherry Filter, as their coach and Park Myeong-su as their club leader. 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 August 19, 2010, at Jangchung Gymnasium. It was broadcast over 11 episodes and MBC also released a DVD edition of this challenge, featuring several unaired segments, stories and the full uncut performance.
2014 Decision – the show held another host-in-chief election in 2014 where the show elected a host-in-chief with 10 years tenure. A nationwide election was held, which also promoted the citizen's participation on South Korea's 2014 local elections.[18] Similarly, the members created campaign pledges to attract viewers to vote for them in the preliminary internet polls. The second internet poll was held after the special's first episode was aired. In the aftermath of the second poll, Haha and Jeong Jun-ha decided to support Jeong Hyeong-don while Park Myeong-su forfeited to support Yoo Jae-suk. About 50,000 people, including the members of Infinite Challenge, cast their votes on May 22, 2014, on the polling stations at ten major cities on South Korea (Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Ulsan, Gwangju, Busan, Jeju, Chuncheon, and Jeonju). Another 34,000 people cast their votes earlier on the preliminary voting on May 17–18, 2014. Internet voting also held at the same time of actual poll for the people who were not able to cast their votes on the polling stations and 363,047 people participated on it. Combining the live polls and the internet votes, Yoo Jae-suk won the election by defeating Noh Hong-chul with 45,310 marginal votes or 8.29% of the combined votes.
Infinite Challenge Song Festival – started in 2007, the members randomly collaborate with real musicians in order to compete for the "Infinite Challenge Song Festival" that is held every two years.
Year
Festival
Team
Song
Result
2009
Olympic Expressway Duet Song Festival (올림픽대로 듀엣가요제)
"Infinite Challenge," which aired its first broadcast on May 6, 2006, is Korea's first real variety program. With the success of the program, other broadcasters have also produced real variety programs. The advantage of Real Variety was to ensure that even a popular celebrity who had been recognized as a special person was no different from an ordinary person.[19]
The title of Season 1 was Rash Challenge (무모한 도전). Led by Yoo Jae-suk, six or more Korean entertainers (with Noh Hong-chul and Jeong Hyeong-don as a regular members) tried to complete a 'sporting' mission in an outdoor studio, which was based on a viewer's suggestion submitted through the show's homepage. Some of the absurd challenges included 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.[20] This format lasted only from April 23, 2005, to October 22, 2005. Despite having a strong following, its average ratings were very low (roughly 5 percent). Due to its sports-related theme, reruns of Season 1 and sports-related episodes of Season 4 (i.e. WM7) episodes are frequently aired on MBC Sportsplus, MBC's satellite and cable network for sports-casting.
From October 29, 2005, to April 30, 2006, Season 2 was titled Excessive Challenge (무리한 도전). For the first few episodes, the program was fairly similar to the first season. However, because the cast members wanted to redefine their characters, they decided to change the whole program concept, calling it Infinite Challenge - Master of Quiz in the third season. Since then, six hosts (with Yoo Jae-suk as 'host-in-chief') played a Korean-letter game called 'Ah-ha' (see below); competed in their knowledge and mental power; participated in on-line popularity polls about specific themes; and explored other comic features.[21] Although the average ratings were low, the unity and dynamics of the members significantly improved. A panelist from Season 1, Park Myeong-su, came back as a co-host, and Haha and Jeong Jun-ha also became co-hosts of the program.
On May 6, 2006, the fourth and final season (format) of the program that now simply known as Infinite Challenge (무한도전), went on air. Special coverage of 2006 World Cup Germany was featured for the entire month of June 2006, along with some 'Ah-ha' specials (with Shinhwa, for example) at the beginning of each episode. However, on July 8, 2006, the program took its memorable first step as the first 'Real-Variety' television program in Korean television history, with the airing of a segment called 'Please, come early': The six members were asked to come to the recording session on time or experience some form of punishment (일찍 와주길 바래, a part of the 'Please, be...' series see below), combining elements of both Reality TV and Variety programming, including comic characters from each of the Infinite Challenge members, see 'hosts'). Thereafter, the program has created challenges with regard to anything related to real life (excluding some critical issues such as religions and sexual preferences), in outdoor studios, with little use of acting or heavily based plotting. Since December 2, 2006, the program has received the highest ratings of prime-time lineups for Saturday evening.[22]
In January 2012, the program took a 6-month hiatus due to a labor strike conducted by MBC's reporters and producers. During this period, new episodes were not produced and MBC, instead, aired reruns of previous episodes.[23] In November 2015, Infinite Challenge arranged special exhibition and expo titled "Infinite Challenge Expo", in KINTEX.[24] The program took a 7-week hiatus from broadcast in early 2017, which Kim Tae-ho, the main PD, signified as a period to normalize the production process which has been shortened considerably where the production team had less time and always rushed to meet the deadline. The PD also reveals that the program still continues their regular shooting schedules while being off the air.[25]
The program took another 10-week hiatus from September 9, 2017, due to a labor strike by MBC's reporters and producers. During the strike, new episodes were not aired and reruns of previous episodes were broadcast.[26] The strike ended on November 13, and Infinite Challenge returned to regular broadcasting on November 25.[27][28][29] In March 2018, the program came to an end marked by the departure of Kim Tae-ho, the lead producer, which was followed by the members. However, after the last episode was aired, the program returned for 3 more weeks where it aired recap specials that pays tribute to the achievements of the program called "13 Years of Saturdays".[10][11][12][13]
Captain Yoo (유반장)[30] The First-in-command (1인자) Nation's MC (국민 MC) The grasshopper (메뚜기) Playboy Yoo/Nal Yoo (날유) The Sun (해님) God Yoo(유느님) Mr. My-Nipples-Below (저쪼아래)
Giant Star/Geo-seong (거성)[32] Father (아버지) The Second-in-command (2인자) The Son of the Devil (악마의 아들) NYSD(뉴욕쇠독) Rash Man(깨방정) Sancho Park (산초박) Alien (외계인) The leafhopper/Rice insect (벼멸구) Worthless older brother (하찮은 형) Unique Myeong-su (고유명수) (A play on 고유명사/"Proper noun") CEO Park/Park sajang (박사장) Point five (쩜오) Great Park (그레이트 박) Flag Park(박깃발) The odd one out (쭈구리) Peter(피터) Reversal Park (박번복) Ten Jobs (십잡스) Mr. Tricky Park Winner Park (박대상) One head, Two smell (한 머리 두 냄새) Waiter Park (웨이터 박) Senior Park (박선배) Boy Park (소년명수) Laughter Hunter (웃음 사냥꾼) Three Meals Myeong-su (명수세끼) DJ Park(DJ 박) Laughter dead (웃음 사망꾼)
Park has continuously proclaimed 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 his position as the oldest member of the program. This is especially prevalent when Myeong-su's receding 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," usually about humorously trivial matters. Thanks to his current work as the co-host of Infinite Challenge, Park Myeong-su gained more than 250 nicknames throughout his appearances on the program as listed by the netizens.[33]
The Helmet (헬멧),[34] The Lord of Eating (식신) Monster (괴물) The Third-in-command (3인자) Stupid brother (바보형) Mr. Jeong Joong-ang (정중앙씨) Fat-fatso (뚱뚱보) Jjeori Jjang (쩌리짱) Global Moron[35] Cool Guy(쿨가이) Manager Jeong (정총무) Jeong Jun-yeon-a(정준연아) (Kim Yuna Parody) Somewhat lacking but a good friend (약간 모자라지만 착한 친구) Jonathan(조나단) The Lovester(사랑 전도사, 사랑꾼) Wax drippings Jeong (정촛농) Grandfather (할아버지) Icon of Aging (노화의 아이콘) Variety Show Zombie Jung Jun Grandfather (정준 할아버지) The man that shook the world through dieting Funeral Photo Jun Ha (영정 준하) The Creation Myth of The Dieting World (다이어트계의 신화창조) Ndotto's Father (도토 아빠) MC Minzy (MC 민지)
His character is mainly defined by 3 things: his size (often referred to as being 0.1 tons, or 100 kilograms), appetite, and a degree of slowness in judgment. His extraordinarily large head (supposedly 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 five minutes. 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-chul to curl Hong-chul'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 Yoo Jae-suk, have frequently teased him as Mr. Jeong Joong-ang (정중앙씨), which means 'Mr. Square-in-the-middle'.
December 2005 - March 2008 March 2010 - March 2018
Shorty (단신) Childhood friend(with Noh Hong-chul) (죽마고우) Little one (꼬마) The M.A. Ha (석사 하하) The Top Little one(상꼬맹이) The Friend Who Lacking If Compared With the One At the Same Age (또래에 비해 떨어지는 친구) Hybrid Sammy Sosa Rio Levy (하이브리드 샘이솟아 리오레이비)
Haha is long considered the cutest and best-looking member of the cast. He is also the most-educated member, having obtained a Master of Arts in Theatre & Film at Daejin University; however, during the episode of the 50th special, he only got 20 points on a 100-point elementary-level spelling test. In episode 62 of season 3, he sang a song called 'A Little Boy's Story' (키작은 꼬마 이야기) as a tribute to his short height, which is a constant target of ridicule among the cast. It was a huge sensation with viewers. Haha temporarily left the show from March 2008 through March 2010 in order to fulfill his mandatory military service. In his final episode before entering the service, Haha performed at a guerrilla concert that was secretly organized by his fellow co-hosts.
Hwang Kwanghee was the youngest member among the cast of Infinite Challenge while he was on the show. A member of ZE:A idol group, Hwang Kwanghee joined the Infinite Challenge cast in April 2015. He was selected through the Sixth Man project which was held in order to fill the empty position after Noh Hong-chul left the program following a drunk driving incident.
Kwanghee left the program in March 2017 in order to fulfill his military duty.[36]
Junstin Jinberlake (전스틴) The roll-in kid (굴러들어온 놈) Jan Jin (잔진) The Million Dollar Boy (백만돌이)
In June 2008, Shinhwa member Jun Jin appeared on the show to replace Haha. Jin showed his extraordinary physical talent and was a target for all the other members of Infinite Challenge, who envied his looks and abilities during many challenges.
Baldy/Bbaak-Bbaak-ei (빡빡이) Come between-Gil(이간길) Honey jar(꿀단지) Fat-fat-fatso (뚱뚱뚱보) Ip-sae (입새) (as he only brushes his teeth once a day) Gilmeo (길메오) (as a 'cameo' proclaimed by Yoo Jae-suk) Overreacting (무리수) The friend who born unfunny (태생적으로 재미없는 친구) Icon of Betrayal (배신의 아이콘)
Gil made his first appearance on an episode which featured Korean figure skater Kim Yuna in April 2009, ostensibly substituting for Jeong Jun-ha, who had to leave the episode recording early. He remained a de facto member of Infinite Challenge until he became a full member later that year. During the Boxing episodes in January 2010, Gil showed off his 9-year-long training in the sport. Gil is often called the Unfunny Friend due to his inability to ad-lib as quickly as the other co-hosts.
On April 23, 2014, Gil was caught by the police due to drunk-driving. Fans of the variety show have been flooding the board with requests for Gil to leave the show for his inappropriate actions. Eventually, the MBC executives announced his leave on the same day.[37]
'돌+아이/Dol+I' was created by Yoo Jae-suk during episode 22 of season 3. Quickmouth was his original character, due to his ability to speak very rapidly. 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, the staff humorously put a plus (+) sign in the middle to separate the word so its literal meaning becomes 'Stone+Kid' when in actuality it means 'psycho'. On-screen graphics often depict this nickname by displaying a large capital 'I' that looks to be made of stone ('아이' is pronounced like the letter 'I').
Similarly to former member Gil, Noh Hong-chul was caught driving under influence of alcohol on November 7, 2014. Following the incident, Noh Hong-chul released an official apology to the public through MBC.[40] On the afternoon of November 8, MBC announced that Noh Hong-chul would be leaving the show and Infinite Challenge would continue on with the five remaining cast members.[41]
Fatso (뚱보) Awkward fatso (어색한 뚱보)[42] Jinsang (진상, nuisance) Jeong Hang-don (정항돈) The Moon (달님) Doni (도니) Crazy Existence (미친존재감) Gaehwadong Orange-Tribe (개화동 오렌지족) Top Four MC (4대천왕)
A comedian by profession before joining the team, Jeong Hyeong-don used to appear in the Korean comedy show Gag Concert (where Do-Re-Mi Trio being one of his many skits). However, over many episodes, he has demonstrated remarkable talent in everything imaginable (for example, catching grapes with his mouth or playing a Korean jump-rope game) except being funny. He is teased by the other members for this. His character is also defined by the ability to make anyone around him feel awkward (as seen in the earlier episode)
In November 2015, Jung Hyeong-don had suspended all broadcasting activities due to health reasons.
On July 29, 2016, Jeong Hyeong-don's label, FNC Entertainment, officially announced that Jeong Hyeong-don would permanently leave the show after a nine-month hiatus from the broadcast due to poor health condition.[43][44]
There are a number of people who both individually work for this program and irregularly appear with Infinite Challenge members (hosts). They are frequently referred to as 'the 8th member' (제8의 멤버).
Since MuDo's 'Rowing challenge' during the Spring-Summer season of 2011, he is the frequent pinch-hitter of this programme, while one or more cast members in absence. Together with Jung Hyung-don, he formed a hip-hop duo "Hyeongdon and Daejoon" (형돈이와 대준이). Defconn was the cast member of KBS2 Sunday variety show, 2 Days & 1 Night Season 3.
Long-time buddy & Entertainment Manager of Park Myeong-su
While serving as a manager, Jeong Sil-jang had aspirations to be a comedian in his own right. Whenever he was given a chance to appear on-screen, he was often ridiculed by other cast members for attempting to constantly outperform others and for overacting in order to gain attention. As such, many of his parts were usually edited out of the final broadcast. To restrain his growing popularity, Park Myeong-su often teasingly ordered that his manager not appear on the show again.
As Jeong Jun-ha's coordinator, Choi also hoped to become a rising star as a professional actor his common hope of rising stardom (as a professional actor), with a lot of help from Jeong Jun-ha himself.[45] 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)
As has been regularly reported by the hosts, Kim has minimal cooking skills and is often humorously featured on the show to feed the cast members. She appeared for the first time in episode 83 of the third season; her closing comment of 'Hit that jackpot!' (Dae-bak Teo-ji-se-yo! 대박 터지세요) became an enormously popular new-year greeting.
A pioneer of Korean entertainment, Kim Tae-ho produces and directs the show. Besides helping to create the unique Real-Variety format, Kim also innovated Korean television by adding unique captions to the show. Although captions are commonplace on Korean variety shows, Kim's captions went beyond simple descriptions or commentary, adding information on cast members' emotions and expressing reactions to the show, giving the captions an interactive feel that aligned with the viewing audience's thoughts. With high sensitivity for fashion, he gained extraordinary popularity when he officially opened his 'Cyworld' webpage. Although his presence is mostly felt through his captioning and occasional off-screen soundbites, he appeared as a witness of the Moot court challenge, which aired on February 20, 2010.
Kim Tae-hee (김태희)
Writer Kim (김태희 작가)
Writer of Infinite Challenge
As a high-profiled co-writer of Infinite Challenge 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 Noh Hong-chul said that she 'has the posterior of (actress) Kim Tae-hee, but the front of Infinite Challenge.'
A Busan-native who helped assemble Yoo Jae-suk's wardrobe, Shin was also a popular 'guest' on the show. She debuted during a '100-minute Debate' (episode 42 of season 3), in which she was caught falling asleep in the audience. This incident made her name the top online keyword of March 2007. She was also featured when she accidentally broke a set of illuminators when Lee Young-ae appeared on Infinite Challenge (episode 52 of season 3). She eventually appeared as a co-host of 'Madness Couples' (episode 75 of season 3) with the Host-in-chief Yoo Jae-suk. She was known to be able to argue with all six members of the show, earning her the nickname 'Aegis ship.'
Appeared one episode (Season 4), to introduce this programme as one of South Korea's 'traditional television show', to the viewers in the United Kingdom. Her report was eventually shown on Channel 4 television show called "The Greatest Shows on Earth", on July 8, 2013.[62]
After meeting and delivering food to the president's long-time chief security officer, Park Sang-chul, Jeong Jun-ha did an interview with the President.
Numerous Korean celebrities have appeared on the show due to its popularity. Many of the guests have some relationships with the co-hosts of the show, including:
Infinity Challenge is famous for predicting jokes before some events occurred in real life, like The Simpsons.[66] Several episodes predicted the drama Squid Game.[67] Another episode, "Manager Jeong", Haha bought a book called American Prometheus, and about 2 months later, he wrote a book review for the book, but the contents were messy, so he made the members laugh.[68] In 2023, twelve years later, Christopher Nolan made the film Oppenheimer based on that book, Haha became the South Korean public relations ambassador for that movie.[69] Other examples purported as Infinity Challenge predicting the future include the Brexit,[70]Among Us,[66]Hangout with Yoo,[71]Koo Jun-yup and Barbie Hsu's marriage,[72][73] and Kim Shin-young's Korea Sings MC selected.[74]
The reason why this makes a lot of prophecy is that this program itself is a format in which different special features with different themes were planned every time, and even though it has been several years since the show ended, it enjoys greater popularity than active programs, and there are overflowing sources that are discovered.[75]
Ratings
List of 2007 ratings (episodes 35–85)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
35
January 6, 2007
16.0%
36
January 13, 2007
18.5%
37
January 20, 2007
18.5%
38
January 27, 2007
17.8%
39
February 3, 2007
17.5%
40
February 10, 2007
17.2%
41
February 17, 2007
15.6%
42
February 24, 2007
14.9%
43
March 3, 2007
17.7%
44
March 10, 2007
15.1%
45
March 17, 2007
15.2%
46
March 24, 2007
16.6%
47
March 31, 2007
14.2%
48
April 7, 2007
15.4%
49
April 14, 2007
14.7%
50
April 21, 2007
13.4%
51
April 28, 2007
13.0%
52
May 5, 2007
17.2%
53
May 12, 2007
16.0%
54
May 19, 2007
15.3%
55
May 26, 2007
13.1%
56
June 2, 2007
14.0%
57
June 9, 2007
16.1%
58
June 16, 2007
16.0%
59
June 23, 2007
18.6%
60
June 30, 2007
18.8%
61
July 7, 2007
15.8%
62
July 14, 2007
16.4%
63
July 21, 2007
17.7%
64
July 28, 2007
17.6%
65
August 4, 2007
15.6%
66
August 11, 2007
19.9%
67
August 18, 2007
24.1%
68
August 25, 2007
21.9%
69
September 1, 2007
20.0%
70
September 8, 2007
19.3%
71
September 15, 2007
20.7%
72
September 22, 2007
22.4%
73
September 29, 2007
23.5%
74
October 6, 2007
20.5%
75
October 13, 2007
20.4%
76
October 20, 2007
23.1%
77
October 27, 2007
19.5%
78
November 3, 2007
21.2%
79
November 10, 2007
21.9%
80
November 24, 2007
22.4%
81
December 1, 2007
17.6%
82
December 8, 2007
26.1%
83
December 15, 2007
21.3%
84
December 22, 2007
21.3%
85
December 29, 2007
22.3%
List of 2008 ratings (episodes 86–136)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
86
January 5, 2008
23.6%
87
January 12, 2008
25.8%
88
January 19, 2008
27.9%
89
January 26, 2008
25.0%
90
February 2, 2008
26.4%
91
February 9, 2008
28.9%
92
February 16, 2008
27.4%
93
February 23, 2008
22.0%
94
March 1, 2008
19.7%
95
March 8, 2008
21.6%
96
March 15, 2008
20.1%
97
March 22, 2008
20.9%
98
March 29, 2008
20.6%
99
April 5, 2008
17.2%
100
April 12, 2008
19.5%
101
April 19, 2008
17.9%
102
April 26, 2008
21.2%
103
May 3, 2008
17.1%
104
May 10, 2008
16.3%
105
May 17, 2008
15.4%
106
May 24, 2008
14.9%
107
May 31, 2008
13.9%
108
June 7, 2008
15.4%
109
June 14, 2008
15.4%
110
June 21, 2008
17.0%
111
June 28, 2008
16.9%
112
July 5, 2008
16.0%
113
July 12, 2008
16.8%
114
July 19, 2008
16.6%
115
July 26, 2008
16.7%
116
August 2, 2008
14.7%
117
August 16, 2008
13.6%
118
August 23, 2008
15.6%
119
August 30, 2008
14.9%
120
September 6, 2008
15.8%
121
September 13, 2008
15.4%
122
September 20, 2008
20.1%
123
September 27, 2008
14.6%
124
October 4, 2008
14.0%
125
October 11, 2008
17.7%
126
October 18, 2008
15.4%
127
October 25, 2008
17.0%
128
November 1, 2008
17.9%
129
November 8, 2008
15.8%
130
November 15, 2008
16.4%
131
November 22, 2008
17.2%
132
November 29, 2008
17.1%
133
December 6, 2008
14.8%
134
December 13, 2008
12.6%
135
December 20, 2008
15.4%
136
December 27, 2008
15.3%
List of 2009 ratings (episodes 137–185)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
137
January 17, 2009
12.4%
138
January 24, 2009
15.9%
139
January 31, 2009
15.2%
140
February 7, 2009
17.6%
141
February 14, 2009
14.4%
142
February 21, 2009
16.1%
143
February 28, 2009
16.4%
144
March 7, 2009
16.7%
145
March 14, 2009
13.6%
146
March 21, 2009
14.0%
147
March 28, 2009
14.9%
148
April 4, 2009
13.7%
149
April 11, 2009
14.2%
150
April 18, 2009
16.9%
151
April 25, 2009
19.7%
152
May 2, 2009
15.7%
153
May 9, 2009
12.8%
154
May 16, 2009
16.6%
155
May 30, 2009
13.2%
156
June 6, 2009
13.1%
157
June 13, 2009
12.9%
158
June 20, 2009
17.5%
159
June 27, 2009
14.1%
160
July 4, 2009
15.8%
161
July 11, 2009
17.9%
162
July 18, 2009
15.3%
163
July 25, 2009
14.7%
164
August 1, 2009
12.8%
165
August 8, 2009
16.8%
166
August 15, 2009
16.7%
167
August 22, 2009
15.3%
168
August 29, 2009
14.5%
169
September 5, 2009
16.2%
170
September 12, 2009
15.3%
171
September 19, 2009
15.7%
172
September 26, 2009
17.2%
173
October 3, 2009
14.1%
174
October 10, 2009
14.3%
175
October 17, 2009
14.4%
176
October 24, 2009
16.8%
177
October 31, 2009
18.1%
178
November 7, 2009
18.0%
179
November 14, 2009
18.6%
180
November 21, 2009
15.8%
181
November 28, 2009
17.1%
182
December 5, 2009
15.9%
183
December 12, 2009
15.3%
184
December 19, 2009
13.6%
185
December 26, 2009
13.4%
List of 2010 ratings (episodes 186–209)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
186
January 2, 2010
16.5%
187
January 9, 2010
19.5%
188
January 16, 2010
17.4%
189
January 23, 2010
17.1%
190
January 30, 2010
16.3%
191
February 6, 2010
15.2%
192
February 13, 2010
16.2%
193
February 20, 2010
17.5%
194
February 27, 2010
16.8%
195
March 6, 2010
19.3%
196
March 13, 2010
15.6%
197
March 20, 2010
19.0%
198
March 27, 2010
17.2%
199
May 22, 2010
17.2%
200
May 29, 2010
13.9%
201
June 5, 2010
15.6%
202
June 12, 2010
16.1%
203
June 19, 2010
16.0%
204
June 26, 2010
16.5%
205
July 3, 2010
14.4%
206
July 10, 2010
12.9%
207
July 17, 2010
16.8%
208
July 24, 2010
14.3%
209
July 31, 2010
13.6%
210
August 7, 2010
13.5%
211
August 14, 2010
15.7%
212
August 21, 2010
16.3%
213
August 28, 2010
13.5%
214
September 4, 2010
16.2%
215
September 11, 2010
17.5%
216
September 18, 2010
13.8%
217
September 25, 2010
15.8%
218
October 2, 2010
16.0%
219
October 9, 2010
14.0%
220
October 16, 2010
15.4%
221
October 23, 2010
16.3%
222
October 30, 2010
13.3%
223
November 6, 2010
14.4%
224
November 20, 2010
13.2%
225
November 27, 2010
15.0%
226
December 4, 2010
15.1%
227
December 11, 2010
14.5%
228
December 18, 2010
15.2%
229
December 25, 2010
13.5%
List of 2011 ratings (episodes 230–282)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
230
January 1, 2011
15.8%
231
January 8, 2011
17.8%
232
January 15, 2011
18.4%
233
January 22, 2011
18.9%
234
January 29, 2011
17.9%
235
February 5, 2011
19.4%
236
February 12, 2011
17.1%
237
February 19, 2011
17.3%
238
February 26, 2011
15.2%
239
March 5, 2011
16.6%
240
March 12, 2011
13.7%
241
March 19, 2011
14.8%
242
March 26, 2011
16.4%
243
April 2, 2011
14.8%
244
April 9, 2011
16.2%
245
April 16, 2011
13.4%
246
April 23, 2011
14.4%
247
April 30, 2011
18.7%
248
May 7, 2011
15.1%
249
May 14, 2011
14.4%
250
May 21, 2011
15.3%
251
May 28, 2011
13.3%
252
June 4, 2011
13.8%
253
June 11, 2011
15.4%
254
June 18, 2011
14.1%
255
June 25, 2011
17.4%
256
July 2, 2011
18.5%
257
July 9, 2011
17.5%
258
July 16, 2011
17.2%
259
July 23, 2011
14.4%
260
July 30, 2011
16.1%
261
August 6, 2011
18.0%
262
August 13, 2011
18.0%
263
August 20, 2011
17.1%
264
August 27, 2011
17.5%
265
September 3, 2011
16.8%
266
September 10, 2011
18.1%
267
September 17, 2011
18.0%
268
September 24, 2011
17.4%
269
October 1, 2011
16.4%
270
October 8, 2011
18.6%
271
October 15, 2011
19.2%
272
October 22, 2011
18.0%
273
October 29, 2011
17.4%
274
November 5, 2011
18.6%
275
November 12, 2011
17.1%
276
November 19, 2011
17.0%
277
November 26, 2011
17.0%
278
December 3, 2011
16.1%
279
December 10, 2011
15.6%
280
December 17, 2011
17.9%
281
December 24, 2011
17.5%
282
December 31, 2011
18.2%
List of 2012 ratings (episodes 283–310)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
283
January 7, 2012
20.6%
284
January 14, 2012
17.9%
285
January 21, 2012
17.3%
286
January 28, 2012
19.5%
287
Aired online
Unknown
288
July 28, 2012
10.5%
289
August 4, 2012
13.6%
290
August 11, 2012
12.4%
291
August 18, 2012
14.2%
292
August 25, 2012
14.4%
293
September 1, 2012
12.8%
294
September 8, 2012
14.4%
295
September 15, 2012
14.0%
296
September 22, 2012
14.6%
297
September 29, 2012
14.7%
298
October 6, 2012
15.1%
299
October 13, 2012
13.7%
300
October 20, 2012
15.1%
301
October 27, 2012
14.4%
302
November 3, 2012
13.2%
303
November 10, 2012
12.7%
304
November 17, 2012
16.3%
305
November 24, 2012
15.6%
306
December 1, 2012
15.8%
307
December 8, 2012
15.8%
308
December 15, 2012
14.5%
309
December 22, 2012
15.7%
310
December 29, 2012
14.5%
List of 2013 ratings (episodes 311–362)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
311
January 5, 2013
15.5%
312
January 12, 2013
17.3%
313
January 19, 2013
16.4%
314
January 26, 2013
14.7%
315
February 2, 2013
14.6%
316
February 9, 2013
12.8%
317
February 16, 2013
13.7%
318
February 23, 2013
10.9%
319
March 2, 2013
14.2%
320
March 9, 2013
14.9%
321
March 16, 2013
14.7%
322
March 23, 2013
14.4%
323
March 30, 2013
15.3%
324
April 6, 2013
15.0%
325
April 13, 2013
12.5%
326
April 20, 2013
14.1%
327
April 27, 2013
12.0%
328
May 4, 2013
10.6%
329
May 11, 2013
13.4%
330
May 18, 2013
14.3%
331
May 25, 2013
11.6%
332
June 1, 2013
11.4%
333
June 8, 2013
12.5%
334
June 15, 2013
13.5%
335
June 22, 2013
13.3%
336
June 29, 2013
11.9%
337
July 6, 2013
13.2%
338
July 13, 2013
11.9%
339
July 20, 2013
13.1%
340
July 27, 2013
11.3%
341
August 3, 2013
11.7%
342
August 10, 2013
12.2%
343
August 17, 2013
12.7%
344
August 24, 2013
11.7%
345
August 31, 2013
12.0%
346
September 7, 2013
13.7%
347
September 14, 2013
11.5%
348
September 21, 2013
12.3%
349
September 28, 2013
14.4%
350
October 5, 2013
12.3%
351
October 12, 2013
14.4%
352
October 19, 2013
16.1%
353
October 26, 2013
15.0%
354
November 2, 2013
16.8%
355
November 9, 2013
15.0%
356
November 16, 2013
13.5%
357
November 23, 2013
14.3%
358
November 30, 2013
13.7%
359
December 7, 2013
12.7%
360
December 14, 2013
14.7%
361
December 21, 2013
15.8%
362
December 28, 2013
15.6%
List of 2014 ratings (episodes 363–410)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
363
January 4, 2014
14.5%
364
January 11, 2014
15.7%
365
January 18, 2014
13.4%
366
January 25, 2014
13.2%
367
February 1, 2014
13.4%
368
February 8, 2014
12.8%
369
February 22, 2014
13.0%
370
March 1, 2014
13.7%
371
March 8, 2014
11.1%
372
March 15, 2014
11.8%
373
March 22, 2014
11.5%
374
March 29, 2014
10.7%
375
April 5, 2014
10.0%
376
April 12, 2014
10.9%
377
May 3, 2014
10.1%
378
May 10, 2014
11.8%
379
May 17, 2014
11.6%
380
May 24, 2014
13.4%
381
May 31, 2014
12.6%
382
June 7, 2014
12.2%
383
June 14, 2014
11.4%
384
June 21, 2014
12.7%
385
June 28, 2014
9.1%
386
July 5, 2014
9.9%
387
July 12, 2014
10.0%
388
July 19, 2014
10.2%
389
July 26, 2014
11.8%
390
August 2, 2014
12.6%
391
August 9, 2014
11.6%
392
August 16, 2014
12.3%
393
August 23, 2014
11.1%
394
August 30, 2014
13.1%
395
September 6, 2014
12.3%
396
September 13, 2014
11.8%
397
September 20, 2014
12.7%
398
October 4, 2014
10.3%
399
October 11, 2014
12.5%
400
October 18, 2014
12.4%
401
October 25, 2014
10.9%
402
November 1, 2014
12.5%
403
November 8, 2014
14.2%
404
November 15, 2014
13.3%
405
November 22, 2014
14.0%
406
November 29, 2014
13.8%
407
December 6, 2014
13.5%
408
December 13, 2014
14.6%
409
December 20, 2014
15.3%
410
December 27, 2014
19.8%
List of 2015 ratings (episodes 411–460)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide ratings
411
January 3, 2015
22.2%
412
January 10, 2015
14.1%
413
January 24, 2015
13.9%
414
February 7, 2015
12.7%
415
February 14, 2015
13.7%
416
February 21, 2015
13.0%
417
February 28, 2015
13.2%
418
March 7, 2015
13.3%
419
March 14, 2015
12.2%
420
March 21, 2015
13.5%
421
March 28, 2015
13.2%
422
April 4, 2015
15.0%
423
April 11, 2015
12.6%
424
April 18, 2015
12.9%
425
April 25, 2015
12.2%
426
May 2, 2015
11.3%
427
May 9, 2015
11.3%
428
May 16, 2015
11.7%
429
May 23, 2015
10.6%
430
May 30, 2015
13.1%
431
June 6, 2015
13.0%
432
June 13, 2015
12.1%
433
June 20, 2015
16.5%
434
June 27, 2015
13.4%
435
July 4, 2015
15.6%
436
July 11, 2015
14.9%
437
July 18, 2015
16.1%
438
July 25, 2015
15.2%
439
August 1, 2015
14.1%
440
August 8, 2015
14.5%
441
August 15, 2015
15.2%
442
August 22, 2015
21.1%
443
August 29, 2015
15.1%
444
September 5, 2015
16.9%
445
September 12, 2015
14.8%
446
September 19, 2015
14.9%
447
September 26, 2015
16.0%
448
October 3, 2015
13.4%
449
October 10, 2015
14.8%
450
October 17, 2015
13.7%
451
October 24, 2015
14.0%
452
October 31, 2015
14.4%
453
November 7, 2015
14.6%
454
November 14, 2015
11.6%
455
November 21, 2015
14.1%
456
November 28, 2015
13.2%
457
December 5, 2015
13.8%
458
December 12, 2015
12.4%
459
December 19, 2015
12.6%
460
December 26, 2015
14.8%
List of 2016 ratings (episodes 461–513)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide Ratings
461
January 2, 2016
17.0%
462
January 9, 2016
13.4%
463
January 16, 2016
12.8%
464
January 23, 2016
17.4%
465
January 30, 2016
15.6%
466
February 6, 2016
16.5%
467
February 13, 2016
16.2%
468
February 20, 2016
14.6%
469
February 27, 2016
12.7%
470
March 5, 2016
13.0%
471
March 12, 2016
12.0%
472
March 19, 2016
11.3%
473
March 26, 2016
11.5%
474
April 2, 2016
10.8%
475
April 9, 2016
13.6%
476
April 16, 2016
15.0%
477
April 23, 2016
14.3%
478
April 30, 2016
16.4%
479
May 7, 2016
11.4%
480
May 14, 2016
12.0%
481
May 21, 2016
13.5%
482
May 28, 2016
13.8%
483
June 4, 2016
14.2%
484
June 11, 2016
13.3%
485
June 18, 2016
13.1%
486
June 25, 2016
12.1%
487
July 2, 2016
13.0%
488
July 9, 2016
12.1%
489
July 16, 2016
15.0%
490
July 23, 2016
12.3%
491
July 30, 2016
11.8%
492
August 6, 2016
11.8%
493
August 13, 2016
13.0%
494
August 20, 2016
13.9%
495
August 27, 2016
14.7%
496
September 3, 2016
15.7%
497
September 10, 2016
13.3%
498
September 17, 2016
14.1%
499
September 24, 2016
13.8%
500
October 1, 2016
14.0%
501
October 8, 2016
12.6%
502
October 15, 2016
12.5%
503
October 22, 2016
12.4%
504
October 29, 2016
11.8%
505
November 5, 2016
13.1%
506
November 12, 2016
12.3%
507
November 19, 2016
14.9%
508
November 26, 2016
14.0%
509
December 3, 2016
11.7%
510
December 10, 2016
12.8%
511
December 17, 2016
12.9%
512
December 24, 2016
10.8%
513
December 31, 2016
11.9%
List of 2017 ratings (episodes 514–551)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide Ratings
514
January 7, 2017
12.5%
515
January 14, 2017
15.4%
516
January 21, 2017
12.6%
517
February 18, 2017
8.9%
518
February 25, 2017
8.0%
519
March 4, 2017
9.0%
520
March 11, 2017
9.1%
521
March 18, 2017
10.8%
522
March 25, 2017
11.2%
523
April 1, 2017
11.4%
524
April 8, 2017
8.9%
525
April 15, 2017
10.2%
526
April 22, 2017
9.8%
527
April 29, 2017
10.8%
528
May 6, 2017
9.6%
529
May 13, 2017
12.0%
530
May 20, 2017
9.8%
531
May 27, 2017
10.2%
532
June 3, 2017
10.0%
533
June 10, 2017
10.9%
534
June 17, 2017
12.5%
535
June 24, 2017
10.1%
536
July 1, 2017
11.7%
537
July 8, 2017
14.5%
538
July 15, 2017
14.9%
539
July 22, 2017
12.1%
540
July 29, 2017
11.1%
541
August 5, 2017
9.8%
542
August 12, 2017
9.6%
543
August 19, 2017
10.8%
544
August 26, 2017
8.8%
545
September 2, 2017
9.2%
546
November 25, 2017
9.8%
547
December 2, 2017
9.6%
548
December 9, 2017
11.9%
549
December 16, 2017
9.8%
550
December 23, 2017
11.2%
551
December 30, 2017
10.4%
List of 2018 ratings (episodes 552–563 + 3 specials)
Episode
Original airdate
AGB Nielsen Nationwide Ratings
552
January 6, 2018
11.4%
553
January 13, 2018
11.7%
554
January 20, 2018
12.7%
555
January 27, 2018
14.3%
556
February 3, 2018
12.5%
557
February 17, 2018
8.3%
13.6%
558
February 24, 2018
12.5%
13.0%
559
March 3, 2018
10.8%
560
March 10, 2018
11.3%
561
March 17, 2018
11.0%
14.3%
562
March 24, 2018
9.6%
12.8%
563 (End)
March 31, 2018
9.3%
11.1%
Special
1
April 7, 2018
5.3%
6.4%
2
April 14, 2018
5.6%
7.0%
3
April 21, 2018
3.9%
5.2%
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 Noh Hong-chul, Jeong Hyeong-don, and Ha Ha (members of Infinite Challenge) 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.[76]
MBC Drama, MBC's Drama and Entertainment channel on Skylife and Cable TV, has decided to launch a brand-new comic variety show called Infinite Girls (무한걸스), the female edition of Infinite Challenge. Six Korean entertainers including Song Eun-i, Shin Bong-sun, 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-kyung (안혜경, who is former Haha's girlfriend), Kim Hyun-sook (김현숙), Bin-woo (빈우), Kim Ga-yeon and Jung Shi-ah.[77] It aired on September 23, 2007, as a pilot (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 product and service of the year 2007, due to its strong public popularity and its own productive characters.[78]
Infinite Challenge is often mentioned on other similar programs, when guests asking if the staff of the show in question copied the idea for a segment from Infinite Challenge.
In the first quarter of 2008, the Global Marketing Department of MBC reported that MBC had attempted to sell the format of Infinite Challenge to a European agency in Sweden. This was the first time in Korean television history that such a deal had been made. However, the contract was not finalized, as there were too many characters on the program for the Swedish company to reproduce. Even so, rights to the show were eventually sold to Air France and Qatar Airways' in-flight broadcast.[79]
In 2011, Infinite Challenge held the West Coast Highway Music Festival. At this festival 7 teams participated and everyone got a trophy.[82]
The show is also famous for its loyal fans, especially from the youth demographic. Despite the show's hiatus of 22 weeks due to MBC's Union Labor Strike in 2012, the show was able to keep its strong popularity with television audiences. It was acclaimed as "the most favorite program in South Korea" numerous times.[83][84]
On June 30, 2015, the rights to air the show was sold to one of the big channels in China; “CCTV-1” proving Infinite Challenge’s rise in popularity as a Korean Variety Show Program.[86][87][unreliable source?] The Chinese version of the show started airing in China on December 6, 2015.
Before the export publication rights to China, the program was already popular throughout Asia. People of the world watched this program by YouTube and the highest hit is 3,202,248 (Infinite Challenge Yeongdong Expressway Song Festival, Hwangtaeji's "Mapsosa".)
The program went to Japan, China, Thailand, America, Africa, Germany, etc. for filming. Many international celebrities participated in one of the episodes.
In April 2013, a British TV program called The Greatest Shows on Earth came to Korea to showcase Korean TV, and visited Infinite Challenge on set.[88][unreliable source?] The episode aired on Channel 4 on July 8, 2013. While visiting the recording session for Infinite Challenge, presenter Daisy Donovan also went in front of the cameras and guested a sketch segment which was shown on both shows.
Plagiarism
It has been alleged that the show was copied without permission by a Chinese variety program called Go Fighting.[89]
According to production company MBC: "Currently in China, multiple broadcasting and production companies are saying they are personally producing 'Infinite Challenge' or a similar program, causing a disturbance in the market and damaging MBC Contents' image. From hereon, excepting the broadcasting of 'Infinite Challenge' on CCTV1, we will take firm legal action against any behavior that has nothing to do with MBC while making people confused and misunderstand [that program] as MBC's 'Infinite Challenge."[90][unreliable source?]
Notes
^The first male-male couple to have ever won the title.
^The first variety show to win the award after 16 years.[9]
^ ab한국방송대상 '무한도전', 어떻게 '국민예능'으로 우뚝 섰나 [Korea Broadcasting Awards' Grand Prize Winner "Infinite Challenge", How Did They Stand Tall as "The Nation's Variety"?]. Daum (in Korean). Sports Chosun. September 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^'무한도전' 달력 예약 폭주 (in Korean). TV Report. November 30, 2012. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2013.((cite news)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ ab""무도짤 예언 수준이 한국의 '심슨가족'"... '무한도전', 과거 방영분서 게임 '어몽어스' 등장 예견해 화제" ["Infinite Challenge's photos are at the level of prophecy of South Korea's The Simpsons'"... 'Infinite Challenge' predicts the appearance of 'Among Us', a game that has been broadcast in the past]. Top Star News (in Korean). September 27, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
^"넷플리스 세계 2위 '오징어 게임' 흥행에 10년 전 무한도전 재소환" [In the wake of the box office success of Netflix's world's second-largest 'Squid Game', Infinite Challenge from 10 years ago is re-summoned]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). September 21, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^""얼마나 좋았을까" 하하, 정총무 배 독후감 대회 금상 차지" ["How good was he?" Haha won the gold medal in the book report contest]. My Daily (in Korean). March 12, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^"정형돈, 브렉시트 예언?... '무한도전' 절묘한 캡처 화제" [Jeong Hyeong-don, Brexit prophecy?...'Infinite Challenge' exquisite capture becomes a hot topic]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). June 28, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^"[엠빅뉴스] 한국판 일루미나티? K-만물예언서? 무한도전 짤로 2020년 한방에 정리!!" [[MBIC News] South Korean version of the Illuminati? K-The Book of All Things? Summary of 2020 with Infinite Challenge!]. MBC News (in Korean). December 30, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^"박명수, 구준엽, 서희원 결혼 미리 예언?..예언서 수준[Oh!쎈 이슈]" [Park Myung-soo, Koo Jun-yeop and Seo Hee-won's marriage prophecy?..Prophetic level [Oh! SEN Issue]]. OSEN (in Korean). March 9, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^"大S再婚具俊曄！韓主持人13年前早預言 網嚇瘋：太神了" [Big S remarried Koo Jun-yup! South Korean TV program predicted 13 years ago that the Internet was scared crazy: it's amazing]. Setn (in Chinese (Taiwan)). March 9, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
^"14년 전 무도 "김신영 전국노래자랑 MC 예언"...'무도 예언짤' 소름" [14 years ago Infinite Challenge "Kim Shin-young's Korea Sings MC Prophecy"...'Infinite Challenge Prophecy photos' creepy]. Financial News (in Korean). August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^""로버트는 얼마나 좋았을까" 오펜하이머까지…없는 게 없는 무한도전 [요즘, 이거]" ["How good was Robert?" Even Oppenheimer... Infinite Challenge with nothing [These days, this]]. EToday (in Korean). August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
