X-Man was a popular South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 which ran from November 8, 2003 to April 8, 2007 on SBS. Its popularity peaked in 2004, but a decline in ratings led to its cancellation

Cancellation (television)

In television, cancellation refers to the termination of a program by a network, typically because of low viewership and/or unfavourable critical reviews. Another reason why television programs can be cancelled is to make room for new television programs...

. It was hosted by Yu Jae-seok

Yu Jae-seok

Yoo Jae-Seok is a South Korean comedian and television comedy show host. Nicknamed as "MC of the nation" , people have voted him for the most popular Korean comedian for five consecutive years . He has hosted several variety television shows in South Korea, including the hugely popular program...

 (MC Yu/MC유), Kang Ho-dong

Kang Ho Dong

Kang Ho Dong is a former Korean MC and comedian, who first became known to Koreans as the top Korean traditional wrestler. Along with comedian Yoo Jae Suk, he has terminated his contract with De Chocolate E&TF for issues of non-payment.- Family :Kang Ho Dong was born in Jinju on June 11, 1970 to...

, Kim Jae-dong, who was later replaced by Gong Hyung-jin, Park Kyung-lim

Park Kyung-lim

Park Kyung-lim is a South Korean entertainer and a comedian known for her wit and kind behavior. Often, her appearance is a source of much derision and jokes; she is often ridiculed for having a "square-shaped" face...

, and Lee Hyuk-jae; only the first two were on the program since its inception.

X-Man started out as a program in Real Situation Saturday

Real Situation Saturday

Real Situation Saturday was a Korean variety show shown on the SBS network. Many popular programs have aired on this Saturday line-up, including X-Man and Real Romance Love Letter, dominating Saturday evening ratings for a long time. It began to air for 60 mins...

on November 8, 2003, and it was a huge hit. During its period in Real Situation Saturday, it was referred to as "Real Situation: Finding X-Man" (실제상황 X맨을 찾아라). Because of its unique concept and interesting games, X-Man quickly gained an audience. X-Man contained main games and mini-games, all referred to as "Missions". Eventually, missions were reduced due to the addition of a Couple Event that took up 3/4 of the 2nd episode in a season. Due to high ratings, it later moved on to Sunday on October 10, 2004, under the program Good Sunday

Good Sunday

Good Sunday is a South Korean reality-variety show shown on the SBS network, which competes directly against MBC's Our Sunday Night and KBS2's Happy Sunday line-up. The program has suffered from the competition of Happy Sunday and the previous Sunday Sunday Night but reached its way to #1 on the...

, in an attempt to revive the sinking show. X-Man is loosely based on The Mole.

Format

Each season was divided into two episodes, airing in consecutive weeks. The first season was divided into six episodes, with three chances to find the X-Man. The second and third season was divided into four episodes, with two chances. As of the fourth season, challengers only had one chance (two episodes) to find the X-Man. The various celebrities were divided into two teams, with one led by Kang Ho-dong (Kang Team) and the second by the other main MC (initially Kim Jae-dong, then Gong Hyung-jin, then Park Kyung-lim, then finally Lee Hyuk-jae). Yu Jae-seok served as the show's mediator and main MC. At the start of each episode, one celebrity would be chosen by the producer to be the X-Man, whose main mission was to disrupt teamwork in his or her team and purposely throw challenges while keeping his or her identity a secret. Winning teams of each mission would be awarded ₩

South Korean won

The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...

1 million Actual amounts were undisclosed after earlier seasons..

After all the missions, the guests then voted on who they think is the X-Man. The celebrity participant who was chosen was then digitally "fingerprinted" to see if the others chose correctly. If the others chose correctly, any money earned by the teams was donated to charity, under the names of the various guests. If they failed to find the X-Man, the X-Man was considered to have succeeded and the money donated to charity was given under the X-Mans name.

Missions

X-Man has featured many missions that have become very popular with the general audience. Missions consisted of various physical and mental games that changed every few months.
Main Missions

• Team! Horse Riding (단결! 말타기) [Season 1-34] - A traditional Korean game where a horse is formed a (defending) team of men bent down supporting each other with a man standing at the front (the head). The other (attacking) team will jump on to the horse, trying to stay on the horse until all members are on. The defending team must support the other team without collapsing. If all members are on the horse, then the first member in line and the head will play rock-paper-scissors
  Rock-paper-scissors
  Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
  
   to decide the winner.
• Tongue Twisters Relay (줄줄이 말해요) [Season 1-13,24] - All members of a team must correctly say tongue twisters in relay in a certain time limit.
• (Run!) Balloon/Couple Quiz ((달려라!) 붕선/커플 귀즈) [Season 3-9,12,13] - A quiz of 10 questions usually relating to the guests of that season, using couples.
• New Marriages are Beautiful (신혼은 아름다워) [Season 2-10] - Couples of each team must complete an obstacle course the fastest.
• Of Course! (당연하지!) [Season 10-70] - A game where two members face off in asking each other (embarrassing) questions and the opponent must say "Of Course!". A member loses if they are unable to say Of Course! or are knocked down by their opponent. This was an order-deciding game for Tongue Twisters Relay from Season 10-13.
• Couples and Warriors Forever (커플장사 만만세) [Season 11,14-70] - A couple event where male and female members of each team pair up and play games. Performances and dances are usually involved in the selection round. During Season 66 and 67, a survival element was added, where right after a male performs, he will choose who he wants to be his partner. If she accepts, they immediately become couples, but she can still change her mind if another male chooses her afterwards.
• Team! Chicken Fight (단결! 닭싸움) [Season 30,36-39,41,44-47,49,51] - A traditional Korean game where teams will chicken fight
  Chicken Fight
  Chicken fight, also known as Cherry drop, Camel fight, or Shoulder wars or Darling Pickie, is an informal game, often played in a lake or swimming pool, characterized by one team member sitting on the shoulders of his or her teammate or riding piggy-back. The object of the game is to knock-down or...
  
   where you stand on one leg and try to knock your opponents while grabbing onto the other ankle. This was a secondary mission in Season 30.
• Team! "Go" Fighting (단결! 고싸움) [Season 48,50,52-61,64] - Teams are standing on a raised platform and must push the other team off. This was a warm-up game in Season 61.
• Survival Skybridge (서바이벌 구름따리) [Season 63-70] - Two teams must elminate the opposing team using only a skybridge to get between. This was a warm-up game in Season 64.

Secondary Missions

• Baby Warriors (아기 천하장사) [Season 1] - A member of each team wears a sumo wrestler-like suit and needs to push the opposing member out of the ring.
• Catch Loves Ball (사랑은 공을 타고~) [Season 1] - Couples must shoot a ball from their mouth and catch it.
• Who is it? (누굴까요?) [Season 1] - Teams must guess who on the other team is carrying a pumpkin, where the other team is carrying fake pumpkins as well.
• Balance Beam Fight (평균대 결투) [Season 1] - A member of each team stand on a balance beam with pans on their hands and must push the opposing member off.
• Love's Chopsticks (사랑의 젓가락) [Season 1] - Couples must maneuver a giant pair of "chopsticks" and move pots to a farther stand.
• Let's Study (공부합시다) [Season 1] - Teams must memorize the order of fifty countries in five minutes and alternate reciting them correctly.
• Piggyback Toy Hammers (어부바 뿅망치) [Season 1] - A member of each team is piggybacked by another member of their team and must break the other piggybacked opponents balloon attached to their head with a toy hammer.
• Newspaper Game (신문지 게임) [Season 1] - Couples must stand within a newspaper as it gets smaller each round.
• Team Telepathy (단결 이심전심) [Season 1] - Teams must pull a table cloth from under a set of dinnerware and not have any of the items move in succession.
• Lion! Grasshopper! Relay (포자! 메뚜기! 릴레이) - Similar to New Marriages are Beautiful, a member of each team dressed in either a lion costume (representing Kang Team) or a grasshopper costume (representing Yu Team), must complete an obstacle course the fastest.
• Love~ Message! (러브~ 메시지!) [Season 2,3] - Couples must send a message to each other using only actions.
• Team! Feet Feet (단결! 다리다리) [Season 2,27,35] - Teams must have a designated number of feet standing on the ground. This was a order-deciding mission in Season 7 and a main mission in Season 35.
• Team! Catch the Tail (단결! 꼬리잡기) [Season 2,29,43] - The head (first member) of the team must catch the tail (last member) of the other team while keeping the team connected to each other. This was a main mission in Season 43.
• High Jump (높이 뛰기) [Season 2] - Males and females of each team compete in high jump
  High jump
  The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
  
   separately.
• Survival Push Over (서바이벌 밀어내기) [Season 2] - A member of each team must push each other over using only their hands.
• Queen Bee Chicken Fighting (여왕벌 닭싸움) [Season 2] - The same as Team! Chicken Fight, a traditional Korean game where teams will chicken fight
  Chicken Fight
  Chicken fight, also known as Cherry drop, Camel fight, or Shoulder wars or Darling Pickie, is an informal game, often played in a lake or swimming pool, characterized by one team member sitting on the shoulders of his or her teammate or riding piggy-back. The object of the game is to knock-down or...
  
   where you stand on one leg and try to knock your opponents while grabbing onto the other ankle, except teams must attack/protect the "Queen" from falling.
• Hug~ Your Love!! (사랑을 그대 품~안에!!) [Season 3] - Couples where a member of each team is connected with an elastic belt, and the other member is at either end with a balloon. The member connected to the elastic belt must get to the balloon and break it first by hugging.
• Skewered Relay (꼬치꼬치 릴레이) [Season 3] - Teams are connected to each other in an outfit and race to a turning point and back.
• Fly Frypan (날아라 프라이팬) [Season 9-19,21-23,25,26] - A game where a member of a team calls out the name of a member on the other team and a number. That member must say their name corresponding to the number given, following a rhythm and pattern. This continues until someone makes a mistake, and frypans "fly" and hit the heads of their team.
• Team! Hula Hoop (단결! 훌라후프) [Season 32] - All members of each team must successfully jump through a hula hoop
  Hula hoop
  A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck.Although the exact origins of hula hoops are unknown, children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history...
  
   rolling at them.
• Team! Balloon Dodgeball (단결! 풍선피구) [Season 53] - Each team must throw a ball at a balloon attached to an opposing members butt and break it in succession.
• Grab the Belt of Yudo (유도의 끈을잡고) [Season 65] - A member of each team must take the belt off of the opposing member.
• Endure Pater (파테르 버티기) [Season 67] - A member of each team must stay within a designated area for five seconds to win.
• Touch Touch Wrestling (터치터치 레슬링) [Season 69,70] - The same as Endure Pater, except they are able to change out with another member by touching them.

Order-deciding/Warm-Up Games

• Survival Chicken Fight (서바이벌 닭싸움) [Season 1,59] - A traditional Korean game where teams will chicken fight
  Chicken Fight
  Chicken fight, also known as Cherry drop, Camel fight, or Shoulder wars or Darling Pickie, is an informal game, often played in a lake or swimming pool, characterized by one team member sitting on the shoulders of his or her teammate or riding piggy-back. The object of the game is to knock-down or...
  
   where you stand on one leg and try to knock your opponents while grabbing onto the other ankle. This differs from the main mission as it was played one vs. one on a survival basis.
• (Frog/Survival/Gomusin) Butt Pushing ((개구리/서바이벌/고무신) 엉덩이 밀치기) [Season 1-11,16,20,22,24,30,35,37,44,46,52,60] - A member of each team must push the opposing member's butt and knock them over. In Frog Butt Pushing, members kneel down in a frog position and are able to move within a designated area. In Survival Butt Pushing, it is played as a team. In Gomusin Butt Pushing, members grab the gomusin
  Gomusin
  Gomusin refers to shoes made of rubber in a form of Korean traditional shoes. The shoes are wide, with low heels. Gomusin for men were modeled after "gatsin" , and ones for women were danghye . Gomusin first appeared in the early 20th century. They were much easier to keep clean than danghye and...
  
   underneath and must break the balloon attached to the opponents waist.
• Survival Pull The Rope (서바이벌 줄당기기) [Season 2] - A member of each team has a rope wrapped around both waists. They must pull the rope in their favor to make the opponent fall.
• Survival X-Man (서바이벌 X맨) [Season 2] - A member of each team shouts "X-Man" and points either to the left or right in front of the opponents face. The opponents head needs to move to the opposite direction.
• Talk Fight (말싸움) [Season 3] - Similar to Of Course!, a member of each team must verbally "attack" their opponent.
• Hand Push Over ((쭈글쭈글) 손바닥 밀치기) [Season 3,21,25,28,31,32,34,40,42,51] - The same as Survival Push Over, a member of each team must push each other over using only their hands.
• Scary Hand Wrestling (공포의 손씨름) [Season 5] - A member of each team holds each others hand and "wrestle" each other.
• Survival Foot Wrestling (서바이벌 발씨름) [Season 6] - A member of each team is sitting with their hands under their legs and must push the opposing member over or out of the ring.
• Toy Hammer Turn Turn (뿅망치 돌아돌아) [Season 12] - A member of each team must follow a circle using their knees and must hit the opposing member with a toy hammer.
• Survival Handkerchief Wrestling (서바이벌 수건씨름) [Season 13] - A member of each team must pull the handkerchief that is held between both members knees away from the opponent.
• Cushion Pushing (방석 밀치기) [Season 13] - The same as Hand Push Over, except the members are sitting on top of a pile of cushions.
• Lose Wrestling (지는 씨름) [Season 15,,26,36,43,45] - A member of each team wrestle each other but win by losing in traditional Korean wrestling, ssireum
  Ssireum
  Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....
  
  .
• (Survival/Relay) Take Off Stockings ((서바이벌/릴레이) 양말벗기) [Season 17,40,62] - Teams must race to take off their stocking
  Stocking
  A stocking, , is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment covering the foot and lower part of the leg. Stockings vary in color, design and transparency...
  
  s.
• Head Archery (헤드 양궁) [Season 18] - Members wear a hat with a scoreboard and must throw a ball and try to land it in the center.
• Fly Super Board (날아라 슈퍼보드) [Season 23] - A member of each team stand on a unbalanced "super board" and must push the opponent over.
• Indian Dance (인디언 댄스) [Season 27] - A member of each team must dance to music and then step on the balloons attached to the opponent's feet.
• Stretch Your Legs (다리다리 쭉쭉) [Season 29] - A member of each team must stretch their legs to designated points. The member that can stretch farthest and support itself will win.
• Butt Push Koong (엉덩이 쿵) [Season 33] - Similar to Butt Pushing, a member of each team must push the opposing member's butt, attempting to knock them over, then grab the towel underneath.
• Catch the Gomusin (고무신 잡기) [Season 39,41] - A member of each team must toss their gomusin
  Gomusin
  Gomusin refers to shoes made of rubber in a form of Korean traditional shoes. The shoes are wide, with low heels. Gomusin for men were modeled after "gatsin" , and ones for women were danghye . Gomusin first appeared in the early 20th century. They were much easier to keep clean than danghye and...
  
  , catch it and break the balloon on the opposing member's butt first.
• Bucket Punch! Punch! (양동이 펀치! 펀치!) [Season 47,49] - A member of each team stand in metal buckets and push knock the opposing member over.
• Take Off the Rubber Gloves (고무장갑을 벗겨라) [Season 48] - A member of each team must grab the rubber gloves off the opposing member first.
• Be Careful of the Cold~ (감기 조심하세요~) [Season 50] - A member of each team must grab the scarf off the opposing member first.
• Apple Game (으랏차차 사과놀이) [Season 55] - A member of each team must knock off an apple attached to a helmet with a sword.
• Team! Butt Wrestling (단결! 엉덩이씨름) [Season 56,57] - Similar to Butt Pushing, teams will gradually add members throughout rounds and must push the other team's butt and knock them over.
• Tail Bites Tail (꼬리에 꼬리를 물고) [Season 58] - Same as Team! Catch the Tail, the head (first member) of the team must catch the tail (last member) of the other team while keeping the team connected to each other, except the number of members increases each round.

Special Missions
These missions were played during a special (event).

• Team!/"Go" Fighting/in Water (단결!/수중 고싸움) [Season 10,40,54,62,68] - Teams are standing on a floating platform on water and must push the other team off.
• Team! Water Splash (단결! 물튀기기) [Season 40] - Teams must accumulate more water through collecting splashs of water created by its members diving into a pool.
• Hot Spring! Ram's War (온천! 양의전쟁) [Season 54] - A member of each team must grab the towel off the opposing members head first.
• Floating Canoe (부표카누) [Season 54] - Teams must successfully balance on a floating platform together. The team with the fastest time will win.
• Float Arm Wrestling (부표 팔씨름) [Season 54] - A member of each team must arm wrestle each other into water on a float.
• Ting Ting Teng Teng Rice Table Game (팅팅탱탱 밥상놀이) [Season 54] - Identical to Fly Frypan except the losing team hits their head on a rice table instead of frypans.
• World Cup Just Kick It (월드컵 발로차) [Season 56-58] - In support of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
  2006 FIFA World Cup
  The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
  
  , members must shoot into a goal. The team with the most goals will win.
• Catch-Up To Michelle Wie (미셜위 따리잡기) [Season 61] - A game competing against Michelle Wie
  Michelle Wie
  Michelle Sung Wie is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie would also become the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for a LPGA Tour event...
  
   where members must shoot golf balls to hit gongs for points.
• Hit The Target (과녁을 맞어라) [Season 61] - A game competing against Michelle Wie
  Michelle Wie
  Michelle Sung Wie is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie would also become the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for a LPGA Tour event...
  
   where members must shoot golf balls to hit panels for points.
• Challenge! Penalty Shootout (도전! 승부차기) [Season 61,63] - In support of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
  2006 FIFA World Cup
  The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
  
  , members must shoot more into each others goals to win.
• World Cup Vaulting Competition (월드컵 뜀틀대회) [Season 62] - Teams must attempt to jump higher than previous attempts.
• X-Man's Reenactment (X맨의 재구성) [Season 62,68] - Teams must correctly act out scenes from famous dramas. The team who successfully acts out all scenes will win.
• Ddui Ddui Bbang Bbang Bus Game (뛰뛰빵빵 버스놀이) [Season 66] - Similar to Fly Frypan, members are on a bus and calls out an opposing members name, a number and a command, whether to get on or off. That member and its corresponding number of members in line will either say "Hello" or "Getting Off", and the member called will call out the next member. If a command was not called, then the corresponding number of members in line will say the previous command. Anyone who makes a mistake, a set of skeletons will drop in front of their team.
• Know Your Multiplication (구구단을 외자고~) [Season 68] - Each member faces off against MC Yu in multiplication. The team that wins against MC Yu will win, if both teams win, a special round is played between the two teams.
• Swim Cap Relay (수영모 릴레이) [Season 68] - A member of each team swim to the other end to retrieve a swim cap
  Swim cap
  A swim cap, swimming cap or bathing cap, is a silicone, latex or lycra cap worn on the head by recreational and competitive swimmers....
  
   underwater, put it on and return first.

New X-Man Missions

• Dodgeball King X (피구왕X) [Season 1,2,4-8,10-20] - Similar to traditional dodgeball
  Dodgeball
  Dodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...
  
  , teams attempt to throw a ball at each other and are eliminated if the ball touches them. If the ball is caught, then an eliminated member may return to play. The game ends when all members of a team are eliminated. From Season 16-20, the rules changed to Touch Dodgeball, where a maximum of five team members play at a time and may switch out with other members by touching them. Catching a ball no longer brings back an eliminated player. There is also a "Safe Zone" in the center of each team's court, where a player will not be eliminated even if they are hit by the ball as long as they are in that circle.
• Hand Separate, Lips Separate, Together Disagreeing (손따로 입따로 언행불일치) [Season 1,3,7-10] - Each team faces off against MC Yu individually, where they must say a number from one to five, and show a different number of fingers, and continue doing so until someone makes a mistake. The team that wins against MC Yu will win, if both teams win, a special round is played between the two teams.
• Star Battle Cold-Hearted OX (스타배틀 냉정한OX) [Season 1-20] - A member of each team performs to a panel of seven "cold-hearted" judges, composed of show staff members of varying age and gender, who judge based on their personal preference. The individual with the highest score's team will win. If both teams have a member with the same highest score, the team with the most highest score's will win.
  • Rookie Battle Cold-Hearted OX (신인배틀 냉정한OX) [Season 10] - Same as Star Battle Cold-Hearted OX, except featuring the rookies of that season and they are judged by their seniors from the opposite team. This mission was incorporated into Star Battle Cold-Hearted OX in future seasons.
• The Stairs of Possiblility (설마의 계단) [Season 2-4] - A deciding discussion mission to determine who is most likely to be the X-Man. MC Yu asks questions relating to that seasons topic. If a challenger believes they personally agree to that question, they step up the Stairs of Possibility. At the end of the questions, whoever is standing on the top of the Stairs of Possibility is a strong X-Man candidate.
• Don't Ask Envelopes (묻지마 봉투) [Season 5,6] - A suspicion discussion mission to determine who is more likely to be the X-Man. Challengers write questions to the final X-Man candidates prior to this mission and are hidden in discreet envelopes. The final X-Man candidates choose an envelope and answers the question, which may help the team leader decide who is most likely to be the X-Man.
• Challenge! 3.3.3! Three Worded Poems (도전! 3.3.3! 삼행시) [Season 8-13,15-19] - A game where two members face off using the opponents name as the first "word" in the three phrases to "attack" each other. A member loses if they are unable to come up with a phrase using the name or are GGed by their opponent.
• Wrestling King X (씨름왕X) [Season 14] - A special Lunar New Year mission where members wrestle each other in traditional Korean wrestling, ssireum
  Ssireum
  Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....
  
  . This mission is divided into three groups: females, "young boys" and "old boys". Only the "old boys" division plays with a cloth wrapped around both members waist and must pull it in their favor to make the opponent fall.

Reception

During the later months of 2005, there was a decline in ratings. Rival shows like KBS's Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday is a Korean reality-variety show shown on the KBS2 network, which competes directly against MBC's Sunday Sunday Night and SBS's Good Sunday line-up. Although it has been broadcast since 2003, its line-up of shows has frequently changed, with a complete revamp occurring in Spring of 2007...

lineup and MBC

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...

's Sunday Sunday Night

Sunday Sunday Night

Our Sunday Night is the longest-running South Korean television entertainment programme, distributed by MBC. It runs for 155 minutes, including roughly fifteen minutes of advertising...

were gaining in popularity. Good Sundays previous ratings of around 19.5% on January 2, 2005 and 23.5% on October 9, 2005 had dropped to 11.8% on July 23, 2006 after a year. In order to regain viewers, X-Man had many special episodes, which had contestants either going to various places (Japan, Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

, China) or had special, unique guests (Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie

Michelle Sung Wie is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie would also become the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for a LPGA Tour event...

, TVXQ

TVXQ

TVXQ, an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi , is a South Korean pop group formed in 2003 under SM Entertainment. In South Korea they are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki , often abbreviated by international fans as DBSK; they were later introduced in Japan as Tohoshinki under the Avex sub-label Rhythm Zone...

). However, ratings did not rebound to their previous levels, and the show was finally overhauled for the Fall 2006 season and dubbed New X-Man.

New X-Man

Due to low ratings, the shows format changed. Although the hosts remained the same, the concept changed; instead of being the team disrupter, the X-Man became the top choice among various celebrities for a various topic.

Therefore, the objective of the game was to guess who would be the #1 vote-getter and trade the X-Man over to the other side. The only time this was possible was when the team won the mission, after which they would have the chance to either retrieve someone from the other team or send someone over. At certain points in the show, the lower positions would be revealed a few at a time, with only the top few remaining before the final mission. The team who has the X-Man loses the entire "game".

Teams were chosen through a lottery system, with MC Yu serving as the "divider". The number he picked served as the dividing line between the teams (with MC Kang getting the guests with earlier numbers, and MC Lee getting the later numbers). In the event of an unfair division (for example, if the number 10 was chosen), the teams would simply be divided in half.

Although New X-Man occasionally entered the Top 20 chart, the new audience was not sustained and its final episode aired on April 8, 2007. It was replaced first by Haja! Go! (하자!고), then by Old TV (옛날TV), both shows hosted by Yu, but neither shows could garner ratings and Good Sunday was revamped once again.

Hosts/Guests

• Season 1
  • MC: Kim Jae-dong
  • 强(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong
  • 柔(Yu) Team Leader: Yu Jae-seok

• Season 2
  • MC: Yu Jae-seok
  • 强(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong
  • 柔(Yu) Team Leader: Kim Jae-dong

• Season 3-23
  • MC: Yu Jae-seok
  • 强(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong
  • 金(Kim) Team Leader: Kim Jae-dong

• Season 24-34
  • MC: Yu Jae-seok
  • 강(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong Shin Jung-hwan was briefly the leader of Shin(신) Team during Season 34 when Kang Ho-dong was disregarded by teammates.
  • 공(Gong) Team Leader: Gong Hyung-jin

• Season 35-59
  • MC: Yu Jae-seok
  • 강(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong
    • Assistant Team LeaderAssistant Team Leaders were introduced in response to permanent guests assisting the team leaders in organization, cheering, and gags. They were not officially introduced until Park Kyung-lim's reign as team leader, but existed as early as Gong Hyung-jin's reign as team leader. The Assistant Team Leader would vary depending on which "permanent" guest was available for that season. Mainly Lee Jin and Hwang Bo alternated for Kang Team whereas Yoon Eun-hye and Chae Yeon alternated for Park Team. Assistant Team Leaders were later abandoned due to changes in permanent guests.: Lee Jin
      Lee Jin
      Lee Jin is a South Korean actress. First a member of the Korean pop group Fin.K.L, along with Lee Hyori, Ock Joo Hyun, and Sung Yuri, she is currently acting in dramas and movies.-Career:...
      
      /Hwang Bo
  • 박(Park) Team Leader: Park Kyung-lim
    • Assistant Team Leader: Yoon Eun-hye/Chae Yeon
      Chae Yeon
      Lee Chae-Yeon , better known as Chae Yeon, is a Korean pop singer who rose to fame with her hit single "Two of Us" in 2004 and her wave dance style.- Beginning of career :...
      
      

• Season 60-67,69-70/1-20 (New X-Man)
  • MC: Yu Jae-seok
  • 강(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong
  • 이(Lee) Team Leader: Lee Hyuk-jae

• Season 68
  • MC: Yu Jae-seok
  • 강(Kang) Team Leader: Kang Ho-dong
  • 박(Park) Team Leader: Park Myung-su
    Park Myeong-su
    Park Myung-soo is a Korean comedian, MC and singer who debuted on television in 1993, appearing on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Network. He is in the top-rated comic variety programme Muhan Dojeon and on the Date at 2 O'Clock radio show...
    
    Lee Hyuk-jae was unable to attend due to personal matters.

Trivia

• MC Kim was the only MC on X-Man, to have his team name written in Hanja (Chinese lettering) as opposed to the traditional Hangul. This may be because the Hangul for Kang and Kim are very close to one another (김 (Kim), 강 (Kang)).
• The original team names, Kang (강) and Yu (유), were actually meant in Hanja for "강 - 强" as in strong and "유 - 柔" as in tender, representing Kang Ho-dong and Yu Jae-seok respectively, but were disregarded once Kim Jae-dong became team leader.
• When identifying who is X-Man, if the suspect was X-Man, the screen read "Identical" (일치), if the suspect was not X-Man, it would read "Discordant" (불일치) and carbon dioxide would be sprayed in the form of an "X" in front of the suspect. Starting in Season 65, the Couple Event took place in a different set resembling a forest, the "finger-print ceremony" took place there as well, but lacking a screen, in which "Identical" would be represented by fireworks, and "Discordant" was still represented by "X" carbon dioxide.
• Originally, suspects were identified corresponding to the number of votes received, but after earlier seasons, after incorrectly identifying X-Man, he/she was simply revealed by MC Yu in order to save time.

External links

X-Man Official Homepage New X-Man Official Homepage