Na Yeong-seok (, born April 15, 1976), often known by his nickname Na PD, is a South Korean television producer and director. Na is best known for producing the popular variety-reality shows 2 Days & 1 Night, New Journey to the West, Grandpas Over Flowers, Three Meals a Day, Youn's Kitchen, Youn's Stay, Earth Arcade and their spin-offs.
Education Na Young-seok was born on April 15, 1976, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. He lived in his hometown during his middle and high school years, which he described as unremarkable and mundane. Afterwards, Na relocated to Seoul and enrolled at Yonsei University, where he pursued a major in Public Administration. He chose this field of study because his father worked as a civil servant at Cheongju City Hall and advised him to pursue a similar career path if he didn't have any particular aspirations. Initially, Na had plans to take the civil service exam after completing his studies.
During his college years, Na was active in the theater club of the College of Social Sciences, which the Department of Public Administration belongs to. From his freshman year until graduation, he dedicated himself to club activities. Beginning with minor roles, he gained diverse experiences as a supporting actor, staff member, and eventually even as a director. These experiences brought him joy and led him to consider pursuing a career in broadcasting industry, either in television or film.
After completing his studies, Na saw an advertisement for a sitcom writer and applied for it, and entered a film company as an assistant director. However, the company he joined faced financial difficulties and went bankrupt, leaving him unemployed within a mere two months. To make ends meet, he worked as an instructor at an academy while simultaneously preparing to join a media company. However, he struggled with the initial current affairs tests and failed most of them. In 2001, he made the decision to apply to KBS.
Career
Early Career in KBS In 2001, Na applied for the 27th Public Recruitment at KBS. He firmly believed that, as an evaluator, he would prefer selecting individuals who excelled in specific areas rather than those who were merely average in multiple areas. Due to his strong aversion to essay writing, he focused his attention on the art of plan writing. From that point onward, he devoted himself entirely to watching TV, narrowing his interests down to analyzing three specific aspects: "It's enjoyable because of this. If it's not enjoyable, it's not enjoyable because of this. If I were asked to modify this program, I would make the changes in this manner." Na firmly believed that his acceptance into KBS was a result of his exceptional 'plan'.
He began his career as an assistant director in the network's variety department. In 2002, he was assigned the role of assistant director to Lee Myung-han in the show "Declaration of Freedom Today is Saturday – The War Of Roses." The program revolved around male entertainers and female college students who would meet and find a mate at a mountain lodge. It was during this program that Shin collaborated with fellow assistant director Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung, who served as the main writer.
In 2002, when Lee Myung-han was in charge of directing Super TV Sunday is Fun, His juniors were in charge of directing each segment of the show. Na was assigned the role as assistant director, in charge of segment Let's Go! Dream Team - Season 1. Meanwhile Shin Won-ho directing Kung Kung Ta. They worked together again in Star Golden Bell (2004).
They eventually formed a group famous as Yeouido Research Institute,also later known as Lee Myung-han's division.
Na and Lee Myung-han reunited with writer Lee Woo-jung when both were in charge of co-directing Heroine 5. Heroine 5 was one of the segments of Sunday 101%, which was renamed Happy Sunday since November 2004, and it was broadcast from April 4, 2004, to May 1, 2005, on KBS 2. It was followed by the sequel, Heroine 6, which aired from May 8, 2005, to April 29, 2007, on KBS 2. When Lee and Na Young-seok developed another segments, Shin Won-hoo took over as the director.
Na and Lee Myung-han collaborated on two new segments of Happy Sunday: and Are You Ready? High Fiveaired on KBS 2TV from May 6, 2007, to May 18, 2008. The show was hosted by Jee Seok-jin and it focused on five female stars who embarked on different job experiences. Throughout the series, they took on roles such as flight attendants, farmers, stuntwomen, and police officers. Given the diverse backgrounds of the stars, comedic twists and events were often incorporated into their training. The initial lineup of High Five stars included comedian Jo Hye-ryun, entertainer Hyun Young, singer Chae Yeon, MC Park Kyung-lim, and actress Kim Min-sun.
Happy Sunday: Are You Ready? was aired from May 6, 2007, to July 29, 2007. Kang Ho-dong served as the host, and the cast included Lee Soo-geun, Eun Ji-won, Kim Jong-min, Noh Hong-chul, and Ji Sang-ryeol. The show centered around the cast and special guests engaging in a variety of games. The initial three episodes focused on games related to the Chinese language, while the subsequent episodes leading up to the finale featured physical and logic-based games. However, due to poor ratings, Are You Ready? was discontinued after airing 12 episodes.
2 Days & 1 Night
Na and Lee Myung-han made their breakthrough in 2007 with 1 Night 2 Days, which introduced the road trip format to Korean reality programming, as a regular cast of comedians, singers and actors visit various towns across Korea and spend the eponymous one night and two days there, engaging in activities such as games, camping and sightseeing. Starring Kang Ho-dong, Lee Soo-geun, Eun Ji-won, Kim Jong-min, Noh Hong-chul, and Ji Sang-ryeol (Kim C, Lee Seung-gi, MC Mong, and Uhm Tae-woong later joined the cast),1 Night 2 Days quickly became the highest rated variety program on KBS and a national viewing pastime, reaching a peak viewership rating of 40%.
The show not only boosted tourism for the locations it featured, its massive popularity also extended to its cast and even the crew. Because Na often appeared onscreen during interactions with the cast, he himself soon became a household name among Korean audiences, who affectionately called him "Na PD" ("PD" is a commonly used term in Korean television that denotes "producer-director" or "production director").Kim Seong-yoon, a researcher at the Institute for Culture and Society, said, "Na was the first producer to show a world view through entertainment," and analyzed, "This is the biggest reason why viewers remember PD's name clearly when they can't remember the name of other PDs."In January 2012, Na, who was recognized for his contributions, was promoted to a second-level deputy general manager, one rank higher than before. Afterwards, he took a break by writing book. He also developed another KBS program in 2012, The Human Condition in October. Cast were six comedians (Kim Jun-hyun, Kim Joon-ho, Heo Kyung-hwan, Yang Sang-guk, Jung Tae-ho and Park Seong-ho) live together for seven days under certain restrictions, such as without gadgets, electricity, or water. Na produced the four-episode pilot. During this hiatus, transfer rumors circulated several times, but PD Na dismissed them as untrue.
Na resigned from KBS on December 18, 2012, after working for the broadcaster for 12 years. His departure and that of other cast members marked the end of the first season of 1 Night 2 Days (episodes 1–232); the second season was launched with a new crew and additional new cast members. The Human Condition also continued airing without Na's involvement.
Career in CJENM Grandpas Over Flowers On January 2, 2013, Na signed with media conglomerate CJ E&M, which owns cable channels such as tvN. CJ E&M had reportedly wooed him with not just a bigger salary, but the assurance of greater creative control and clout. Na said, "I determined that there is more room for creativity (in cable). Things move at a fast pace. The programs come and go as does the attention of viewers. So we are forced to try different things."
For his first cable program, Na again chose the concept of travel, but this time overseas. In an increasingly youth-obsessed medium and culture, he surprised pundits by casting four actors in their seventies: Lee Soon-jae, Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung and Baek Il-seob. Since backpacking was mostly associated with the young, Na wanted to flip the idea and make it fresh. He said that by placing veteran actors (who are fixed in their habits) in exotic settings, it allowed for "unexpected" elements to unfold that made for great TV. Titled Grandpas Over Flowers (a pun on the Japanese manga Boys Over Flowers), the show filmed the four actors traveling to France and Switzerland while accompanied by their "porter", 40-something actor Lee Seo-jin. It was immediately a ratings hit when it aired in 2013, and like 2 Days & 1 Night before it, became a cultural phenomenon. The cast drew increased mainstream popularity among the younger generation, and the show sparked a trend of senior citizen-themed shows among rival networks. tvN also leveraged the show's domestic popularity into international success, selling remake rights to the United States. When asked why the show struck a chord with audiences, Na said, "It's because older people with a lot of experience, have lots of stories to tell. When you travel with people with a lot of experience who have gone through the success and failures in life, you learn a lot from them."
With the success of Grandpas Over Flowers following 2 Days & 1 Night, Na cemented his reputation as the most influential creator and producer in Korean reality television.
The next seasons were filmed in Taiwan (2013), Spain (2014), and Greece (2015). Actress Choi Ji-woo joined the cast for the Greece trip.
Sisters Over Flowers, Youth Over Flowers While Grandpas Over Flowers went on hiatus in late 2013 (the cast was busy with their respective acting projects), Na produced the first spin-off, Sisters Over Flowers. Using the same format, he cast a group of top actresses (Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Ja-ok, Kim Hee-ae and Lee Mi-yeon) and pushed them out of their comfort zone as they traveled to Croatia. The show also reunited Na with 2 Days & 1 Night alum Lee Seung-gi, who acted as this season's "porter".
The second spin-off, which aired in 2014 after the Spain season of Grandpas Over Flowers, was Youth Over Flowers. It featured singer-songwriters Yoon Sang, You Hee-yeol and Lee Juck in Peru, and Reply 1994 actors Yoo Yeon-seok, Son Ho-jun and Baro in Laos. Na only directed the Peru segments, while Reply 1994 director Shin Won-ho filmed in Laos. Both spin-offs likewise drew high ratings for cable. The series later spawned three more seasons; which were filmed in Iceland, Africa (featuring the cast of Reply 1988) and Australia (featuring boy band Winner).
Na also made cameo appearances on two tvN scripted series. As a meta in-joke about his real-life alma mater, he played a boarder from Yonsei University in episode 2 of the nostalgic campus drama Reply 1994. Reply 1994'''s director Shin Won-ho and screenwriter Lee Woo-jung had previously worked with Na on 2 Days & 1 Night. Then as a favor to Lee Soon-jae, Na played a police officer in episode 66 of Lee's sitcom Potato Star 2013QR3.
Three Meals a Day