10 November 2019

Jeon Yooseong - Master in the House

In “Master in the House” (집사부일체) Master Jeon Yooseong (전유성), an eccentric founding father of the Korean comedy industry, takes the butlers singer / actor Lee Seung Gi (이승기), BTOB’s Yook Sungjae (육성재), actor Lee Sang Yoon (이상윤) and comedian Yang Sehyung (양세형) under his wings to spread his wisdom about thinking outside the box to avoid being ordinary. The nature loving comedian spends most of his time in the deep wilderness of Mount Jiri in order to stimulate his creative energy from the surrounding nature which is his temple of inspiration. The mountainous retreat features a private stream and waterfall, natural stone fireplace and a secret attic leading to the top floor which is accessed by a hidden ladder. Master Jeon Yooseong reveals his secret to success is to break old habits and to be dissatisfied which is contrary to the philosophies of the other masters, leaving the butlers confused as Lee Seung Gi deduces "The final question of this show is '"Who am I?'". Master Jeon Yooseong's moment of enlightenment occurred at a Seoul station ticket barrier when he came across an advertisement which said "Those who consumed ginseng should push gently". He became dissatisfied for not coming up with such an original idea and thus challenged himself up to come up with a wittier idea to relieve his dissatisfaction, resulting in slogans such as the one he made for the buoys out at sea in Haeundae beach: "Only those with life insurance can go past this line". Dissatisfaction motivates him to create new and original ideas, a philosophy which he applies to all aspects of his life including dinner where he grills bananas and strawberries as condiments to the pork belly BBQ. In order to help the butlers develop their creativity, Master Jeon Yooseong sets them on a mission to create an innovative licence such as his "Soju and beer licence" and "Roasting Beef Licence" which he distributed to 4,000 participants at the Livestock Cooperatives Festival, which contains amusing conditions such as "If you burn more than three pieces of meat, this licence is cancelled" and "Don't use this licence as a shoehorn". According to Master Jeon Yooseong, constantly striving to create interesting ideas makes life less ordinary.