Fashion designer Ko Tae-yong grabbed everyone’s attention as a new boss on KBS2’s ‘Boss in the Mirror’ with his fearless and shocking straight talk.
In the 358th episode of KBS2’s ‘Boss in the Mirror’ aired on Sunday, the show featured the refreshing bluntness of genius designer Ko Tae-yong and Lee Soon-sil’s visit to a factory after achieving 7 billion won in sales from mandu alone. Additionally, Um Ji-in and Nam Hyun-jong visited ‘SNU Min-ji’ Park Hyo-jin in Changwon. The episode recorded a peak viewership rating of 4.5%, maintaining its #1 spot in its time slot for 207 consecutive weeks (according to Nielsen Korea).
Ko Tae-yong is famous as a “genius designer” who debuted as the youngest at Seoul Fashion Week at age 26 and participated in the world’s top three fashion shows in New York, Paris, and Milan. Ko stated, “Due to the nature of the job, it’s strict and has a strong hierarchy, but times have changed, so I find myself walking on eggshells around employees. In short, the fashion world these days is rotten.” However, his employees described him as “sharp and sensitive,” calling him a “boss who is like a devil senior in the army,” which sparked laughter.
During a concept meeting with designers, Ko froze the atmosphere with “fact bombs,” telling employees that “even a fashion major’s graduation project would be better than this.” Watching this, Jun Hyun-moo remarked that it felt like watching a real-life version of the movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ adding to the excitement.
After the tense meeting, Boss Ko met with his close friend, model Jung Hyuk, to reminisce. Ko revealed, “Some people think I’m a silver spoon because I succeeded young, but I debuted with 10 million won I saved from part-time jobs and support from the Seoul city government.” He added, “The younger colleague I worked with at a shopping mall back then was Lee Jong-suk, and I can’t forget the moment he stood on my runway.” He also mentioned current superstars like Lee Jong-suk, Byeon Woo-seok, Joo Woo-jae, Jang Ki-yong, and Lee Sung-kyung, proudly noting, “They were always destined to be famous, but they became rising stars immediately after appearing on my brand’s runway.”
Designer Ko Tae-yong also shared a funny story about MC Jun Hyun-moo. He said, “I once sponsored fashion for Jun Hyun-moo, and the dog t-shirt he wore caused a sell-out craze.” He added, “It remains an unsolved mystery at our company to this day,” causing an explosion of laughter.
Meanwhile, announcer Um Ji-in headed to Changwon with Nam Hyun-jong to visit her junior, Park Hyo-jin, who is currently on a rotational assignment at the KBS Changwon headquarters. Um showed interest in the items on Park’s desk and even started flipping through her junior’s diary. Watching this, Jun Hyun-moo joked, “Are you a peddler?” causing laughter. As expected of a brilliant Seoul National University graduate, Park’s diary was filled with neat notes, including detailed drawings of how to improve her makeup, which left Um Ji-in impressed.
Um Ji-in encouraged Park Hyo-jin, who is performing exceptionally well as a solo main news anchor in Changwon, jokingly saying, “This is all thanks to me.” Before a live news broadcast, Um advised Park, “Do not answer the PD’s call verbally.” Realizing her habit after the tip, Park responded to the PD’s call with a hand signal and smoothly proceeded with the news, making Um feel proud.
Additionally, Lee Soon-sil, who achieved 7 billion won in sales from mandu last year, visited a manufacturing plant with a goal of reaching 10 billion won. After meticulously checking the mandu production process, Lee attended a sensory evaluation to check the taste. Lee reacted sternly to an employee who gave a 4 out of 5 on the evaluation sheet, while telling an employee who gave all 5s, “Promote them tomorrow,” which provided some laughs. Lee also looked for a new mandu factory. After visiting two sites, she noted, “I love the factory, but the installation costs for things like the frozen warehouse are too high,” and entered rent negotiations by demanding the landlord provide the facilities, causing more laughter.
Viewers reacted to the broadcast, saying things like “Peddler lol,” “Jun Hyun-moo was a sell-out man,” and “Wow, 7 billion in sales is amazing.”
