Why Park Bo-gum Rejected a Yoon Jong-shin Track Made Just for Him

Singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin will share a bittersweet story about getting turned down by actor Park Bo-gum on Korean variety television this week. The episode airs Friday at 10 p.m. KST on KBS 2TV's Problem Child in House (Oktapbang-ui Munjeaadeul), with Yoon and film director Jang Hang-jun appearing together as 31-year best friends representing the music and film industries.

The episode also brings a long-awaited reunion. Yoon and singer Kim Jong-kook, the bickering "natural enemy" duo who powered a wave of Korean variety hits years ago, meet again in the rooftop set after six or seven years apart. Yoon openly grumbled to Kim, who got married last year, asking why he never received a wedding invitation.

"I wanted to give you a wedding gift, but I had no way to deliver it. So I brought it today," Yoon said, before handing over an envelope on set. The show staged what producers are calling its first-ever rooftop wedding gift ceremony, a small thank-you to Kim for showing up at every one of Yoon's own family events over the years.

Yoon then turned to one of the most distinctive projects in Korean pop music: Monthly Yoon Jong Shin (Wolgan Yoon Jong-shin), the release series he launched in 2010 and has continued every month for 17 years running. He shared behind-the-scenes stories from the project, which has no equivalent in the K-pop industry.

The conversation turned to Park Bo-gum after his duet with Yoon on Uphill Road (Oreumakgil), performed on KBS 2TV's "The Seasons - Park Bo-gum's Cantabile," crossed 10 million views on YouTube. Yoon revealed that Park was the one who first reached out, telling him he wanted to take part in "Monthly Yoon Jong-shin."

Yoon then wrote a song for the actor. It didn't go as planned. "I wrote a song for Park Bo-gum, but he turned it down, so I'm writing another one right now," Yoon said, surprising everyone on set. The reason Park passed on the track will be revealed Friday at 10 p.m. KST on KBS 2TV's "Problem Child in House."