Leeteuk, Shin Dong Hee and Jisung battle for royal perks in Egypt
ENA's Prince and Pauper premieres on the 27th, sending Super Junior, NCT and WEi idols through Egypt in a winner-takes-all travel game.
A 7-day class war traveling through Egyptian landmarks
ENA announced that it will premiere 'Prince and Pauper,' a 7-day travel variety show featuring six idols, on the 27th at 11:15 p.m.
This program applies a winner-takes-all rule where the cast's social class is determined by mission results. The winning members become 'Princes' and enjoy luxury accommodations and abundant meals, while the losing members become 'Paupers' who must carry out missions while wandering through the hot desert and various local sites. The structure allows classes to flip even within a single day.
The cast will visit Egyptian landmarks such as the Pyramids, the Sphinx, ancient temples, and the Red Sea, traveling between Cairo, Luxor, and Hurghada. PD Lee Tae-kyung stated, "Since the Prince and Pauper are decided every day through games, there is a fun element akin to watching a class fable," adding, "We tried to localize the games to fit the characteristics of Egypt, maintaining a Korean gaming style while capturing the Egyptian atmosphere."
From Leeteuk and Shindong to NCT Jisung, six members with six different colors
The cast consists of Super Junior's Leeteuk and Shindong, who are in their 21st year since debut, along with Dawn, WEi's Kim Yo Han, NCT 127's Johnny, and NCT Dream's Jisung. As idols spanning multiple generations have gathered, they are expected to show human sides different from their stage personas.
The members have been assigned various characters, ranging from Visual Prince, Reaction Prince, and Humor Prince to Patient Pauper, Memory Pauper, and Stamina Pauper.
PD Lee Tae-kyung picks 'Jisung' as the unexpected dark horse
PD Lee Tae-kyung, who directed 'Amazing Saturday' and 'Hye-mi-ri-ye-chae-pa,' identified NCT Dream's Jisung as the unexpected dark horse of this program. Lee explained that Jisung will serve as a major pillar of the eight-episode story, saying, "At first, he seemed like a shy and quiet young man, but he laughed more sincerely than anyone else and approached every situation actively."
Regarding Johnny and Kim Yo Han, he continued, "Both of them possess a level of slyness and audacity that any Korean variety show PD would covet. They create situations themselves and do not hesitate to perform physical comedy, to the point where the on-site staff applauded."
'Prince and Pauper' will be released on the ENA channel and the global OTT platform Disney+.
