Amazing Saturday (2018)

When Amazing Saturday premiered on April 7th, 2018, it tapped into something that Korean television—and really, global television—hadn’t quite perfected yet: the alchemy of combining genuine variety entertainment with the casual spontaneity of a street market experience. Creator Lee Tae-kyeong understood that audiences were hungry for something that felt less produced, less sterile, and more authentically chaotic. What emerged was a show that would go on to rack up 388 episodes in its first season alone, maintaining a solid 7.6/10 rating that speaks to its consistent quality rather than explosive viral moments.

The sheer volume of episodes is worth pausing on here. We’re not talking about a traditional series structure where you get 13 episodes of carefully plotted drama. Instead, Amazing Saturday (also known as DoReMi Market) committed to a weekly format that demanded consistent creativity, fresh celebrity guests, and the kind of collaborative energy that could sustain audiences week after week, year after year. That’s a tremendous amount of trust both in the format and in the creative team’s ability to keep things feeling alive and unpredictable.

What makes the show fundamentally work is its willingness to blur the lines between reality and performance. The market setting—those featured locations throughout South Korea—becomes more than just a backdrop. It’s a character itself, full of unpredictable interactions, genuine reactions from vendors and locals, and moments that no script could entirely control. The 75-minute runtime becomes crucial here because it allows space for these moments to breathe and develop organically. You’re not rushing from segment to segment; instead, the pacing creates room for the unexpected to flourish.

The celebrity guest format is where the show’s real genius reveals itself:

• Games and challenges that feel simultaneously ridiculous and genuinely competitive
• Spontaneous interactions with real people in the markets that can’t be entirely staged
• Music and food elements that ground the entertainment in something tangible and sensory
• Team dynamics that develop naturally between celebrity guests and the show’s core cast
• Moments of genuine vulnerability where celebrities step outside their carefully curated images

Lee Tae-kyeong’s vision seems to have been rooted in a simple but powerful idea: entertainment works best when everyone involved is slightly off-balance. The celebrities don’t know exactly what they’re walking into. The market vendors might or might not be in on certain bits. The humor emerges from real surprise rather than carefully rehearsed punchlines. That’s why the show could sustain 388 episodes—because each episode genuinely offered something unpredictable.

> The show’s cultural significance lies not in any single viral moment, but in proving that variety entertainment could evolve beyond tired formats and genuinely connect with audiences by honoring their intelligence and their desire for authenticity.

What’s particularly striking is how Amazing Saturday positioned itself within the Korean television landscape of the late 2010s. This was a period when streaming was beginning to reshape how audiences consumed content, yet the show committed to a traditional broadcast schedule on tvN. Rather than competing for attention through expensive production values or dramatic twists, it won viewers over through consistency, warmth, and a genuine sense of fun that felt inclusive rather than exclusive.

The chemistry between the core cast members—figures like Kim Dong-hyun and Sin Dong-yup—became a crucial ingredient in the formula. These aren’t hosts imposing themselves onto a format; they’re collaborators who understand how to facilitate chaos while maintaining just enough structure to keep things coherent. That balance is harder to achieve than it looks, and the fact that it sustained across 388 episodes suggests a deep understanding of rhythm and pacing at the production level.

The show’s approach to Comedy and Reality as intertwined genres was genuinely progressive. Rather than treating reality as just the backdrop for comedy, Amazing Saturday allowed them to inform each other completely. A joke lands differently when there’s real stakes involved. A moment of genuine connection hits harder when you know it emerged from an authentic interaction rather than a scripted setup. This blend became something of a template that influenced how other Korean variety shows approached their own formats.

The 7.6/10 rating deserves reconsideration in this context. This isn’t a show designed to inspire passionate extreme reactions in either direction. Instead, it represents something more valuable: a program that consistently delivers what audiences expect while occasionally surprising them. It’s reliable entertainment that respects the viewer’s time, which in an era of infinite content choices, is actually a significant achievement.

As Amazing Saturday continues its journey as a returning series, it stands as proof that longevity in television doesn’t require constant reinvention or chasing trends. Sometimes what audiences want is a show that genuinely seems to be enjoying itself—where the hosts, guests, and viewers are all in on the same joke, experiencing something together that feels both entertaining and real. That’s the legacy that makes Amazing Saturday worth your time.