On the November 6 episode of MBC’s Miserly manwhich featured a special “Shy Salt”, Park Young-jin, Lee Joon, Lim Woo-il, Kim Jong-kook and Lee Seung-hoon made a rare appearance together, bringing smiles to viewers.
During the show, Jang Do-yeon announced that Kim Jong-kook had received the President’s Award on “Finance Day” for his achievements in saving and investment. When Jang jokingly suggested hanging a congratulatory banner, Kim replied: “There is no need. It would only be used once and then discarded. Park Young-jin added, “If people find out, they will expect you to buy them a meal.”
The episode also introduced the band’s lead singer Choi Sang-yeop and musical actor Lim Gi-hong. Choi, known for his frugality, showed up with a company cart to pick up a shelf he had found for free. Using wired earphones, he explained his trick for keeping the cord from getting tangled. Kim Jong-kook admired his methods, saying: “I do the same. He knows all the tricks.”
Choi then traveled across the Han River to get his free item. After receiving it, he offered the donor a drink, prompting Kim Jong-kook to comment, “People like us don’t impose on others. It’s a nice gesture.” On the way back, Choi even picked up trash, and when he returned home, he used a reusable cloth instead of wet wipes to clean the shelf, which Kim Jong-kook praised, saying: “See, you don’t need wet wipes in life.”
Choi later checked the price for the washing machine cleaning service and, noting that it was around KRW 80,000, joked, “That’s almost the cost of sedation!” He revealed he recently forgoed sedation for an endoscopy to save money.
Kim Jong-kook then shared: “I receive both upper and lower endoscopies without sedation,” surprising the studio. Lim Woo-il asked: “Is that possible?” while Park Young-jin marveled, “No wonder he received a presidential award.” Kim Jong-kook recommended the approach, saying: “You can chat with the doctor during the procedure. There is no pain with the lower one; the upper one is more difficult. Park Young-jin praised him as a true “champion”, while Lim Woo-il admitted that he tried it once years ago but found it unbearable. Kim Jong-kook encouraged him, saying: “You have to build stamina.”
Lee Joon then shared his story of frugality, recalling how he only bought clothes for himself for the first time when he was 30 years old. He explained, “My friends wore designer brands, which made me feel a little envious, but I wore knock-offs instead.” He added, “At school, people asked me if they were real, and I insisted they were. I asked myself if I should continue to live like this.” He then recalled his first post-debut photoshoot, where he wore authentic Adidas gear, joking that he proudly posed to show off the brand’s logo, which made everyone in the studio laugh.
Source: TV Report
