Korea's favorite host returns with 'Jae-seok's B&B Rules!'

Korea's favorite host returns with 'Jae-seok's B&B Rules!'

Published: 19 May. 2026, 18:09

KIM JU-YEON

[email protected]

From left, Lee Kwang-soo, Yu Jae-seok, Ji Ye-eun and Byeon Woo-seok pose for the cameras at a press conference for the new Netflix show ″Jae-seok's B&B Rules!″ at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel in central Seoul on May 19. [YONHAP]

Netflix’s new unscripted comedy program “Jae-seok’s B&B Rules!” arrives with a tried-and-tested formula for success.

First, its cast: The variety show brings together Yu Jae-seok, one of Korea’s most beloved comedians, his longtime sidekick Lee Kwang-soo and two of the hottest, newest kids on the block: actor Ji Ye-eun, who's worked with Yu on SBS's "Running Man" (2010-), and Byeon Woo-seok, straight from MBC's "Perfect Crown."

The show follows Yu and the cast as they work as staff at a bed-and-breakfast and campsite, where noncelebrity guests play games, do chores and share emotional conversations around a bonfire. Jung Hyo-min, the producer behind two successful celebrity guesthouse series, tvN's “Hyori’s Homestay” (2017-18) and Netflix's “Kian’s Bizarre B&B” (2025-), teams up with Yu for their fourth program together.

The series is divided between two runs of the camp, with two different teams of noncelebrity guests coming to the B&B for two nights and three days.

Could the format and crew be

too

familiar? Yu and the director were united in saying that the show will deliver plenty of laughs by finding the unexpected in a team with easy chemistry, at a press conference at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel on Tuesday.

Comedian Yu Jae-seok in ″Jae-seok's B&B Rules!″ [NETFLIX]

The show wouldn't have been made without Yu, the producer said, calling it "a retreat-style camp [show] tailor-made for Yu Jae-seok," while the other cast members were selected for the best fit with him.

“[The team] ran simulations, and it felt like the show wouldn’t work without Kwang-soo,” Yu said. “Woo-seok hasn’t done many variety shows, and we haven’t seen much of him in that setting, but he had a very human and honest charm.”

“Ye-eun was the only one with prior experience from ‘Kian’s Bizarre B&B,’ but I didn’t necessarily expect her to be good at the job,” he added. “I thought there would be humor in that slightly awkward level of experience, and she had an energy the show couldn’t do without.”

“We found a way to build new stories out of a familiar combination [of cast members]," he said.

A still from ″Jae-seok's B&B Rules!″ [NETFLIX]

The show, in a rarity for Yu, carries the comedian’s name in the title, something he said felt like a burden but also best suited the program: direct, easy to understand and comforting for viewers.

“All of us here, including the production team, are always thinking about that — whether there is something new we can bring,” Yu said. “The question of how to keep things fresh is something I still think about constantly."

Familiarity has its perks. Lee Hyo-ri, also a long-time collaborator with Jung and Yu, comes to the second run at the B&B as a "part-time worker" with her husband, Lee Sang-soon.

Regarding her appearance on the show, "Hyo-ri called me up first," Jung said. "She asked, 'Should I go over there and whip them into shape?'"

She and her husband appear midway through the series to shake things up just as things start to loosen, the producer said, comparing the couple to a "bombshell" contestant on reality dating shows.

Actor Byeon Woo-seok in ″Jae-seok's B&B Rules!″ [NETFLIX]

The show leans on the nostalgic experience of going to school and work retreats, in addition to Yu's veteran experience hosting numerous game shows and unscripted programs.

“I’ve done so many variety shows over the years. I thought it would be fun to play some of those games with the viewers," Yu said.

He said the show’s massive 30,000-pyeong (24.5-acre) set, built from scratch, gave him the sense that guests and viewers could experience “a fantasy-like escape from everyday life.”

“Most people don’t get many chances to play games like this once they’re caught up in work and everyday life,” he said. “I thought moments like these might feel almost like a fantasy for viewers.”

The first five episodes of the 10-part series will be released on May 26 and the rest on June 2.

Actor Ji Ye-eun in ″Jae-seok's B&B Rules!″ [NETFLIX]

BY KIM JU-YEON [

[email protected]

]