'Chungju Man' Kim Sun-tae takes real impromptu trip amid controversy over 'I Live Alone' travel segment

As controversy continues over broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo's "impromptu travel" segment on the MBC variety show "I Live Alone," YouTuber Kim Sun-tae — known as the "Chungju Man" — has drawn attention by posting his own impromptu travel video.

Kim uploaded a video titled "Impromptu Travel Promotion" to his YouTube channel on Friday.

In the video, Kim filmed his opening at the Chungju city bus terminal and said, "Today I'm going to take an impromptu trip. I'll get on a random city bus and ride it to the last stop."

After looking over the buses parked at the terminal, Kim boarded one at 6:16 a.m. He greeted fellow passengers, introduced the scenery outside the window and the places along the route, and eventually arrived at the final stop: Bangdae Village.

Upon arriving, he said, "What do I even do here?" before heading toward Jeongam Village, located further inside.

"Bangdae is in Sancheok," he explained. "The reason I remember it is that it was one of the villages I was in charge of. Civil servants at township offices each have their own assigned villages. Sancheok-myeon had about 26 villages, and each official was assigned three or four. I think mine were Myeongdol, Bangdae and Jeongam. So I ended up accidentally traveling through my own assigned villages."

Kim then spent time taking in the scenery from a pavilion before wrapping up his impromptu trip with a meal.

The video drew attention alongside the ongoing controversy over Jeon's impromptu trip to Kazakhstan, which aired recently on "I Live Alone."

Earlier, episodes of "I Live Alone" that aired Aug. 14 and Aug. 21 showed Jeon heading to the airport without a predetermined destination, choosing a flight to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and embarking on a 29-hour impromptu trip.

After the episodes aired, allegations emerged questioning whether the trip was truly spontaneous, as footage surfaced showing multiple production staff accompanying the shoot abroad and a rental car being used on location.

The controversy deepened when it emerged that the official website of the city of Almaty had posted content indicating the filming had received support from local tourism authorities.

The fabrication allegations rested on several details: a rental car was obtained just 40 minutes after landing at the airport without the translation and notarization of a Korean driver's license required under local law, and it would have been difficult for a large production crew to secure flights and accommodation on the spot without prior planning. Questions were also raised over whether the production had received support from the Kazakhstani government in exchange for promoting tourism.

The production team denied receiving any support from Kazakhstan even after the Almaty tourism authority had publicly stated on its website that it had assisted with the filming. The team later revised its position, saying there had been no financial support but that it had received cooperation from the Almaty city tourism authority for the shoot.

As criticism persisted, the production team issued an additional statement saying that Jeon's decision to travel to Kazakhstan was made spontaneously, but that the crew had reviewed various factors in advance, anticipated that he would choose Kazakhstan, pre-booked staff flights and arranged for local filming assistance ahead of time.

The additional explanation has done little to quell skepticism, with many still finding it hard to accept the claim that the production team had predicted in advance that Jeon would choose Kazakhstan.