Martial arts tournament show ‘Pure Fighters’ attracts viewers with players’ honesty

▲ This photo, provided by SBS, shows Director Ahn of reality competition show 'Pure Fighter.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by SBS, shows a scene from reality competition show 'Pure Fighter.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- Director Ahn Jae-chul, who was in charge of delivering SBS’s reality competition show “Pure Fighter,” shared his thoughts on the show during an interview with Yonhap News Agency that was held at a cafe in Mapo-gu, Seoul on Tuesday. The director began by saying, “I wanted to portray the dreams and hopes of athletes through the sport of martial arts.”

“Pure Fighter” is a tournament variety show starring applicants who adore martial arts not only as a sport but also as their dream and hope. The sturdy applicants competed against one another after receiving one-to-one training from the four legendary mixed martial artists, including Choo Sung-hoon, who is also known as Yoshihiro Akiyama, Kim Dong-hyun, Jung Chan-sung, who is better known by his ring name “Korean Zombie,” and Choi Doo-ho.

Although the show is struggling to go over the hurdle of 1 to 2% in terms of viewership rate, it undeniably created a noticeable buzz online. Clip videos posted on SBS’ official YouTube channel exceeded 20 million cumulative views by its 7th episode and also received positive remarks from its viewers, such as “How tense the games are make me exhilarated” and “It motivates me to watch how the applicants are trying their best in every game.”

The most eye-catching element of the show is the background story each applicant tells.

“Pure Fighter” features various applicants from all walks of life, including police officers from the national wrestling team, victims of school violence who started to work out to protect themselves after being severely bullied, and Koream-Japanese who moved to his mother’s country.

Director Ahn pointed out that “capturing those narratives” was definitely the most challenging part while producing the show.

“I wish the viewers can fully comprehend the different reasons why these applicants have come to compete in this martial art game,” adding, “I think the key is to depict what kind of people they are and also the process of them growing up.”

“These days, various shows with elements that demand physical strength have been garnering attention, and I think the reason behind this is because of its unprecedented candor and sincerity. I think the viewers are moved and come to cheer for the casts when such honesty shows on the screen,” the director added.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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