Qualifications of Men (Korean: 남자의 자격; Hanja: 男子의 資格) was a Korean reality-variety show that aired on KBS2 from March 29, 2009 to April 7, 2013 as one of two segments in Happy Sunday.
Subtitled "101 Things a Man Must Do Before He Dies," the show involved a group of male celebrities of different ages and personalities who take on missions that would make them a "real man." The missions range from physical to emotional, and they meet and learn skills from many mentors in different areas.[3]
As part of Happy Sunday, Qualifications of Men replaced the second season of Immortal Music Classics in late March 2009. In the early episodes, the cast joked that their primary aim was not to disturb the ratings of sister segment 2 Days & 1 Night.
The original cast included the main MCLee Kyung-kyu, who made his comeback into the Korean TV industry with this show; Kim Gook-jin, a comedian who previously attempted to become a professional golfer; Kim Tae-won, leader of the legendary rock-ballad band Boohwal; Lee Yoon-seok, a comedian known for his doctor's degree and conversely his ridiculously weak strength (though since joining the show, Kim Tae-won took over his title of "Weakling of the nation"); Yoon Hyung-bin, a comedian from the show Gag Concert; and actors Lee Jung-jin and Kim Sung-min.
The cast went through a variety of physically and emotionally taxing missions, usually spanning over 24 hours, performing the likes of serving mandatory military service again, crying, becoming employees of random companies, not smoking for a day, wake-boarding, singing in a choir, participating in an amusement park parade show, and forming an amateur band. The most memorable moment for the program was when 2 of the members (Kim Gook-jin and Kim Sung-min) was selected as a guest for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds Acrobatic Team, during their 2009 Far East Tour at Osan Air Base, in South Korea. For the Choir episodes, both of the Choir teams won awards (with guest Kolleen Park and Kim Tae-won as conductors).
In late 2010, Kim Sung-min was dropped from the program after being arrested for drug use. He was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison for meth use and smuggling, suspended for 4 years.[7]
On May 8, 2011, Lee Jung-jin appeared in his final episode and Jun Hyun-moo became the newest and 7th member of the show. Jun is a KBS news announcer and reporter known for his variety and comedic skills (particularly for his parody of SHINee's "Lucifer" dance).
Qualifications of Men initially maintained good ratings; in 2009, it placed second among the most viewed Sunday night programs for 16 weeks with more than 30% viewership ratings.[9] But after four years on air, ratings dropped, until it was overtaken in popularity by MBC's Dad! Where Are We Going?, which premiered in 2013.[10] KBS cancelled the show, and it aired its last episode on April 7, 2013.[11] With its cancellation, the show's raison d'être was unfinished, with the program coming to a close before the cast members were able to finish filling out the list of 101 things, only getting up to #94.[12]
March 29, 2009 October 4, 2009 February 14, 2010 June 20, 2010 February 6, 2011 March 27, 2011 April 17, 2011 May 1, 2011 June 5, 2011 June 19, 2011 July 3, 2011 July 24, 2011 August 28, 2011 September 25, 2011 October 2, 2011 October 16 ~ November 20, 2011 December 4 ~ April 7, 2013
Sunday
17:10
April 5, 2009
17:30
May 16, 2010
16:10
May 30, 2010
16:25
October 24, 2010
18:00
November 21, 2010
17:15
February 27, 2011 March 6, 2011 July 10, 2011 July 31, 2011 September 4, 2011 September 11, 2011 October 9, 2011 November 27, 2011
17:00
May 8, 2011
16:50
April 12 ~ September 27, 2009 October 11 ~ February 7, 2010 February 21 ~ May 9, 2010 May 23, 2010 June 6, 2010 June 13, 2010 June 27 ~ October 17, 2010 October 31 ~ November 14, 2010 November 28, 2010 ~ January 30, 2011 February 13, 2011 February 20, 2011 March 13, 2011 March 20, 2011 April 3, 2011 April 10, 2011 April 24, 2011 May 15 ~ May 29, 2011 June 12, 2011 June 26, 2011 July 17, 2011 August 7 ~ August 21, 2011 September 18, 2011