According to Allkpop, at the SBS Entertainment Awards 2024, which took place on the evening of January 29, Yoo Yeon Seok was awarded "Rookie of the Year" in the "Talk Show and Reality TV" category.
He won the award for his role as MC for the reality TV show “Whenever Possible” (with MC Yoo Jae Suk).
This victory attracted attention because Yoo Yeon Seok is an actor with more than 20 years of experience and many hit works, but received the rookie award when he switched to being an entertainment show host.
In “Whenever Possible,” Yoo Jae Suk and Yoo Yeon Seok visit ordinary people during their brief moments of free time, with the aim of bringing a little luck into their lives.
The show first aired its pilot episode in April 2024 and garnered significant attention with its high viewership ratings. When it returned as a regular show in October 2024, “Whenever Possible” continued to attract attention with its impressive guest lineup.
During his rookie award acceptance speech, Yoo Yeon Seok humbly introduced himself as a “new MC” and said, “I didn’t win the rookie award at the acting awards ceremony, but I’m grateful to receive the rookie award at this entertainment awards ceremony.”
He continued: “Through Whenever Possible, I have had the precious opportunity to meet, interact with the public and listen to their stories.
It was an incredibly valuable experience as an actor. I am very grateful for that, and I am even more grateful to receive this award.”
Yoo Yeon Seok also shared his thoughts on the challenges he faced when he first stepped into the role of MC: “As an actor, I’m used to memorizing scripts and acting them out, so I was initially quite nervous about having to do Whenever Possible without a script.
Hosting the show with national MC Yoo Jae Suk was also a big burden. But the production team made it so fun that I received a lot of love from the audience.”
He ended his speech by thanking Yoo Jae Suk, who helped him enter the MC industry: “To me, he is like a mother in the MC industry, so can I call him my “M-mom”?” This statement made the audience laugh.
Thus, Yoo Yeon Seok had a memorable 2024 as both an actor and MC.
Previously, Yoo Yeon Seok won the "Best Actor" award at the 2024 MBC Drama Awards, for his leading role in the drama "When the phone rings".
