Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon are set for their first official meet-and-greet with young adults with developmental disabilities who are dreaming of love on "Mongle Mongle Mongle".
Premiering this Sunday, the 8th, at 11:05 p.m., SBS Special’s "Mongle Mongle Mongle" follows young adults with developmental disabilities on their first journeys into romance. It’s a new project from PD Go Hye-rin, who won a Baeksang Arts Award. The industry’s favorite power couple of 14 years, Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon, step in as “counselors” to support the “Mongle” youths and spark some feel-good synergy.
The show’s theme song also turned heads: music director Noh Young-sim of "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" gifted the track, Lee Hyo-ri recorded the vocals herself, and Lee Sang-soon produced it―an all-in boost that has fans watching to see what kind of impact this project will make.
In the premiere, the duo holds a first meeting with three “Mongle” participants through a special love counseling session. Among roughly 93,000 adult young people with developmental disabilities who want to date but lack opportunities, around 500 applied to the counseling program. Before meeting them, Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon read through the applicants’ postcards. One line―“I want to try physical affection with someone I like. Gently.” ―makes their hearts melt. Then reality hits. “Can we really mentor them?” Lee Hyo-ri worries, before locking eyes with Lee Sang-soon, steeling themselves, and breaking the tension with a laugh.
The three participants each shine in their own way. Oh Ji-hyun, who has an intellectual disability, charms with confident speech and a sunshine smile that lifts everyone’s mood. Yoo Ji-hoon, who is on the autism spectrum, sticks to a razor-sharp routine yet disarms viewers with innocent sincerity. And Jung Ji-won, an actor with an intellectual disability, feels straight out of a drama―awkward but romantic enough to melt hearts.
One unexpected moment: Lee Sang-soon faces a playful “rejection.” While role-playing a blind date partner who won’t take no for an answer, he pleads, “Ji-hyun, let’s meet just one more time.” Oh Ji-hyun shuts it down fast with, “No. I’m sorry.” Lee Hyo-ri cheers, “Well done! So good!” even as she bursts into laughter at her husband getting a “0 confessions, 1 rejection” right before her eyes.
The candid zingers don’t stop there. Meeting Yoo Ji-hoon, Lee Hyo-ri carefully asks, “Do you know us?” He replies, “I know Lee Hyo-ri. I’ve seen you,” which delights her―until he adds, “I don’t think I’ve seen Lee Sang-soon,” cracking everyone up. And Jung Ji-won, who kept exclaiming “Wow! Wow!” upon seeing the couple, answers Lee Hyo-ri’s “Do you know us?” with a bright and brutally honest, “I do not!” sending the room into giggles.
Packed with warmth and unfiltered laughs, the first episode captures the inaugural meet-up between counselors Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon and the three “Mongle” participants―and the anticipation is high.
"Mongle Mongle Mongle", set to shake up assumptions this spring while delivering fluttery feels and healing, premieres this Sunday, the 8th, at 11:05 p.m.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)