Na Young-seok

Na Yeong-seok (, born April 15, 1976), often known by his nickname Na PD, is a South Korean television producer and director.

Na is best known for producing the popular variety-reality shows 2 Days & 1 Night, New Journey to the West, Grandpas Over Flowers, Three Meals a Day, Youn's Kitchen, Youn's Stay and their spin-offs.

Na Young-seok was born on April 15, 1976 in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

He lived in his hometown during his middle and high school years, which he described as unremarkable and mundane.

Afterwards, Na relocated to Seoul and enrolled at Yonsei University, where he pursued a major in Public Administration.

He chose this field of study because his father worked as a civil servant at Cheongju City Hall and advised him to pursue a similar career path if he didn't have any particular aspirations.

Initially, Na had plans to take the civil service exam after completing his studies.

During his college years, Na was active in the theater club of the University of Social Sciences, which the Department of Public Administration belongs to.

From his freshman year until graduation, he dedicated himself to club activities.

Beginning with minor roles, he gained diverse experiences as a supporting actor, staff member, and eventually even as a director.

These experiences brought him joy and led him to consider pursuing a career in broadcasting industry, either in television or film.

After completing his studies, Na saw an advertisement for a sitcom writer and applied for it, and entered a film company as an assistant director.

Unfortunately, the company he joined faced financial difficulties and went bankrupt, leaving him unemployed within a mere two months.

To make ends meet, he worked as an instructor at an academy while simultaneously preparing to join a media company.

However, he struggled with the initial current affairs tests and failed most of them.

In 2001, he made the decision to apply to KBS.

In 2001, Na applied for the 27th Public Recruitment at KBS.

He firmly believed that, as an evaluator, he would prefer selecting individuals who excelled in specific areas rather than those who were merely average in multiple areas.

Due to his strong aversion to essay writing, he focused his attention on the art of plan writing.

From that point onward, he devoted himself entirely to watching TV, narrowing his interests down to analyzing three specific aspects: "It's enjoyable because of this. If it's not enjoyable, it's not enjoyable because of this. If I were asked to modify this program, I would make the changes in this manner."

Na firmly believed that his acceptance into KBS was a result of his exceptional 'plan'.

He began his career as an assistant director in the network's variety department.

In 2002, he was assigned the role of assistant director to Lee Myung-han in the show "Declaration of Freedom Today is Saturday – The War Of Roses."

The program revolved around male entertainers and female college students who would meet and find a mate at a mountain lodge.

It was during this program that Shin collaborated with fellow assistant director Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung, who served as the main writer.

In 2002, when Lee Myung-han was in charge of directing Super TV Sunday is Fun, His juniors were in charge of directing each segment of the show.

Na was assigned the role as assistant director, in charge of segment ''Let's Go!

Dream Team - Season 1. Meanwhile Shin Won-ho directing Kung Kung Ta''.

They worked together again in Star Golden Bell (2004).

They eventually formed a group famous as Yeouido Research Institute,also later known as Lee Myung-han's division.

Na and Lee Myung-han reunited with writer Lee Woo-jung when both were in charge of co-directing Heroine 5.

Heroine 5 was one of the segments of Sunday 101%, which was renamed Happy Sunday since November 2004, and it was broadcast from April 4, 2004, to May 1, 2005, on KBS 2.

It was followed by the sequel, Heroine 6, which aired from May 8, 2005, to April 29, 2007, on KBS 2.

When Lee and Na Young-seok developed another segments, Shin Won-hoo took over as the director.

Na and Lee Myung-han collaborated on two new segments of Happy Sunday: High Five and Are You Ready? High Fiveaired on KBS 2TV from May 6, 2007, to May 18, 2008.

The show was hosted by Jee Seok-jin and it focused on five female stars who embarked on different job experiences.

Throughout the series, they took on roles such as flight attendants, farmers, stuntwomen, and police officers.

Given the diverse backgrounds of the stars, comedic twists and events were often incorporated into their training.

The initial lineup of High Five stars included comedian Jo Hye-ryun, entertainer Hyun Young, singer Chae Yeon, MC Park Kyung-lim, and actress Kim Min-sun.

Happy Sunday: Are You Ready? was aired from May 6, 2007, to July 29, 2007.