'High School Mystery Club 3' producer aimed to address societal issues

The director of "High School Mystery Club 3," a popular Korean mystery reality show series, aimed to address current societal issues by incorporating such themes into a mystery reality show.

"Considering the genre of 'High School Mystery Club,' the show must deal with subject matter related to crimes and I did not want to create a program which lightly and humorously dealt with the matter," said Im Soo-jung, the producer of "High School Mystery Club 3," during an interview with reporters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Monday.

Through the carefully placed clues and storyline of the show, Im aimed to raise awareness of juvenile offenses, centering especially on the rise of illegal sports betting among teenagers.

Tving's popular original series "High School Mystery Club" features five female celebrities — Park Ji-yoon, Kim Hyeong-seo, Jang Do-youn, Lee Eun-jae and Choi Yena — who use their sleuthing skills to track clues placed by producers and solve a crime.

"I wanted to use the medium of a popular entertainment program to raise awareness about the fact that there are children who are placed in such extreme environments," she said.

Im suggested that entertainment shows can serve as reminders for the public to reflect on heavy matters.

"The current issue that has surfaced is sports betting, but there are also additional themes that will be revealed in the future. I hope that viewers have great anticipation for the stories that will be unfolded later," she said.

The third season of "High School Mystery Club" marks Im's debut as the main producer of the series since star TV producer Jung Jong-yeon passed the baton to Im. Jung is responsible for creating the first and second seasons of the "High School Mystery Club" series as well as hit mystery reality shows such as tvN's "The Genius" and "Great Escape."

"In previous seasons, we received feedback that the stories weren't realistic. As such, if I were to take the lead, I wanted to address and improve the (plot of 'High School Mystery Club' series)," said Im.

To make the show's plot as realistic as possible, Im said she referenced and researched various sources.

"During the planning phase, we conducted extensive research on juvenile offenses. While I can't disclose spoilers about the later parts of the story, for the latter part of the show, I can share that we extensively prepared intricate plot twists based on a wealth of literary materials, books and articles. Due to such references, I think the audience will find the series very engaging," said Im.

Currently, five episodes of the 8-part series are available on Tving. A new episode is uploaded every Friday.