Irene on Tokpawon 25: Wildlife, Desserts, and a Delightful Variety Return

Red Velvet's Irene is stepping into one of Korean television's most beloved variety programs — and based on the preview alone, fans already know they are in for something special. Tokpawon 25 Hours Episode 205 airs on JTBC on Monday, April 13, 2026 at 8:50 PM KST, with Irene joining regular host Yang Se-chan for an hour packed with wildlife encounters, dessert battles, and the kind of unscripted moments that made the show a Monday night institution.

The episode's preview was shared on JTBC Entertainment's official YouTube channel, and the response has been immediate. Fans of the show and fans of Irene alike have noted that the combination brings together exactly the right energy: Tokpawon at its most playful, with a guest who has enough variety experience to hold her own while still delivering genuine reactions that can't be rehearsed.

Australia Calling: Zookeepers, Quokkas, and Capybara Chemistry

The episode's first major segment takes the Tokpawon crew to Vancouver, Canada — wait, let's not confuse our episodes here. The Australia portion of Episode 205 focuses on the profession of zookeeper, a career choice that gives the segment its heartwarming spine. The appeal of the zookeeper spotlight is the access it provides: animals that would normally be off-limits for casual interaction, and the stories of the people who have built their lives around caring for them.

The preview teases close-up interactions with a quokka — the small marsupial native to western Australia that has become internationally famous for its perpetually cheerful expression. For viewers who have only ever seen quokkas in viral photos, the segment delivers something closer to a proper introduction. The preview also includes a capybara moment that host Yang Se-chan appears to find deeply relatable — a comparison that the preview clip seems to invite and that viewers have already run with on social media.

Irene's comfort level with animals has always been a mild point of curiosity for fans. Variety appearances often reveal unexpected sides of performers, and a wildlife-adjacent segment is exactly the kind of format that sidesteps the usual celebrity interview dynamic entirely. The result, at least in preview form, is a version of Irene that feels genuinely present rather than positioned.

Japan vs. USA: The Dessert Competition Nobody Asked For But Everyone Needed

The second segment of Episode 205 is a straight-up dessert face-off, and the preview makes it clear that both sides came to compete. On the Japanese side: handcrafted black sesame mochi produced by an artisan baker, the kind of meticulously prepared confectionery that has defined Japanese dessert culture for generations. Delicate, precise, and textured in ways that mass-produced alternatives simply can't replicate.

Against this: the American lineup. Rainbow-colored bagels that push the definition of the term, robot-served afternoon tea that turns the most traditionally British of rituals into something entirely 21st-century, and a King Kong-themed ice cream creation that the preview describes as coming with a King Kong-sized spoon. The gap between the two traditions — the Japanese dedication to craft versus the American instinct to make everything larger and louder — is precisely where the comedy and the genuine competition live.

The episode's preview notes that Irene's personal food preferences run toward savory rather than sweet. Putting her in the middle of a dessert competition is the kind of quiet mismatch that good variety television exploits without being cruel about it. Her reactions, even in the brief clips shared, suggest she approached the segment with good humor and genuine curiosity — which is ultimately what separates memorable variety appearances from forgettable ones.

The winner of the Japan versus USA dessert battle is not revealed in the preview. That information will presumably send enough curious viewers to the April 13 broadcast to make the producers happy.

Irene's Variety Presence in Context

Tokpawon 25 Hours has been running for over 200 episodes and has become one of JTBC's most reliable entertainment properties. The show's model — a fixed set of hosts, rotating celebrity guests, and a global focus that sends correspondents to investigate unusual careers and food cultures worldwide — has proven remarkably durable. Part of the reason is the chemistry between the hosting team and guests who are willing to be surprised.

Yang Se-chan has been a central figure in the show's personality for years. His dry delivery and genuine enthusiasm for the format create space for guests to relax in ways that more formal interview structures don't allow. For someone like Irene — whose public image has historically leaned toward composed and polished — variety television at its best is an opportunity to let audiences into a more spontaneous version of that same person.

The April 13 broadcast comes at a moment when Irene is particularly visible. Her first full-length solo album "Biggest Fan" dropped on March 30, 2026, and has been generating positive attention across fan communities. Her 2026 IRENE ASIA TOUR [I-WILL] — spanning Seoul, Taipei, Macau, Singapore, and Bangkok across May through July — gives the spring period genuine stakes beyond television. For fans in cities on the tour route, an episode of Tokpawon is the next best thing to a front-row seat: a chance to spend an hour with someone they're already looking forward to seeing live.

Tokpawon 25 Hours Episode 205 airs Monday, April 13, 2026 at 8:50 PM KST on JTBC. Replay available at tv.jtbc.co.kr.