Kim Hye-yoon Joins Korea's Hit Farming Variety Show as It Heads to the Philippines

One of Korean cable television's most reliable hits is heading to Southeast Asia — and bringing a new face along for the trip. tvN's Unni's Farm-Direct Delivery in Calape (Eonnine Sanjijikson in Calape), the third installment of a variety show franchise that dominated its time slot across its previous two seasons, has confirmed its premiere date of April 16, 2026, at 8:40 PM KST, with a cast that combines returning favorites and a high-profile addition.

Yum Jung-ah, Park Joon-myun, and Dex return from Season 2, joined this time by actress Kim Hye-yoon, who takes the place of previous cast member Lee Jae-wook as the group's youngest member. The destination: the Philippines, specifically the Calape region and the island of Panglao in the Bohol province — a setting that trades the colder outdoor scenes of earlier seasons for emerald seas, tropical rainforests, and the particular physical challenges of equatorial agriculture.

Two Teasers, Two Very Different Vibes

The show's promotional rollout ahead of the April premiere has already generated significant online discussion, largely because the two teasers released so far have told almost opposite stories about what viewers can expect.

The first teaser, released in late March, showed the group working in the mangrove wetlands under conditions that could generously be described as exhausting — muddy, hot, and clearly demanding in ways that left all four members looking appropriately defeated. It was very much in the tradition of the franchise, which has built its appeal on the tension between the glamour of its celebrity cast and the unglamorous reality of actual agricultural labor.

The second teaser, released on March 26, was something else entirely. Shot in Panglao, it showed Yum Jung-ah, Park Joon-myun, Dex, and Kim Hye-yoon dressed as if they had wandered off a film set — Dex in an all-black suit and dark sunglasses that drew immediate comparisons to Men in Black, the others equally polished. The soundtrack was the OST from the classic Hong Kong film Chungking Express, and the overall effect was more art-house cinema than farming variety. "Is this Sanjijikson or Chungking Express?" became a recurring question in the comment sections.

The deliberate contrast between the two teasers appears intentional on the production's part — a way of signaling that the show can contain both realities, the grinding labor and the cinematic spontaneity, and that the tension between them is part of the appeal.

Who's in the Cast and What They're Bringing

Yum Jung-ah, the 53-year-old actress best known internationally for her roles in My Love from the Star and the acclaimed film A Tale of Two Sisters, returns with the designation 큰 손 대장 — loosely translatable as the "Big Spender Captain" — a nickname that reflects both her seniority in the group and her tendency to lead with generosity. Her warmth has been one of the show's most consistent pleasures across its run.

Park Joon-myun, 50, brings what the show calls "Lovely Spice" energy — a nickname that fits her role as the cast member whose personality adds flavor to the group dynamic. Dex, the 30-year-old model-turned-entertainer whose food-related variety appearances have made him something of a reliable fan favorite in recent years, is classified as the All-Rounder: equally capable of physical labor, comedic moments, and moments of surprising emotional honesty.

But the new addition is Kim Hye-yoon, 29, who joined as the Hidden Card — a designation that suggests the production expects her to surprise. Kim Hye-yoon had her major breakthrough with the legal drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo in 2022, though she had been building her reputation with strong performances in earlier projects. Her inclusion brings a different generational energy to the group and sets up an interesting dynamic with the two veteran actresses she'll be working alongside.

Building on a Track Record That's Hard to Ignore

The franchise comes to its third season with considerable momentum behind it. Unni's Farm-Direct Delivery Season 2, which aired in 2024, achieved six consecutive weeks at number one in its cable and OTT time slot — a sustained performance that made it one of the standout variety hits of that year. The combination of physical challenge content, genuine cast chemistry, and a format that takes its agricultural premise seriously without becoming a documentary created something that appealed across the usual variety demographics.

The challenge for Season 3 is maintaining that momentum while keeping the format fresh. Moving to the Philippines addresses part of that problem by giving the show an entirely new sensory landscape to work with — the cuisine, the specific agricultural traditions of the Calape region, and the visual texture of tropical island life are all meaningfully different from what the previous seasons offered.

Kim Hye-yoon's addition serves a similar function within the cast dynamic. The chemistry between Yum Jung-ah, Park Joon-myun, and Dex was well established by the end of Season 2, which means the most interesting relationships to watch in Season 3 are likely to be the ones involving the newest member — how she fits into an already cohesive group, what she brings that wasn't there before, and what the others bring out of her.

What to Expect When It Premieres

Directed by Kim Se-hee, the season is scheduled to run through its spring slot on tvN, with the premiere on April 16 likely to set the tone for how the rest of the season is received. Given the franchise's track record, the expectation going in is high, and the teasers suggest the production is aware of that pressure — the tonal contrast between mangrove labor and cinematic glamour reads like a deliberate statement about range.

For fans of the franchise, the combination of familiar faces and a new location is likely to be enough on its own. For viewers newer to the show, the Philippines setting offers a convenient entry point: the format is easy to understand, the cast has genuine appeal, and the tropical backdrop makes for considerably more visually inviting viewing than many domestic variety alternatives.

Either way, April 16 on tvN at 8:40 PM KST is the date to mark. The question of whether the four will live up to their respective nicknames — especially the Hidden Card's — is one that viewers will have several weeks to find out.