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Entertainment or Bullying?

Marcrisan81

I truly enjoyed this show. It had four of the main ingredients of joy in life for me: travel, food, games and community (friendship). It was a real pleasure to travel, eat, play and bond with these guys vicariously all along South Korea.

And I’m talking in  past tense because, after enduring many of the last episodes, I cannot cope with it anymore. I’m highly empathic and sensitive and it gets into my skin how the cast is bullied by the crew. And since they have become so bitter because they have to endure things that are almost psychopathic (extreme exhaustion, extreme cold, extreme trials…), they also bully each other. Like a lot.

The fun is completely gone for me too. I don’t enjoy watching people suffer, much less, enjoy people making others suffer. Some of the trials are incredibly sadistic and you can tell how bad the cast feel about them. Before Ravi and the woman director left, there was teasing, playing and sweet competition… now it’s all about hard competition, insulting each other and one hardship after another. I don’t feel the love amongst the cast members at all now, it’s just, as Moon Se Yoon put it: “let’s make some money and go home”.

Also Na In Woo is leaving and the real reason I could keep watching the show until now. He is the only one who still keeps his integrity and values and has never insulted or thrown under the bus anyone. His kindness, generosity and honesty brought me so much hope in the human being. And I’m truly grateful for him.

I hope this show can get back to its rails and stop associating fun with punishment, entertainment with bullying. Enough of this. Please.

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Tteokbokki

the woman director was incredible and i was so sad that she left. at first i did not understand what you meant because i literally saw no bullying at all. this show is literally perfect but after reading a little bit further i noticed, that you're talking about the new director.

i'm not that far with the episodes though so i can not really say anything. still, i've seen some episodes with the new director (i'm on ep 127) and i can say, that i can not get used to him at all. i still have hope for better episodes though.

that in woo is leaving is srsly a crisis but he has too because of his military service. 2 days 1 night has dealed with alot of dropped ratings. i think it will drop more after in woos departure. even i'm thinking about if i should keep watching it or not after i've seen his last episode. 

we need the woman director back, lol.

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issa

I feel somewhat differently. Bang PD was a great addition (especially since women rarely make up the PDs on variety shows), so while I did become slightly worried about the future of the show when her departure was announced, I feel that with the new PD (who was part of the original staff during season 1), the show has started to return to its original roots more. (I think Shinji mentioned it when Jongmin called once, that the show feels similar to the 2D1N she used to love? But there has been many mixed reactions regarding him, depends on your preference ig)

It's clear that the new PD is not as lenient as their previous one, but I have never thought it was that severe... Penalties are normal in variety shows (especially 2D1N), so perhaps I'm just very used to it.

In variety shows everything is a little extreme and everyone plays an overexaggerated version of themselves. The personality they show is indeed who they are in some way, but they amp it up to 1000% for the camera, in order to be more entertaining. The producers and writers in shows like these also have a long history of teasing and sabotaging, which isn't as prominent nowadays because people got upset with how certain celebrities were treated.

Season 4 is a lot more toned down than the previous seasons, but the chemistry between the members have improved a lot! It's definitely very youthful & wholesome. Always plenty of fun watching them joke around. Just feels like a different timeline of 2D1N if that makes sense? With Bang PD it sometimes felt too tame, not saying it's bad or less enjoyable just that they rarely nailed down the morning mission anymore. The cast were just simply too tired or not competitive enough to something that used to represent chaos in the morning. But again this is just a personal preference, there are many that prefer the wholesome travel show 2D1N over the usual "Wild Variety" 2D1N originally has to offer.

So I guess it depends on personal preference & what you're used to? In earlier seasons there were many times where they got ridiculed or 'punished' (like not being able to eat the same food). I think season 3 first director mentioned that they 'need to keep them hungry enough to genuinely play the games, otherwise they will lose motivation to push limits.' but didn't imply keeping them hungry & suffering the whole day of course. Season 3 often gets praised as the best season so I think he might've been onto something there hahah, though it may seem cruel it's not like they are starving ^^;;

I'm rambling too much... Anyway, I've really enjoyed these recent episodes. It's clear the members do care for each other, they're just joking around. I get that it can seem extreme sometimes, but this is nothing new to 2D1N and I'm having more fun watching nowadays<3


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Marcrisan81

Thanks a lot for your comments, gals. It's always meaningful to know what other people think.

@Tteokbokki I dropped the show recently. I think it was the chapter 210 so we have a few chapters gap between us :) I remember some of them being super enjoyable. If you keep watching, have fun! And I’d love to hear your feedback again if you make it this far ;)

@issa I haven’t watched any other season so I find the information that you share comparing facts and feedbacks between seasons very valuable, thanks a lot. As you said, how we perceive the world, hence the shows, is super personal. And I don’t truly see the bonding that you mention between them. Well, maybe sometimes when the conditions were playful and nice, but not consistently, not after Ravi left. There were times when I thought that Na In Woo was finally accepted and valued for his kindness and huge heart, but I cannot stand anymore DinDin’s complex superiority and how Moon Se Yoon lately despise him for real (I can tell when people is acting and when don’t). Not to mention Yoo Sun Ho… They have never made a real effort to include him and find him worthy or part of the “family”. They are just a liability, the fools.

Overall I feel their burnout. I felt the tears of Yeon Jung Hoon after receiving the Grand Award, because I found him struggling lately. For me speaks volumes when the guests that came to the show ended up burnt out, not wanting to come back and they, and also part of the casts, need a lot ot time to recover. 

I cannot talk beyond without giving spoilers, but as I said in my previous post, I’m highly empathetic and I feel they are super bitter, fed up behind their “masks”, and I no longer enjoy the act :(

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issa

@Macrisan81 No problem!! It's always fun hearing other perspectives.

 Marcrisan81:
I don’t truly see the bonding that you mention between them. Well, maybe sometimes when the conditions were playful and nice, but not consistently, not after Ravi left.

You're right, I was talking about the season generally. It was definitely more prominent when Seonho & Ravi were present! The current cast are still very close but the show mostly focuses on funny moments nowadays, only occasionally showing behind the scenes and whatnot.

 Marcrisan81:
I cannot stand anymore DinDin’s complex superiority and how Moon Se Yoon lately despise him for real (I can tell when people is acting and when don’t)

It's just a character/image DinDin has given himself over the years, but he can definitely be a try hard alright!! Hahah. The whole cast is very fond of him and sees him as a mischievous dongsaeng, so I know for a fact that Seyoon doesn't hate him ^^ DinDin & Seyoon are both very used to variety show demeanor, their relationship/roles in S4 are more like... Tom & Jerry?

They have both received plenty of hate comments because of the way they act, but they tried their hardest at the beginning in order to make the show work. Always creating moments to get things moving, which can make it seem like they don't like each other but I promise you it's just variety show demeanor. I've watched plenty of other shows featuring them and there are many other instances showing their friendship! DinDin came as Seyoon's friend during 'Amazing Saturday' Friend Special episode. (Link)

Their chemistry, constant bickering, scheming and poking fun at each other is very typical variety show nature. They are clearly good friends who get along~

 Marcrisan81:
They have never made a real effort to include him and find him worthy or part of the “family”.

The whole thing with 2D1N is that you have to experience the 'Wild Variety' (Their concept spanning back to 2007) so they really don't give the new members any mercy. They do treat him as one of them, but there's just this on-going joke of "No, You haven't experienced the severe winter training yet, therefore you are not a member yet!" They all find him adorable, though. Just teasing.

 Marcrisan81:
fed up behind their “masks”, and I no longer enjoy the act :(

That's fine <3 We're all different. You'd probably enjoy more wholesome variety shows or possibly reality shows, since they're not putting up as much of a facade on those. 

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Marcrisan81

A thing that we are 100% agreed on is in relation to DinDin and Seyoon’s friendship being truly real. Because alike likes alike :) So when In Woo ended up teaming up with these two… well, it was hard to watch, buff :(

 issa:
You'd probably enjoy more wholesome variety shows or possibly reality shows, since they're not putting up as much of a facade on those. 

Do you have any recommendations bella? It’s difficult for me to find a show with the kind of vibe of Young Actor’s Retreat, where there is kindness, fun, companionship and you cannot see mistreatment at all or someone portrayed as the 바보 (the fool) that I found very typical in other variety shows.

<3 Thanks

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Tteokbokki

I would be interested too, if there are any shows you can recommend.

When i was young, i started Running Man but if you look back at it how it used to be and how it is now, it got a lot worse (in my opinion). So I'm searching for new good shows i can enjoy (like 2D1N).

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issa

I loved Young Actors retreat too ^^

 Marcrisan81:
Do you have any recommendations bella?

You've come to the right person, I specialize in travel shows so this may be super long.. Usually I would recommend 'New Journey to the West' because I genuinely think its the best k-variety show out there, but their producer is Na PD (2D1N First PD) so it contains teasing, competing over food vice versa, which might not be to your liking. (Tteokbokki however, you might love it!! It's similar to 2D1N except maybe a bit crazier and funnier, very consistent. It contains the original 2D1N Season 1 cast lineup, you can read about the different seasons & where to start in this list.)

I present you: Variety shows without the "fool" concept.
1. I Am Ground
Film Location:  Greece
Cast: Kwanghee, Kim Min Gue, Lee Sang Yeob, Son Dong Pyo
Runtime: ~60 minutes, 4 episodes
Concept: Making friends abroad through various korean games!
Comments: I REALLY enjoyed this show. The 4 of them have such good chemistry and they're always joking around without being rude. It came out recently actually so it's one of my current faves! Such a shame there were only 4 episodes :( The guests were all so naturally funny, #1 recommend right now.

2. Island Trio
Film Location:  Korea (Various islands)
Cast: Kang Ho-dong, Jung Yong-hwa, Kim Hee-sun
Runtime: 1hr 30min, 31 eps
Concept: A comedian, an actress and a singer combined into a trio visiting different islands and stay with local islanders to experience their lifestyle.
Comments: My favorite. Nothing but sea of laughter whenever they're together :') Super wholesome and funny show, all the islanders & guests are lovely too. Unfortunately, only the first half of the show got subbed on dailymotion back in 2017 I believe.. But I do have the rest of the episodes (after 18) in HD as raws because Im willing to go that far for them hhaha

3. No Math School Trip
Film Location:  Japan
Cast: D.O, Zico, Crush, Junghoon (Jannabi), Lee Yongjin, Yang Sechan
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (10 episodes)
Concept: Snow chaos & various fun games.
Comments: Looved this one!! I still think about it a lot whenever I start a new show. It deserved better, was devastating hearing the cast members say the show wasn't doing as well as they had expected :( I think you guys would enjoy it, there are some food competitions but behind the scenes they all ate, it was just edited weirdly to make it look like they didn't.. keep that in mind when watching <3

4. Nana Tour
Film Location:  Italy
Cast:  All members of the k-pop group Seventeen.
Duration: 1 hour 17min (6 ep) | Uncut VER: 2 hours 30min per ep.
Concept: Companionship, tourism & fun travel activities. (Joined by mafia games & chaos.)
Comments: I am not a fan of Seventeen at all, but this show was equally enjoyable as I Am Ground, aeasily became a favorite ^^ Everyone is naturally funny, it was such a well formatted show. I watched the UnCut version which has a whopping 1hour+ longer runtime per episode, but everything is split into parts so it didn't feel burdensome even with the long runtime. While I'm sure the official tvN version is good, I recommend the uncut more. 

5. Battle Trip 
Film Location:  Different countries & guests each episode.
Commentators: Kim Sook, Lee Hwijae, Sung Sikyung, San E, Yoon Bomi, Kim Junhyun
Duration: 1 hour 20min (177 episodes)
Concept: Travel competition between various celebrities
Comments: Fun travel variety show with a ton of different guests! The concept of having 2 teams go on different trips and have the audience vote for the best one (the one they want to experience themselves) is really fun. My favorite eps are VIXX Hakyeon + Hongbin Thailand trip, All Highlight eps, Lee Hongki and some others. But really just watch episodes of whoever you're familiar with & im sure it'll be fun.

6. Bro & Marble
Film Location:  Dubai
Cast: Lee Seunggi, Cho Kyuhyun, Yoo Yeonseok, Lee Donghwi, Ji Sukjin, Cho Seho, Joshua & Hoshi
Duration: 1 hour 11 min
Concept: Massive game variety show, sorta like a live adaption of Monopoly where they take turns rolling the dice, visiting different lands and acquiring them.
Comments: So much fun! They chose a perfect cast line-up for this one, and they didn't disappoint & went all out with the budget... pretty big scale!! 

7. Bros on Foot
Film Location: New Zealand
Cast: Choi Minho, Yeo Jingoo, Ju Jihoon, Ha Jungwoo
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (10 episodes)
Concept: Activities & companionship. Complete missions to secure 'Dream Tickets'.
Comments: Watched for Minho, but they're all lovely and this show was super enjoyable. Beautiful people with beautiful sceneries~ It was also cute that they gave viewers a chance to win trips too. 

8. Europe Outside Your Tent 
Film Location: Spain, Norway, France.. depends on which season you watch.
Cast: Depends on season, usually actors
Duration: 1 hour 38 min
Concept: Celebrities camp in various different locations & explore beautiful sceneries.
Comments: I watched the Spain season because I recently moved to Spain^^ It's a pretty calm & cozy show where they get to explore various parts of the country, don't expect anything much like games~ I've been to multiple of the places they visited and somehow we were in the same city around the same time?? I wasn't familiar with any of them prior to watching, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm glad I watched! Currently watching the all-female-cast France version ^^

Other shows you might enjoy:
- Game Caterers STARSHIP (8th Special on YT, features various celebs under Starship ENT. Various fun games hosted by Na PD as per usual~)
- Actors  on a Journey (Im Siwan & Jung Haein travel to Scotland)
- GRBR: You Reap What You Sow (D.O, Woobin, Kwangsoo & Kim Kibang take on farming)
- I Live Alone (Reality show about celebrities daily lives living alone, watch episodes featuring people you're familiar with and It'll be the most enjoyable ^^)
- Omniscient Interfering View (alt title: "The Manager". A show from various celebrities Manager's perspective! Very similar to I Live Alone.)

Less games, more wholesome (healing shows) 
- Sea of hope (This is one of my favorite comfort shows, they open a bar on the sea side and offer various guests food, drinks and musical acts, giving them an opportunity to escape their daily lives for a moment. I watched for Onew but fell for everybody elses charms immediately.)
- Honeymoon Tavern (Another favorite! It was recorded during the pandemic, with the main focus being newlywed couples who got married amidst the difficulties of COVID-19. Similar to Sea of hope, the cast prepares food & various acts for the guests and acts like a tour guide sorta. It's super wholesome & fun.)

Most of these should all be on Goplay.pw if you can't find them on your current streaming services, but I also have some downloaded & whatnot so just reach out if have any problems

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Marcrisan81

@issa I just want to thank you with all my heart the effort that you put in your message (the hiperlinks, the info and your comments make it top class!) and for making this curated amazing list customized for us. It’s truly heartwarming, buddy.

The time that you invest in making it is already paying off because all of those shows were absolutely out of my radar and they promise sooo much. Traveling, games, healing? As a solo back-packpacer, game enthusiast and psychologist you hit the nail on the head! Hahaha

I actually started a couple of them and I fell absolutely IN LOVE with Island Trio. Wow I’m loving it so much because it’s suuuper funny (that’s my kind of humor: no pranks, not deprecating, not dark… but the one that comes from small little daily things and the natural interaction amongst them) and also warm and sweet showing the life of the islanders (one of my dreams is to travel around the Southern Korean Islands!).

I wanted to wait for my reply to give you a more wholesome feedback than just saying thanx after seeing some of the episodes/shows. And thanks God I did it, because there are only 3 episodes with subtitles of Island Trio in my usual servers and it doesn't come up in the one that you provided (thanks for that as well). Is there any chance you can let me know where were you able to see it completely? I’m not ready to let this trio go, it’s too soon lol! If not here, by DM, as you wish!

Muchas gracias y saludos desde España también! ;)

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issa

You don't understand how happy it makes me to hear that :')
I'm glad loved it as much as I did!! Island trio was phenomenal, it's sad not that many people know about it

There were 2(?) people that subbed this show. The first person subbed only 3 episodes, which can easily be found on sites like Kshow123, but the 2nd person (Kuntoajie) is where it gets a little confusing ^^;;

They subttiled quite alot, they're just titled and ordered weirdly. They named the episodes after each island and part, not the actual corresponding episode number. I initially thought I had already seen them because of that, but that wasn't the case. When I finally tried to watch I ended up watching in the wrong order LOL. Due to this, sites like MyasianTV and Kshow123 couldn't quite figure it out so they're not on there.

I'll put them in the right order for you incase it's confusing (since i've already seen them) so ignore the episode title and just trust my order haha. I do recommend enabling an adblocker so you can watch peacefully (uBlock origin extension is good)

- ISLAND TRIO [Uido Ep.4]
Part 1 | Part 2 

- ISLAND TRIO [Uido Ep.5]
Part 1 | Part 2 

- ISLAND TRIO [Uido Ep.6]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Yeongsando Ep.7]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Yeongsando Ep.8]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Yeongsando Ep.9]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Yeongsando Ep.10]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Yeongsando Ep.11]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Yeongsando Ep.12]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Saengildo Ep.13]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Saengildo Ep.14]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Saengildo Ep.15]
Part 1 | Part 2

- ISLAND TRIO [Saengildo Ep.16]
Part 1 | Part 2

Missing eps: 17-31

(Note: Quality and audio of these aren't the best, and the person translating doesn't have perfect english either but its not bothersome. I do have all the other non-subbed episodes in HD though! I use google lens to translate the text on screen when I watch, which is a hassle but I love the show so it works... I've been thinking of adding it as subtitles someday, I'd love to rewatch in the future. If you have any questions or issues or just want to talk about the show feel free to DM me <3 )

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issa

Fun that you're also from Spain!! I'm originally from sweden but moved here around 2020-2021 :))

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lora25

Hi, just saw  your discussion it is very interesting , I have been a fan since Season 2 and I love Bang PD's  style but also love how the new director directed like the previous seasons since he was there from the start, I understand that sometimes you feel like it is somehow a bully between the members and the staff but that is how they are and it is just some friendly jokes between them. The older seasons are harsher to be honest and it is what 2d1n is known for from not eating, sleeping outdoors and harsh morning missions. Also the chemistry between the members are really good it might be different from each season but of course it would be since they have unique characteristics as well.  From the start you can see that Jongmin  was very distant from the members and took him few months to warm up to them , like him it took me few episodes as well and grew to love every member and learned more about them. It really broke my heart what happened to Seon Ho, I cried too much because I thought the show would end like  season 3   (glad he is back on his feet and stayed strong) . Few episodes that there were only five of them and I can really feel how the members changed because I know they are hurt but stayed strong for the show , I was happy when Inwoo joined since he is so pure and funny it was unexpected and I instantly loved him. It was nice until Ravi left for military and Seonho joined (Seonho again:( haays) he was awkward at first but it is understandable since he is still young and it is fresh to see. It was emotional rollercoaster to be honest. 

I suggest you watch S2 and S3 it is worth a watch. I watched Season 3 multiple times and it holds a special place in my heart despite what happened, it is the first season i watched and it made me curious on the previous ones I did not watch s1 because it is too old for my liking haha. 

I was also a Running man fan but then when I found 2d1n I was hooked haha, since RM changed the older episodes are very good but nowadays the games are different and feels like they are focusing on getting guests. Specially when Kwang Soo left I totally ditched it (only watched the episodes with Jin and V)

I also loved the NJTW, it is a shame they did not continue with S9, it is very similar to 2d1n and I also loved the cast since most members and staff are from 2d1n s2 and the other members are really funny as well I loved their chemistry :)

Btw @issa I  saw your recommendations even if it was not meant for me haha and will try watching the other variety shows instead of repeating episodes from 2d1n all over again haha, 

Just sharing haha, It is my first time sharing my thoughts since I honestly don't know anyone watching Korean reality shows especially 2d1n, 

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issa

@lora25 Yesss!! Ive been meaning to finish S1 of 2D1N so that I could continue S2 & S3 as well.. Only seen a bit from those and heard a lot of good things, I'm really looking forward to it!!
Season 1 is a little bit old yeahh, hahaah.... but I still have an urge within me to watch every single season, just to be able to say I've seen it all ^^;; (And because I love the njttw cast members, of course. Willing to watch 480p chaos just for them.)

It's really sad there hasn't been a 9th season of NJTTW yet :(  I'd like to believe Na PD plans to continue with the show once they've all returned (Mino military ) So I still have some hope... (I did check out the female cast njttw sibling show "Earth Arcade", it was good!! but at the end of the day nothing can top the original. I started to miss it while watching so I forgot to finish)

PS: I'm honored you're willing to take the time to check out my recommendation list :DD I have some more in the lists on my profile with more shows if you're interested hahah (since these are recommendations with Marcrisan81's preferences in mind, but they're still big favorites of mine of course.)
 
It is also a first time for me, to be discussing Variety Shows like this. I often blabber about it to my friends but they know close to nothing about variety shows and can't respond, or are just really inactive lol. If you ever wanna talk about any show or recommend something my way, feel free! :DD  
Are you perhaps still keeping up with the latest episode of 2D1N? These days I'm trying to be more active on the MDL Feeds and join discussions about the show on reddit to feel some sort of involvement haha, but also because it's fun to see what other people have to say about it! I have never actually commented something on the weekly 2d1n reddit posts, but felt the need to recently because of how bland last weeks episode was.... Still yet to watch the latest one (217? March 11th.)


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lora25

Really my pleasure to look into different variety shows recommended by someone who has the same interest :) I will definitely look into your profile.  It is just that it's hard for me to love other shows unless I know or love the cast members but will try to open myself up :)

I just finished watching episode 216 because I am unable to watch the 217 yet, here in Australia I can watch it every Monday with subtitles.  I wait for it every week really haha if I have nothing to watch while waiting I go back to old episodes. 

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issa

Oooohh!! I see, I also watch every monday with subs ^^ But I find it quite confusing because it seems the episode numbers differs on the site i watch from and the episode number listed here on MDL. (Ep. 217 is actually 216 for some reason.)

Getting into new shows can be difficult when you're not familiar with the cast, I was the same at first but now I would describe my watching pattern as an ever growing tree lol. Over time, I got bored of what I usually watched and began watching new shows. As time went on I started to love everyone on that show and watched other content from them! At this point, what started as a tiny tree sapling has now grown into an enormous tree with branches branching out in every direction, hahaha... The tree of variety shows...

What I'm saying is that this tree has grown out of control, and now a variety of other tree saplings have sprouted beside it. Nowadays, I tend to start new shows simply because I like the concept and learn more about the cast while watching. This has its own charm, but it is true that you can enjoy something more easily while being familiar with someone at least. But I think it's amazing how I discovered new shows, characters, and actors that I now love and can't get enough of! I'm constantly discovering new shows and expanding my watchlist. It's a great way to explore different genres and get to know new people.

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