{"id":226447,"date":"2025-10-26T12:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T12:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/226447\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T12:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T12:33:07","slug":"physical-asia-creator-reveals-how-he-convinced-boxer-manny-pacquiao-to-join-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/226447\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical: Asia creator reveals how he convinced boxer Manny Pacquiao to join show"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEOUL \u2013 Netflix Korea\u2019s smash-hit reality franchise Physical (2023 to present) is back. This time, it is on a continental scale with Physical: Asia, featuring sports icons from across the region battling it out to be crowned the \u201ctop physical\u201d.<\/p>\n

Building on the global buzz of its first two seasons in 2023 and 2024, Physical: Asia marks the franchise\u2019s first nation-versus-nation competition. <\/p>\n

The new season brings together 48 contestants from eight countries \u2013 Australia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkey \u2013 in a test of physicality, wit and teamwork.<\/p>\n

Each six-member team is led by some of its nation\u2019s most celebrated sports personalities.<\/p>\n

They include Team Korea\u2019s Ultimate Fighting Championship pioneer Kim Dong-hyun and Physical: 100 Season 2 winner Amotti, along with Japan\u2019s mixed martial arts legend Yushin Okami and Thailand\u2019s muay thai world champion Superbon.<\/p>\n

But <\/p>\n

one of the most high-profile participants<\/p>\n

<\/a> is undoubtedly the Philippines\u2019 Manny Pacquiao, the boxing legend and the only eight-division world champion in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Series creator Jang Ho-gi, speaking at a press conference in Seoul on Oct 24, revealed how he managed to bring Pacquiao, 46, on board. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe reached out to Pacquiao several times. He invited us to his home in the Philippines, where we got to watch him train and even shared a home-cooked meal together,\u201d Jang said. \u201cI explained the concept of the Physical series to him and he immediately agreed to join the show that same day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Physical: Asia features sports icons from across the region battling it out to be crowned the \u201ctop physical\u201d.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: NETFLIX<\/p>\n

Jang described Physical: Asia as a fresh, Olympic-style competition exclusive to Netflix. In addition to the athletic spectacle, he said the series weaves in cultural elements. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a strong interest in Korean culture,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wanted to capture a range of Asian cultures with Korea at the centre, so we designed quests inspired by (former royal palace) Gyeongbokgung\u2019s (main hall) Geunjeongjeon and incorporated drums as a tribute to the 1988 Seoul Olympics.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI think discovering elements of Korean culture, history and broader Asian traditions will be another fun aspect for viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some, however, have raised eyebrows at the inclusion of Australia and Turkey under the banner of Asia.<\/p>\n

While Australia is often grouped with the region for geopolitical and economic reasons, it is geographically part of Oceania. Turkey, meanwhile, is a transcontinental country, spanning both Asia and Europe.<\/p>\n

Addressing the debate, Jang said: \u201cWhat sets our programme apart from other sports shows is that we look for the best physical abilities regardless of race or gender. In Season 1, we even had a participant from the US (former Major League Baseball player Dustin Nippert), and from the start, our goal has been to go beyond those boundaries.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe use of the term Asia was meant to suggest expansion, not restriction. It was never about gathering only Asian participants.\u201d <\/p>\n

The first four episodes of Physical: Asia premiere on Netflix on Oct 28. THE KOREA HERALD\/ASIA NEWS NETWORK<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Streaming – music\/video\/contentReality TV showsSouth KoreaManny PacquiaoPhilippines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEOUL \u2013 Netflix Korea\u2019s smash-hit reality franchise Physical (2023 to present) is back. This time, it is on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-226447","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}