The Complete Guide To 'My Name Is Gabriel' Episodes: Cast, Concept, And The 72-Hour Life-Swap Challenge

The South Korean variety program My Name Is Gabriel took the K-Variety world by storm in the summer of 2024, introducing a unique, high-concept reality format that pushed some of the nation's biggest stars out of their comfort zones. This is not your typical travel show; it’s a profound life-swap experiment where celebrities abandon their famous identities to live the demanding, unscripted life of a stranger for exactly 72 hours.

As of today, December 17, 2025, the show has concluded its initial run, offering fans a total of 14 unforgettable episodes. Created by the legendary producer Kim Tae-ho, the mind behind the iconic Infinite Challenge, the series has generated massive buzz, particularly for its star-studded cast, which included A-list actors like Park Bo-gum and Ji Chang-wook, and its philosophical premise about what it truly means to be someone else. This is your complete, up-to-date guide to every episode, the full cast, and the fascinating concept that powered the series.

My Name Is Gabriel: Full Cast and Production Profile

The success of the show is deeply rooted in its high-profile participants and the pedigree of its production team. The concept involves celebrities being assigned a new identity—a new name, a new job, and a new life—in an unfamiliar international location. The assignment is reportedly determined by an AI system that analyzes the celebrity's data to match them with a life they’ve never experienced.

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• Program Title: My Name Is Gabriel (가브리엘)
• Genre: South Korean Entertainment Program / Reality Variety Show / Unscripted Travel
• Original Network: JTBC
• Streaming Platform: Disney+ (Disney Plus)
• Creator/Producer: Kim Tae-ho (TEO)
• Total Episodes: 14 Episodes
• Original Broadcast Period: June 21, 2024 – October 4, 2024
• Key Cast/Participants:
  • Park Bo-gum (Bogum)
  • Ji Chang-wook
  • Defconn
  • Lee Hae Ri (Davichi)
  • Kang Min Kyung (Davichi)
  • Park Myungsoo (Myungsoo)

The show's ambitious premise of living "the real life of that person" for 72 hours under a new name in a place where no one knows you immediately captured global attention. The initial episodes, however, faced stiff competition, logging relatively low viewership ratings compared to other popular K-Variety shows like Jinny's Kitchen. Despite this, the program’s unique concept and the raw, emotional experiences of the celebrities provided a fresh perspective for viewers.

The 72-Hour Life-Swap: How the Concept Works

The core of My Name Is Gabriel is its dramatic life-swap mechanism. Unlike typical travel reality shows where celebrities perform challenges or enjoy a vacation, this program forces them into a completely new, often demanding, professional and personal life.

The AI-Driven Identity Assignment

The show utilizes a fascinating, modern twist: AI data collection. The production team reportedly uses artificial intelligence to gather data on the celebrities to match them with a life that is the complete antithesis of their own. This ensures the experience is genuinely challenging and offers maximum contrast to their glamorous celebrity lives. For instance, a world-famous actor might be assigned the life of a street vendor, a local musician, or a manual laborer in a foreign country.

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Unscripted Reality and Emotional Depth

Once the celebrity lands in their new location—be it Dublin, Ireland, or a bustling city in Mexico—they must immediately assume their new identity. They have to interact with locals, perform the job, and navigate the daily struggles of that person's life for 72 hours. This unscripted, immersive approach is what gives the show its emotional weight, forcing the stars to confront their own prejudices, skills, and resilience. The initial episodes saw participants like Park Bo-gum and Park Myungsoo descend to Earth, embarking on a journey of self-discovery.

My Name Is Gabriel Episode Guide and Key Storylines

The 14-episode run provided a diverse look into different lives and locations around the world. While a detailed synopsis for every single episode is complex due to the variety show format, the key storylines revolve around the individual celebrity's journey in their assigned role.

Early Episodes: Setting the Stage (Episodes 1-4)

The first few episodes introduced the core concept and the initial participants. Episode 1, which aired on June 21, 2024, immediately threw the celebrities into their new roles, with Park Bo-gum and Park Myungsoo being among the first to start their 72-hour challenge. These episodes focused on the initial shock, the struggle to communicate, and the steep learning curve of their new, unfamiliar jobs.

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• Episode 1 (June 21, 2024): Introduction to the concept; Bogum and Myungsoo begin their self-discovery journey.
• Episode 2 (June 28, 2024): Deepening the immersion; the celebrities start to face the realities of their new lives.
• Episode 3 (July 5, 2024): Continuing the challenge; emotional moments and breakthroughs with local interactions.

Mid-Season Developments and Hiatus (Episodes 5-7)

The mid-season continued to rotate the cast and introduce new, challenging scenarios. Notably, the series experienced a brief hiatus, a common occurrence in Korean variety programming, before resuming with a highly anticipated Episode 7.

• Episode 5 (July 19, 2024): New participants or a continuation of the previous cast’s journey.
• Episode 7 (August 16, 2024): This episode was a key moment following the hiatus, introducing new participants to the life-swap experiment.

The Full Run: A Total of 14 Episodes

The full season concluded its broadcast on October 4, 2024, totaling 14 episodes. The subsequent episodes continued to explore the lives of the other announced participants, including Ji Chang-wook, Defconn, and the members of Davichi, Lee Hae Ri and Kang Min Kyung. Each segment offered a unique cultural and personal exploration, highlighting the universal nature of human experience regardless of fame.

The show’s focus on the raw, unscripted moments of struggle and connection with locals is a testament to Kim Tae-ho's vision for creating meaningful reality television. Despite the initial low viewership ratings, the unique concept and the star power of actors like Ji Chang-wook and Park Bo-gum ensured the show garnered significant international attention, especially among K-Drama and K-Variety fans on Disney+.

Topical Authority and Future Status

While the first season of My Name Is Gabriel has concluded its 14-episode run, the show's unique format has led to discussions about its potential for renewal. The concept is highly adaptable, allowing for an endless rotation of celebrities and global locations. Many fans on online forums have expressed hope for a second season, citing the program's distinct and profound concept as too unique to be discontinued.

However, as of late 2024, there has been no official announcement regarding a Season 2 renewal from JTBC or the production company, TEO. The initial challenges with domestic viewership ratings may play a factor in the decision. For now, fans can re-watch the entire 14-episode run on Disney Plus to relive the emotional 72-hour journeys of their favorite stars as they navigate life under a new name—a true celebrity reality phenomenon that redefined the life-swap genre.