ENA's '길치라도 괜찮아' trot prince Park Ji-hyun and Son Tae-jin alternated between unexpected smartness and the clumsy charm of being bad with directions, delivering surprising fun to viewers. But so far it has only been a warm-up. Curiosity exploded over what kind of fun the full-fledged "길치" mode trip, to be carried out without a professional guide, will offer.
ENA's '길치라도 괜찮아' (directed by Gong Dae-han), which opened on Oct. 18, kicked off with Park Ji-hyun and Son Tae-jin, who gathered as the first members of the "길치 club," starting the directionally challenged trip. The first concept was a custom plan that even beginners can take without burden. Taiwan, full of food and alive with history and culture, was selected as the optimal country that even beginners can manage.
First, Park Ji-hyun, who stepped alone into Taiwan's airport, opened the mission envelope for the directionally challenged level test. He had to reach the destination by looking only at an address written in difficult Chinese characters. Park Ji-hyun, who said, "I can find this easily," quickly found it using an image search on a translator without showing any sign of embarrassment. He even made the bold choice to use public transportation because taxis were too easy. But soon he couldn't find the MRT platform and began to panic, asking, "Where am I supposed to go?" He showed the hallmarks of people bad with directions: confusing east, west, south and north even while looking at a map, and missing nearby signposts. Still, with the momentum of asking locals in Korean and positive determination, he used the airport railroad and safely arrived at Taiwan's landmark, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Although a trip that should have taken an hour took two hours, his face was full of pride.
Waiting there was luxury travel creator "또떠남," who was in charge of the custom plan. Introducing himself with the joke, "I'll design a luxury course that fits trot prince Park Ji-hyun," the first place he guided them to was a dim sum restaurant that even locals queue for, selected eight consecutive times for the Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand. Enjoying flavors that triggered dopamine from mala noodles to xiaolongbao, Park Ji-hyun moved to Ximending, Taiwan's representative bustling district condensed with MZ culture, and continued a relaxed trip that naturally brought out cheerful songs, taking certification photos in various MZ poses.
Son Tae-jin arrived at the airport only at night after finishing his radio schedule. Then the moment came to prove the confidence he had shown from their pre-meeting, claiming "I'm not bad with directions." Son Tae-jin also used technology to easily translate the address and, with fluent English, asked an airport staff member to record the destination in Taiwanese, demonstrating the ingenuity to convey the destination to a taxi driver. It was a moment when the smart brain of the multilingual, intellectual trot star shone.
His destination was the City Mall located under Taipei Station. He was given the mission of finding store No. 97 in an underground shopping area maze like a highway terminal. At first he calmly asked for directions and narrowed down the direction like solving a puzzle, but after receiving wrong guidance and going the opposite way, his true "directionally challenged" nature appeared as he wandered the mall for over 30 minutes. Nevertheless, with his characteristic persistence, Son Tae-jin found the destination and met local-sentiment travel creator "Captain Ddageo" there and began an unusual massage experience. A massage specialist appeared holding a terrifying knife in front of Son Tae-jin, who was lying on a bed placed in an open underground space. Initially very frightened, he relaxed as the knife massage released areas his hands could not reach. It turned out this place was a massage hotspot and a healing spot for Taiwanese citizens.
Captain Ddageo, who gave Son Tae-jin a moving healing time, then led him to Raohe Street Night Market, which represents Taiwan. "Food over sights!" Captain Ddageo said, making it a perfectly tailored course for Son Tae-jin, who showed particular interest in food. At this local food mecca, he tasted pepper buns, chicken sausages and herbal short rib soup, and said, "There is no familiar taste. Everything is new," showing overwhelming satisfaction as if his eyes had turned inside out.
But the confident, relaxed trip soon hit a bolt from the blue for Park Ji-hyun and Son Tae-jin, who met at a pretty accommodation with local retro-feel cafe decor prepared by Captain Ddageo. From the next day they were told they had to travel alone following the route designed by the creator. The two stared as their pupils shook violently when they saw addresses written in Chinese characters on the itinerary Captain Ddageo had planned focusing on local experiences.
Thus dawned the second morning in Taiwan, and Park Ji-hyun and Son Tae-jin arrived at a popular restaurant with an endless line starting at 9 a.m. "After coming back I only talked about Captain Ddageo's itinerary. Something left a strong impression," said Park Ji-hyun and Son Tae-jin, leaving viewers eager to find out what happened to them and whether they could maintain momentum and romance even on a trip just for the two of them. The next episode was highly anticipated. '길치라도 괜찮아' airs every Saturday at 7:50 p.m. on ENA.<
[Photo] provided
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