'Welcome, first time in Korea?' Paco, the Eiffel Tower's famous figure, expressed overwhelming emotion in front of the romantic night view of Namsan.
At 8:30 p.m. on the 19th, MBC Every1's 'Welcome, first time in Korea?' returned after reorganization and premiered in a new format. In this episode, Paco, who had received abundant love from Koreans at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and his two friends Max and Jamil, who are as sincere in their love for Korea as Paco, had a bumpy entry into Korea. In the studio, MC Kim Joon-hyun, DinDin and three France experts, Professor Jeong Il-young, Fabien and Robin, watched over their travel stories.
The returning 'Welcome, first time in Korea?' expanded its format beyond the previous approach of foreigners living in Korea inviting hometown friends, so that anyone anywhere in the world who loves Korea can become the protagonist of the trip. The first protagonist fitting this purpose was SNS superstar 'Paco,' who had long received Koreans' love at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Paco, a vendor who sells keyrings in front of the Eiffel Tower, is already an online celebrity, showing perfect Korean communication with Korean tourists and high-level photography skills. He generously gave keyrings to Koreans as extras to express affection, and even cheerfully claimed, "I am Korean." He revealed his affection for Koreans, saying, "Koreans gave me something bigger than money. When people call me 'Paco' I feel loved. I'm just a vendor working to help my family, but Koreans all like me."
The arrival of two friends who, like Paco, are sincere in their love for Korea also drew attention. Max, a professor who teaches marketing business in France, is deeply immersed in K-culture, even memorizing and singing the entire lyrics of Choi Baek-ho's 'I will wait.' In particular, he showed unusual expectations for Korean food, foreshadowing the active role of the 'eating professor' that even made MC Kim Joon-hyun take notice. The youngest, 24-year-old Jamil, has experience working part-time at a Korean restaurant and is a true K-drama master who names 'The Penthouse' as a life-changing drama, having understood lines from 'When Life Gives You Tangerines.'
Their entry into Korea was extraordinary from the first step. From the airport arrival gate they were greeted with welcomes resembling a fan meeting, and Paco, saying "I came for the first time because I wanted to see Koreans," repeatedly high-fived people in his overwhelming joy. Max, who was initially shy, gradually adapted to the atmosphere and provided relaxed fan service that drew laughs. Paco not only viewed everything about Korea with loving eyes but also confidently led his friends by fluently reading hangul on signs.
Experiencing the Korean culture they had only imagined, Paco and his friends' culture shocks were also a notable viewing point. While heading to take the airport railroad, Paco stopped at a café to drink coffee and waited outside to guard the luggage, then soon said, "There are no bad people in Korea," leaving the luggage unattended and going into the café. In reality, no one touched their luggage, and Paco felt proud of Korea's high civic consciousness, bringing smiles.
When the train they boarded departed on schedule, the three were startled and could not hide their amazement. Fabien and Robin, watching in the studio, said, "There is a saying in France that whenever three people gather they go on strike. It is normal for public transportation to be delayed for more than half the year, so just departing on time is considered lucky," pointing out stark cultural differences and drawing big laughs.
As soon as they explained Korea's 'sharing culture' to their friends, a coincidence occurred where a staff member handed out free bottled water inside the airport railroad car, and Paco, who had only indirectly experienced Korea's warmth in France, felt so fulfilled that he seemed to have the world.
Their continuous happy smiles did not fade as their full-fledged first travel destination was Namsan Tower. After a difficult uphill climb they arrived by cable car at Namsan, where Paco, looking down at Seoul's panoramic night view, said, "I have always dreamed of coming here, and today is the day that dream came true," unable to hide his overwhelming emotion.
The emotion did not end there. Paco secretly prepared Eiffel Tower keyrings from France and surprised Koreans at Namsan with an unexpected "reciprocal gift" event, returning the love and affection he had received to Namsan, and his sincerity filled the scene with warm emotion.
Paco and his friends' first trip to Korea was full of happiness and affection that cannot be bought with money. Their vivid expressions, respecting Korean culture and genuinely happy to exchange greetings with Koreans, were enough to deliver warm healing to home viewers. The sincere activities of the three announced the successful settling of the renewed 'Welcome, first time in Korea?' and made viewers more supportive of their future journey.
Meanwhile, the preview shown at the end of the broadcast raised expectations for next week's episode by depicting Paco and his friends' ambition to "conquer everything in Korea," including conquering Korean food, conquering the Korean language, and even conquering Korean history at the National Museum of Korea.
[Photo] 'Welcome, first time in Korea?'
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