Before I begin, I would like to apologize for how late this article is in coming out. I unfortunately live in a place that was affected by some severe winter weather this past week and I was without electricity for 72 hours. Thankfully, everything seems to be back up and running and I should be on time next week.
*2 Days, 1 Night is a show where 6 regular cast members take themed trips around Korea to show off its charms. Each trip has a theme designed to highlight an area or else to create cohesion for the games they play. The general formula for a trip is a lunch game, a dinner game, and a sleeping inside or outside game. Half of the members (in teams or as individuals) will win lunch. The same will be true of dinner and the right to sleep inside instead of in a tent. Trips often cover several episodes.*
This Trip’s Theme: Time Travelers. Ooohhhh aaaaahhhh.
My Entertainment Score: 10 out 10 laughs
I’ll be completely honest here...most of you will not find this episode as absurdly funny as I did. I’m a weirdo and I laughed at things that I’m certain other people would take for granted. For instance, one of the side characters wore a mask (as required by the Korean government at the time of filming), but to keep with the time travel theme, they attached beard hair and drew on a dark mustache. I found this little bit of costuming so funny that I had to pause while I laughed so hard that I cried.
For most of you all this is probably going to be a solid 7-8 on the laughs scale.
What Happened:
Opening (start of show- 2:54)
Theme announcement (start- 2:54)
The area where the members are gathered (South Chungcheong Province) has a lot of historical sites where visitors can see parts of the historical eras of Korean history. For this trip, they will travel to three sites, going backward in time each time, to see some of these sites/eras.
Beginning with the Joseon Era in Nonsan, the members are told they will travel next to Buyeo and end in Gongju.
Joseon Era (2:55- 22:55)
Entering the Joseon Era Site(2:55- 7:00)
The members enter the Donamseowon Confusion Academy. A brief historical lesson is given and then the members are allowed to look around a little bit.
Race Explanation (7:00- 8:39)
The members will be split into teams of three for the day. The games that are played throughout the day will determine the dinner that they are able to get. If they win a game, they will have the opportunity to draw from 4 cards labeled ‘6 hourglasses’, ‘3 hourglasses’, ‘1 hourglass’ and ‘dud’. The team with the most hourglasses at the end of the day will get dinner.
A little later, we learn that just before dinner there will be a chance (of some kind) for the teams to switch their hourglasses.
This is one of the only shows where a simple game explanation can be funny. These members are adorably innocent and confused every time, so I always look forward to this part of the show.
Picking Teams (8:40- 22:55)
The members were given a series of true or false statements about the Joseon Era in Korean history. The three members with the most correct answers became a team and that team will get the chance to pick an hourglass card.
These questions were at times ridiculous and the logic the members tried to use to answer them was...umm...strange. There was also this season’s first wardrobe malfunction in this segment...haha. Nothing naughty, only humor in this house.
The final result of the teams: Seonho, Seyoon, and Jongmin are one team (The revival of Team Inadequacy). Ravi, Dindin, and Junghoon form the other team (The revival of Team Less Inadequate). I’ll let you know in the Spoilers section who won, but I’m sure some of you can make an accurate guess about this one.
Goryeo Era (22:44- 43:40)
*Note: Ravi spent this entire segment (and a bunch of the next as well) quoting a famous drama set in the Goryeo Era...this was another point that had me happy in ways I’m sure most other people would not be. I play the ‘Name That Movie’ game with my family where we inject quotes into everyday life and try to stump one another with the obscurest references, so this was exactly my kind of entertainment*
Travelling to the Next Location (22:44- 29:45)
Each team worked on learning or sharing facts that they knew or looked up about the Goryeo Era. I’ll give you zero guesses about who did better at this. Haha. I learned a few things along the way.
They arrive at Gwanchoksa, a Buddhist temple founded in the Goryeo Era. AND MY MASKED FRIEND IS THERE!! I missed half of what he said for laughing. Don’t bother going to watch this and expecting a laugh...it’s totally a personal problem. Haha.
The members walk around the area and marvel at a gigantic stone statue that is its main attraction.
Game: United Songs of Korea (29:45- 43:40)
Each team would be presented with the name of a singer (or group) and the members would have to sing a song from that person. It would be a point for the team if all three members sing the same song.
This game brought out the personalities of the members in fantastic ways. There was Ravi that sang the instrumental intros (I just can’t even with that man...so cute!), Seonho looked like a lost puppy, Junghoon knew almost no one, Dindin was creating mashups unintentionally, Seyoon was trying to give his teammates hints, and Jongmin went his own way. The scores were less than stellar.
Baekje Era (43:40- end of show)
Travelling to the Next Location (43:40- 49:20)
Again the members attempted to study the upcoming era’s history. Jongmin is reliable in his knowledge as usual. His team takes time to discuss if there was a time in their history that they would return to if they could. Not much is shown of the other team’s trip.
They arrive at Baekje Cultural Land which is a recreation of the old Baekje city AND ARE GREETED BY MY MASKED FRIEND AGAIN! hahaha. This looked amazing. I’ve added it to my list of things to try to see if I ever make it out to Korea.
Setting Up the Lunch Game (49:20- 53:09)
The lunch game is going to be played individually. Three separate games are played with one member from each team playing. The winner of each game will get lunch and a chance to draw for hourglasses.
The members were given hints about the games that might get played using the names and profiles of 3 kings in the Baekje era. They chose a king and then learned who they would be competing against. Ravi vs. Jongmin. Dindin vs. Seonho. Seyoon vs. Jonghoon.
First Lunch Game: Ravi vs. Jongmin (53:10- 1:00:30)
They correctly guess that their lunch challenge will be archery. In classic 2 Days, 1 Night fashion, their archery game has a twist. They have to choose one of six tubes that contain random items to be used as arrows. With their chosen arrow, they get three shots and attempt to knock down soda cans. There was no chance that this was not funny.
Second Lunch Game: Seonho vs. Dindin (1:00:31- 1:03:30)
Because the king they chose was known for his strength, their lunch game is Rope Ssireum. Ssireum is Korean wrestling. This game is essentially tug of war for two people. Each member has a small circle platform that they must stay standing on and a rope is held on each end by each of them. They can pull or release the rope to set the other person off balance. This was played as a best 2 out of 3 scenario. I’ll let you wonder why the segment was so short…
Third Lunch Game: Seyoon vs. Jonghoon (1:03:31- 1:11:42)
Their chosen king was known to be unfortunate, so these two played a luck game. 20 cardboard boxes were set up in the square. Only 1 had a small chair in it...the rest...I won’t tell you. You have to go watch it. It was...wow. Everyone in my house ended up in the room watching and laughing.
Anyway, the winner was the one that found the box with a chair in it...They, of course, negotiated that if they made it down to the last box, they would both be allowed to have lunch.
Lunch and Hourglass Picks (1:11:42- end of episode)
Lunch was a meal prepared according to what people would have eaten in the Baekje Era. Chilis hadn’t made it to Korea yet then, so the food is lacking the red color you would usually see in Korean fare today. The losers were given a bowl of porridge (with meats and veggies in it).
For the hourglass picks, they removed the 6 hourglasses option, leaving only 3, 1, or a dud for options.
Preview- Next week will continue the Time Travel Trip. I can’t be certain, but I think they’re travelling all the way back to caveman times if the outfits are any indication. Hah. There look to be some innovative games on the horizon along with high quality slapstick comedy. I can’t wait! (And won’t really have to because this is so late! Sorry again!!)