2Days, 1Night, Season 4- Episode 185- 187 3 Days 2 Nights Country Tour trip Review

*2 Days, 1 Night is a show where 6 regular cast members take themed trips around Korea to show off its charms. Each trip is 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, a morning mission, and a getting off work 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, etc. Trips often cover several episodes.*

This Trip’s Theme: Nationwide Deduction trip

My Entertainment Score: overall 8 out 10 laughs

While there was quite a bit of travel involved in this trip, the editing team and staff did a fantastic job of keeping the show flowing and entertaining. It was fun getting a whole country overview while discovering at least two new places that have gone on my personal “OMG I wanna go there!” list. 

What Happened:

Opening (start of ep 185- 17:35)

We start with the members filming at home as they pack for the trip. Then everyone gathers up in front of the KBS building and shares what they decided to pack.

Tour Explanation - 9:40. The members will travel to every province in the country. There are 8 provinces in total. To determine which city is the destination in each, the members will get hints. Once they arrive in the correct city, they will be given a mission card with ‘must-try’ activities in the city. Only after completing those activities can the members receive hints for the next province. The final destination is on Jeju Island (which is its own province) at the peak of Seongsan. They must arrive there before 4pm in two days' time. If they fail, the next trip will be a trip to a deserted island in the middle of an incredibly hot summer. If they do not fail, the next trip will only be in Seoul.

Each member gets $100 for the trip for a total of $600. All food and lodging expenses will come out of that amount. The staff pays for expenses related to the ‘must try’ activities.

Note: Seoul Province is stamped on their map from the beginning and they are traveling to 5 other provinces, so we will not see 2 provinces. Travel between provinces was (until Jeju) all done mostly by car.

Bag Weigh In - 12:55. 48.5kg. 

First Province: Gangwon (17:35- 51:10)

The hints for the city were an old trot song and a photo of a statue. Let’s go to Auraji!

Missions - 29:00. The first mission is to ‘unite’ the lover’s statues. This involved singing as a flatboat carried them across a river…It was cacophony.  The second mission is to eat ‘nose-slap noodles’ with each member successfully sucking in the noodles so that they receive the nose slap.

Second Province: Gyeongsang (51:10 of episode 185- 8:40 of episode 186)

The clues for the city were a number and a line of music. Let’s go to Andong! Byeongsan Sewon Confusion Academy is the national treasure site to find.

*Along the way, the members entertained themselves with a 2-second song intro quiz.*

Rest stop - 1:00:50. The members take an ice cream break.

Missions - 1:08:25. There are 3 missions in this region. The first is to take a photo of Hahoe Village from above where it looks like a lotus flower. The second mission is to greet the eldest resident of Hahoe, being sure to bring a gift. The final mission is to have a meal with the head of the Women’s Association who is known for being a terrific cook. The members split up to complete all the missions before dark. (The 3rd mission is at the start of episode 186.) 

Third Province: Chungcheong (8:40 of episode 186- 59:15)

The city hint was also the mission card! The city was where the 2 buns (see below) were created. Let’s go to Daejeon!

Sleeping Game - 13:40. Disruptor Speed Quiz on Moon Boats. Each team has 3 minutes to guess movie titles. One member gives clues, both acting and yelling are acceptable, while the 2 other members sit in another boat with loud music playing (through headphones). One member of the opposing team sits in front of the 2 guessing members and can impede them by waving fans in front of the guessing members. The winning team would be allowed to use a room that the staff prepared for free. The other three members have to find and pay for lodging themselves.

Missions - 45:20. Taste the bun created on May 20, 1980 AND the bun that was created on April 8, 1986. Let me just say that the bakery they went to looked spectacular. It was bustling and there was clearly a reason for the popularity.

Fourth Province: Jeolla (59:15 of episode 186- 1:01:13 of episode 187)

The staff gave two destinations in this province, so the members needed to split into two teams. The first city hint was a song on record…ooh and a picture. Let’s go to Mokpo! 

The Mokpo Team was Junghoon, Jongmin, and Dindin 

The second city hint was a picture. Let’s go to Haenam.

The Haenam Team was Seyoon, Inwoo, and Seonho

Missions - (Mokpo- 1:07:50) and (Haenam- 1:17:50). 

*Note: They switched back and forth between the two teams. The time stamps provided are for the initial mission card reading and beginning of the missions.*

In Mokpo, the team needed to enjoy 9 landscapes and 9 dishes. Sounds lovely! In reality, they only needed to visit 3 of the landscapes and take a photo where one member was crying. *Note: The attempt to cry in the cable car while Jongmin screamed out his fear of heights was hilarious.* They also needed to film a 1 minute video while eating 3 of the dishes for the rest of the members to see.

In Haenam, there were two missions. The first was to go to the site of Admiral Yi won the Battle of Myeongnyang, dress as an admiral, and record a scene saying his famous line. To learn the line, the members needed to memorize the saying in Chinese characters. The second mission was to go to Ttangkkeut Tower and take a picture while making a human tower in front of it. *Note: The battle of Myeongnyang is inspiring and fascinating if any of you out there are into military history.*

Teams Reunite - 37:00 of episode 187. 

Sleeping Game - 39:20. Another game was played for the right to sleep in a room the staff prepared for free. The other team will need to find and pay for their own lodging. The teams were Junghoon, Jongmin, and Dindin VS Seyoon, Inwoo, and Seonho. 

The game was called “Cross the River”. A field was set up with alternating zones of “land” and “river”. The attacking team needed to ‘cross the river’ zones to the end of the field to put as many balls in a basket as possible. The river zones were where the defending team members waited with toy hammers, one defending member per river zone. Defending team members were not allowed to leave the river zones, but if they struck an attacking member with the toy hammer, the attacking member had to begin again from the start.

Final Province: Jeju Island (1:01:13 of episode 187- end of episode)

The member’s ferry journey to the island was a hoot. I’m saying this as a compliment…those guys are such nerds.

Mission - 1:15:39. Eat 3 local special foods. The final destination changed from the mountain to Eongtto Falls due to the heavy rain. Eongtto Falls is only visible when it rains. In order to succeed, the members needed to see the falls.

Final Result - 1:28:45

Preview: Seoul Destinations Bingo! Though it is the home of the members, the staff is determined to give them a new perspective on Seoul…potentially a very very high one…

*****SPOILERS*****

First Night Sleeping Game

Seyoon, Dindin, Inwoo - 7 correct answers. They get to use a room for free.

Junghoon, Jongmin, Seonho - 4 correct answers. (Even with Jongmin BLATANTLY cheating)

Second Night Sleeping Game

Junghoon, Jongmin, and Dindin - WIN

Seyoon, Inwoo, and Seonho - must find and pay for their own lodging.

This was a wonderful example of how strategy makes a HUGE difference in results. Work the plan and the plan works!

Final Result

The members succeed! No deserted island trip for them next week. Let’s explore Seoul!