*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: Wild Ginseng Expedition
My Entertainment Score: 9 out 10 laughs
There were only a couple games this episode. Picking teammates took almost a full half hour, and it was a great almost half hour. The editors did a great job of taking things that should have been tedious….like searching for a specific flower...and making it a fun thing to watch.
What Happened:
Opening (opening- 22:45)
Picking Partners (opening- 17:39)
The members arrive one by one and are immediately directed to new cars and given a mission to get a partner. There are 3 gazebos, with 2 seat cushions each. When two members meet up and sit on the cushions, they will become partners. The first pair to become partners will get a bonus. As they drive along, they call each other and try to make arrangements to meet. Take a guess about how many betrayals and tricks they tried to pull on each other. Jongmin’s strategy was beyond my wildest imaginings.
Introducing the Location (17:39-20:15)
Hamyang is where these gazebos are located. Apparently the area has a lot of them. They look beautiful and attract many artist types. Historically, it was a stopping point for scholars in training. Throughout the episode, I was impressed by the beauty of the area. Bucket list...is getting full. 2 Days 1 Night is killing me.
Trip Theme Explained (20:15- 22:45)
The area is known for growing wild ginseng, which is incredibly valuable. They will be doing missions to discover who is qualified to be a digger for the ‘legendary golden wild ginseng’. For each completed mission, the teams will be able to randomly pick out a puzzle piece for a map that shows the location of the golden ginseng.The winning team (who finds the golden ginseng) will get real wild ginseng as a prize and will get dinner.
First Mission (22:45- 39:09)
Explanation (22:45- 23:40)
The first game is meant to be a test of dexterity to see if they can dig up the ginseng without hurting the roots: Don’t Touch! Move the Ping Pong Ball. The members are given a...beer glass?...pint glass?...tumbler? aka a cup with a wide top. They have to spin a ping pong ball up into the glass and keep it spinning in the glass while they lift it and move it to a bowl. Each member has to place at least 1 ping pong ball in the bowl and 10 must be moved in total within a one minute time limit.
Game (23:40- 30:42)
I put the timestamp from the time the first pair started practicing because they were hilarious.
Changing Locations (30:42- 36:53)
The teams chat on the way about how they think they’ll do for the day and come up with team names. More of the scenery is shown including a stunning Cherry Blossom tree lined road.
I’ll include the banter of the members when they arrive at the second location here because it's the first time all the members are together this episode, it feels a little like an opening. They also introduce their team names to each other.
Puzzle Piece Drawing (36:53- 39:09)
The puzzle boards are handed out and the game explained to the members here. Then the successful team(s) get to pick out pieces in a random draw.
Second Mission: Lunch Mission (39:09- end of episode)
Explanation (39:09- 47:52)
(39:09) First the members are given a chance to walk around the area, which was historically a training center for scholars. When they return, they are given the game paramaters.
(43:46) To prove the members have good enough eyesight to find the golden ginseng, they will play “I Found The Flowers”. The members choose cards randomly with the name and picture of a flower currently blooming in the area. They have to find that flower and take a picture of it where both team members’ faces are clearly visible and return to the starting point to have the photo checked.
The first place team will get a full meal. The second place team will get a partial meal missing the main dish. The last place team will get...a meal time twist.
Game (47:52- 1:02:16)
The first place team got really lucky in the cards/flowers they chose and it was hilarious to watch them wait for the other two teams to get finished. The other teams had to go out several times.
Picking Puzzle Pieces/Lunch (1:02:16- end of episode)
They didn’t show the audience any of the puzzle pieces shown during this episode, so we have no idea if any of the teams know the golden ginseng’s location yet.
The two winning teams are given their lunches first. When the losing team asks about their food, they are told about their twist. The winning teams are allowed the rest while the losing team completes their task.
(1:10:31) The losing team has to go make a food specific to the area: gravel roasted hangwa. After they have made it, they can eat it. This looked fascinating. In a large pot of EXTREMELY hot gravel pieces, squares of glutinous rice based dough are placed and then covered. When they take it out, the ‘cookie’ is cooked. It looks a bit like a puffed rice snack. They brush off the finished hangwa (to make sure no sand or gravel remains) and then they use grain syrup to sweeten it and apply popped rice to the outside.
Preview- Wild Ginseng Expedition, continued. THEY’RE GOING TO PLAY BUBBLE SOCCER!!!! It looks like we’ll also find out who finds the golden ginseng, but THEY’RE GOING TO PLAY BUBBLE SOCCER!
!!!Spoilers!!!
Making Partnerships
Ravi and Seonho make a pair first--get an extra puzzle piece after the first game.
Seyoon and Junghoon make a pair.
Jongmin and Dindin make the last pair--poor Dindin had a tough time, having had to move gazebos.
Don’t Touch! Move The Ping Pong Ball
Ravi and Seonho Succeed--get a puzzle piece.
Seyoon and Junghoon Succeed--get a puzzle piece.
Jongmin and Dindin Fail--Poor Dindin...he’s had it hard from the beginning. No puzzle piece.
I Found The Flowers
1st- Ravi and Seonho--get a full lunch and a puzzle piece
2nd- Seyoon and Junghoon--get a partial lunch and a puzzle piece
3rd- Jongmin and Dindin--get only side dishes and no puzzle piece.