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How a reality show on first-timers' travel to Korea grabs TV audiences

  • Published : May 11, 2018 - 11:32
  • Updated : May 11, 2018 - 11:32

Most Koreans weren't familiar with MBC TV's cable channel MBC Every 1. After all, the channel, specializing in variety and entertainment shows, hadn't produced a single TV show that passed the two percent viewership mark since it began in 2007.

That changed with the arrival, last year, of a reality-travel show featuring friends of foreign TV personalities and expats working in Korea who visit the country for the first time.

After the astonishing success of the 33-part first season, the channel has produced the second season of "Welcome, First Time in Korea?" -- a wordplay on the intro part of "Dope," a hit song by K-pop sensation BTS, where its leader and rapper RM says "Welcome, First Time with Bangtan?" in reference to the group's Korean name, Bangtan Boys.

For the second season, the program "focuses more on the show's documentary aspects than on entertainment," producer Moon Sang-don said during a press event in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, on Thursday.

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An image captured from the first season of "Welcome, First Time in Korea?" (Yonhap)
"We try to minimize PPL (product placement advertisement) or any intervention in where they want to go or where to go for meals," he said. "The more we intervene, the less natural they would look in the show."

The show follows the itinerary of first-time visitors to Korea and records their travel in a refreshing departure from existing reality-travel programs that follow Korean celebrities traveling overseas.

Korean TV viewers learn -- joyfully -- how foreign ordinary things can look in the eyes of first-time visitors, like floor seating and ventilators on a barbecue table. They also get to appreciate things that have been taken for granted -- like the city's mountainous landscape. Two teams from Germany and England climbed up Mount Bukhan -- one on a scorching hot day and the other on a blisteringly cold day.

Alberto Mondi, one of the four hosts and a popular TV personality in Korea, said he could rediscover new aspects of Korea from the perspective of other foreigners.

"I've been living in Korea for almost 11 years now, and I enjoy learning new things about the country through the eyes of other foreigners."

In June last year, a three-episode pilot program aired on the cable channel featuring Mondi's three friends from the northeastern town of Mirano, Italy. Mondi showed around his friends, who had almost zero knowledge of the Asian country, except for the mega-hit song "Gangnam Style." He took his friends to a restaurant that sells fermented skate, one of the smelliest foods in the country.

"People asked me why I took my friends to try it, among all other foods, but I only went there because that was one of my favorite restaurants," he said, rejecting speculation that he took them there on purpose to bring out the most fun and interesting reactions for the show.

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An image captured from the first season of "Welcome, First Time in Korea?" (Yonhap)
Based on the pilot show's solid performance with more than two percent viewership ratings, the first season went into production. It aired from July 27 to March 8 and became a runaway hit, with more than five percent in viewership ratings according to Nielsen Korea, easily becoming the most-viewed program on the channel.

The popularity of the show, which costs around 50 million won (US$46,589) to make one episode, helped the channel earn more than 10 billion won in ad sales.

Mondi said it is meaningful for him to join the show because it gives him a chance to promote Korea to his motherland. Indeed, he was contacted by an Italian travel magazine to see if he could introduce Korea, he said.

"Many Europeans still don't know much about Korea. And Korean culture is being enjoyed by only a small number of Italians," he said. "I am very happy to be able to serve as a bridge between the two countries."

Season 2, featuring Spanish Korean Jang Min and his friends, will air at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. (Yonhap)