Idol groups 2PM and miss A who are at the forefront of the Hallyu Wave took off on a special trip with K-pop fans from all over the world to find hidden gems around the Korean peninsula.
As honorary ambassadors of KTO, 2PM and miss A participated in the ‘Touch Korea Tour ” hosted by KTO this past June. ‘Touch Korea Tour’ was KTO’s 2012 official global campaign which provided a special opportunity for K-pop fans to thoroughly experience Korea inside and out.
The few selected fans were separated into three different themed groups: ‘Fun Tour’, ‘Gourmet Tour’, and ‘Style Tour’. Each team was able to enjoy various tourist attractions according to the group’s theme during the memorable 6 nights and 7 days in Korea.
The ‘Fun Tour’ team consisted of 2PM’s Junsu, Wooyoung, and miss A’s Min along with 5 fans from France, the US, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. They enjoyed various activities such a water taxi ride along the Han River to enjoy Seoul’s waterscapes, and learning more about Korea’s traditional percussion quartet, Samulnori.
The ‘Fun Tour’ team was then divided into two groups as the ‘True Blue Team’ with 2PM’s Wooyoung and Junsu, and the ‘Red Power Team’ with miss A’s Min. Each team learned how to play the Kkwaenggwari, Janggu, Buk(Korean traditional drum), and Jing to perform a full Samulnori performance. Junsu, Wooyoung, and Min all attempted to play the Janggu and made numerous mistakes while practicing, but the overall performance was absolutely successful.
2PM’s Junho and Chansung along with miss A’s Suzy participated in the ‘Gourmet Tour’ along with 5 fans from Japan, Singapore and the US. They were divided into three groups and each of them made their favorite Korean dishes. Each team played a game called “ladder shuffle” to choose which kind of dish they would make. The teams chose between ‘Royal Tteokbokki’, ‘Japchae’, ‘Haemulpajeon”, and soon made their way to the supermarket to prepare the ingredients for their dishes.
Although Suzy’s team had a difficult time keeping the Korean rice cakes from becoming one huge lump while preparing the Royal Tteokbokki, they displayed their culinary skills and in the end created a delicious dish. Suzy gave cooking tips to her team, and spoon-fed her members when enjoying the final product.
Junho’s team showed great teamwork by designating certain roles and also made sure to carefully watch their time while boiling their noodles to make their dish, Japchae.
Chansung’s team accidentally dropped their dish Haemulpajeon on their first attempt, but received an ovation after successfully creating a great dish in the end.
2PM’s Taecyeon along with miss A’s Fei & Jia participated in the ‘Style Tour’, along with 5 fans from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as their team leader, ZaiZai. They enjoyed touring the trendy streets of Chungdam-dong and Garosu-gil street, as well as Korea’s famous department stores and fashion boutiques, where they tried on various Hallyu styles of fashion. Taecyeon, Fei, and Jia gave fashion advice to the fans and they enjoyed a full-fledged fashion photo shoot. Their team also enjoyed Korea’s signature summer dish Samgyetang, and the fans enjoyed their time with Taecyeon, Fei and Jia at the hottest cafés located in the trendy routes of Galosu Street.
All of the ‘Touch Korea Tour’ video episodes will be released starting September 21st [KST] on www.ibuzzkorea.com/touchkoreatour/eng/tour_fun.html. All of the episodes will be uploaded by October 5th [KST], and internet users will be able to place votes for their favorite teams until October 15th [KST]. The poll results will be posted on KTO’s interactive site on October 23rd [KST], and the team with the most votes will be invited back to Korea for the last week of October to spend more time with 2PM and miss A during the awards and win 25,000,000 KRW.
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