The leaders of K-pop Hallyu, 2PM and miss A went 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, www.ibuzzkorea.com/touchkoreatour” inviting K-pop fans from all over the world, hosted by KTO during this past June. ‘Touch Korea Tour” was KTO’s 2012 official global campaign which provided a special opportunity to K-pop fans to thoroughly experience Korea inside and out.
The selected few fans from all over the world were separated into three different groups with different themes: Fun Tour, Gourmet Tour, Style and Style Tour. Each team was able to enjoy various tourist attractions according to its theme during the special 6 nights and 7 days in Korea.
The ‘Fun Tour’ team consisted of 2PM Junsoo, Wooyoung, Min from miss A along with 5 fans from France, USA, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. They enjoyed various activities such as enjoying Seoul’s waterscape in the water taxi ride along the Han River and learning Korea’s traditional percussion quartet, Samulnori.
The ‘Fun Tour’ team was divided into two groups as True Blue Team with 2PM’s Wooyoung and Junsoo and Red Power Team with miss A Min. Each team learned how to play the Kkwaenggwari, Janggu, Buk(Korean traditional drum), Jing to perform a full Samulnori performance. Junsoo, Wooyoung and Min all attempted to play the Janggu and made numerous mistakes during their practices, but the overall performance was absolutely successful.
2PM’s Junho, Chansung and miss A’s Suji 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. Ultimately each team chose either ‘Royal Tteokbokki’, ‘Japchae’, ‘Haemulpajeon” and 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 a huge lump while preparing their dish, the Royal Tteokbokki, they showed off their cooking skills and made a delicious dish. Suzy gave cooking tips to her team members, and spoon-fed her team members while enjoying their delicious dish.
Junho’s team showed great teamwork by designating certain roles and made sure to watch their time while boiling their noodles to make their dish, Japchae.
Chansung’s team accidentally spilled their dish on their first try while making their Haemulpajeon, but received an ovation as they ultimately cooked a great dish in the end.
2PM’s Taekyeon and miss A’s Fei and Jia participated in the ‘Style Tour’, along with 5 fans from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore including their team leader ZaiZai. They enjoyed the trendy streets of Chungdam-dong and Garosu-gil and Korea’s famous department stores and fashion boutiques, where they tried on various Hallyu styles. Taekyeon, Fei and Jia gave fashion advice to the fans and they enjoyed a full-fledged fashion photo shoot. Taekyeon, Fei and Jia gave tips on how to enjoy the Hallyu style photo shoot. They also ate Korea’s summer specialty Samgyetang, and enjoyed their time with Taekyeon, Fei and Jia at the hottest cafes in the trendy streets of Galosu Street.
Each of the video episodes of the ‘Touch Korea Tour’ will be opened starting from September 21st on www.ibuzzkorea.com/touchkoreatour. By October 5th all of the episodes will be uploaded and till October 15th, internet users will be able to vote for their favorite teams. The poll results will be posted on KTO’s interactive site on October 23rd. The team with the most votes will be invited back to Korea during the last week of October, and will enjoy the opportunity to spend time with 2PM and miss A during the awards. They will additionally win 25,000,000 KRW.