“Jung Hae-In’s Travel Log”

By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
March 17, 2020

☆☆☆☆

“Jung Hae-In’s Travel Log” is a delightful series featuring the actor, Jung Hae-In (“Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food,” “One Spring Night“). For eight hours, Jung — who is later joined by his friends Lim Hyun-S00 and Eun Jong-Gun — tours around New York (and a little bit of Canada). He was so awed by everything he saw, marveling at the sight of things that many of us are used to. But, I reckon that’s how most Americans would feel about visiting Seoul for the first time.

What I really enjoyed about this series was that he didn’t seem to care that he was at times overshadowed by his friends. He didn’t edit out moments where they excelled at something he wasn’t as good at. And he left in moments that made him appear (lovably) dorky.

Some of my favorite moments:

♥ They meet a man from India in the subway who is fluent in Korean. He has lived in Seoul for the past dozen years and was vacationing in New York. He helps them navigate their way to their destination.

♥ Jung may be a star, but he is a thrifty celebrity. Even if all he has leftover from his dinner are some sweet potato fries, he takes them back to his rental apartment. When a waitress gives him some oyster crackers, he is wide eyed and asks her if they’re 서비스/service. (In Korea, restaurants often give diners 서비스 — or a free item here and there. One of the subplots in “When The Camellia Blooms” revolved around a man being incensed that a pub owner refuses to offer him 서비스). I was laughing so hard at this part, because I would’ve been angry if I was ever charged for those tasteless crackers. Later, when his friends suggest they stop for a coffee break, he pulls out thermoses of instant coffee he made that morning (from those Korean coffee sticks that are both horrible and delicious at the same time). Granted, he did that to save money. But he also wanted them to see as much of New York as they could each day, so the thermoses were timesavers, too.

♥ Unlike many tourists who head straight for their comfort food — which for Koreans includes a trip to Koreatown — he indulged in all the western cuisine he had been curious about, such as authentic hamburgers, New York’s sweet oysters, stops at Michelin-starred restaurants and the famous Hala food truck, which operates in Seoul as well, but was less spicy than the one in New York, according to Jung. A spicy food lover, Jung insisted on having the food truck throw a ton of hot sauce on his food and suffered greatly. He was sweating, dabbing at his nose and looked like he was in pain. At that moment, a Korean American woman and her boss approached him. Turns out the non-Korean boss was the fanboy, who had wanted an introduction and a photo taken with the star.

♥ Eun had gone to school and lived in New York for years, so he’s bilingual. He takes Jung and Lim to his alma mater, Pace University. There, Jung is recognized by a group of girls, who call their friends, who call more friends…and soon the trio of Korean men have a gaggle of American coeds watching them practice basketball. Jung gets flustered when he misses his free throws. He gets even more flustered when Lim makes his free throws. The popup commentary is funny, but not particularly flattering to Jung. And this is when I knew that I admired Jung. As the producer of this series, he could’ve edited out bits that made him look jealous of Lim or peevish. (One of his fans even switched sides to Lim!) But he left it all in. Just like he left in the bits at a bar where a young woman comes over to introduce herself to them. It becomes obvious that the girl is most interested in Lim, who is a tad drunk and oblivious.

♥ But Jung’s acting skills are put to a good test when the trio takes part in an acting class at Pace. Thrown into the workshop, not understanding English very well or what the college seniors are saying in their dialogues, he still steals the show with his magnetic performance. The difference between a pro actor and students who were still trying to find their way was striking.

♥ Though he often plays the handsome guy role (for obvious reasons), Jung is just like us. Even though he’s young and in shape, he grunts 아이고/aigo to show how tired or exasperated he is.

I would love to see more seasons with Jung touring different cities. And though it may not be exciting or new to him, I hope he does a travel series around South Korea. Yes, he knows Seoul inside and out. But surely there are pockets of the country that would be a revelation to him — and the viewers — that would make for compelling viewing.

Airdates: The eight-part travel series debuted on November 23, 2019 on KBS2.

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