My beloved show is recently caught in a turmoil. A member fired and in jail, two got caught in a controversy and resigned, and now the show is threatened to be cancelled. This is a sad moment for 1 Night 2 Days fans, me included. However, I’m not here to talk about controversies or uncertainties. I’m just going to remember what the show is to me.
I first get a glimpse of 1 Night 2 Days in 2012, the episode where Cha Tae Hyun and Sung Si Kyung went to a cheese factory of some sort. Me, as someone who never interested in Korean variety show, let alone like it, were skeptical at first. I said “I don’t understand many Korean words, listening to them talking so fast always makes me dizzy.” BUT, I fell in love at first sight. There something about this show that just picked my interest, left me wanting more. And, on top of that, I got to know an entertainer called Kim Jong Min and became a fan of him ever since. So today, I have a sudden urge to list what are the best things I think this show has that made me an avid fan I am today.
Travelling Around Korea
I haven’t been to Korea, and maybe will not be able to go there in the near future, but I really love the fact that I could travel around Korea through this show. In a way, this show is promoting Korean tourism to international audience. I love the fact that they actually promoting the tourist sites and not just come to visit, play games, eat, and go home. They showed me where to go, what to look for, what to expect from visiting places in Korea. They even managed to go overseas at some point, tracking Korean legacy and descendants, and became the first variety show to ever get a glimpse of life at the South-North Korean border, a nerve-wrecking and intense episode I will always remember.
The Famous Bokbulbok Games
I love 1 Night 2 Days’ bokbulbok games. Bokbulbok means luck or lucky game… This may not be a hundred percent accurate, but bokbulbok definitely relates to luck. This means nobody is superior, everyone has the same chance of winning. Yes, there might be some episodes where one member gets all the luck. For example: Defconn, when they played back-to-back strength game. But this is not always the case. Sometimes even the strong slipped. During the latter part of season 3, I especially love the bokbulbok games, because no one had the same luck each and every week, making the competition fierce and unsuspected members could win everything. Not only that, they sometimes incorporate traditional games, such as yut, wrestling, jegichagi, and more. They also made the members compose a song in Korean traditional style and music. Every week, there are something new to offer, and I am thankful for the staff for working hard to always make bokbulbok interesting.
The Chemistry of the Members
Forget about the recent scandal, focus on how there were before all came tumbling down. I love how they really are like brothers. They bickered, they teased each other, they competed fiercely against each other, but at the end of the day they showed love towards each other. The family bond got even stronger with the Cha Cha Cha siblings involved, three adorable children of Cha Tae Hyun. I love how the members once visited Tae Hyun’s house, ask for food shamelessly, and interact with the kids. I love how they actually met outside of the show, even worked together in other projects. And I love how this season 3 members always treated the former member, our beloved Gutaeng Hyung or Kim Joo Hyuk, as one of their own even before his tragic passing (may his soul rest in peace), that cemented his position as forever 1 Night 2 Days member.
Best Episodes
To me, one of the best episodes is when they went to Harbin, tracing the footsteps of An Jung Geun, one of Korean heroes that was arrested, jailed, executed, and buried there, on his last few days as a free man. The episode gave me goosebumps. The scene where they visited the jail and read the last letter An Jung Geun’s mother sent for him, and the scene where Tae Hyun cried when he found out that An Jung Geun’s supposed burial place were then no more than an empty field with unattended grass, rubble or garbage scattered everywhere. I actually got choked up watching it. And another one was the episode on the anniversary of Gutaeng Hyung’s death. Watching them, even Ryu PD, in tears and listening to Gutaeng Hyung’s last message to them, recorded prior to his death was too much.
1 Night 2 Days is more than just these points to me. The show has always been something to ease my mind after a days work every week, the means to see Korea before I get the chance to actually go there myself, and a way to forget about whatever was bothering my mind before watching it. I know it may be wishful thinking, but I really do hope the show survived. It has survived for 12 solid years. It has survived three different seasons and plenty of change in members. It has survived criticism and doubt. It got an award for the best variety show in KBS three times, earning high ratings every single week. But if this is the end of the road, then I can only thank the members, former members and staff for every laughter and happiness they gave me all these years. And for Kim Jong Min, Cha Tae Hyun, Defconn, Kim Joon Ho, Yoon Dong Gu, I wish you all success in everything that you do in the future. I will always root for you. And, as Kim Joon Ho proudly said everytime, 이멤버 리멤버 forever – REMEMBER EACH MEMBER FOREVER.
Aiko Takes Notes 