How will Korea look in the eyes of foreign tourists?

“Welcome, First time in Korea?” of MBC Everyone, which marked its second season this year, is an entertainment program that was initiated July last year upon this simple question. A foreigner who resides in Korea invites three friends. Those friends enjoy traveling Korea freely on their own or go on a trip that was prepared by their friend.

In a way this is a quite simple concept but the program was a big hit. The average rating (based on Nielson Korea) has continuously maintained a three-percentage range and even exceeded five percent for two times during the first half of this year. Even the concerned broadcasting company said, “This is a record that has never been seen before and will be difficult to be seen in the future.”

The charm of “Welcome, First time in Korea?” is completely unexpected answers. The unfabricated reactions of foreigners who visited Korea for the first time was something new. For instance, grilled pork belly or chicken generally come to mind when we think of Korean food foreigners enjoy. The casts, however, went crazy over noodle soup with perilla seeds or sea mustard soup. Their efforts to understand Korean history or social atmosphere also brought positive responses.


easy@donga.com