SBS Plus
On SBS Plus ‘Tough Guys Travel Guide in Kyushu’, Choo Sung-hoon, Kim Jong-kook, and Daesung unleashed their distinct tough-guy travel style, dropping relentless laugh bombs right into living rooms.
The third episode of SBS Plus ‘Tough Guys Travel Guide in Kyushu’, aired on the 5th, recorded a household rating of 0.6% (Nielsen, Seoul metropolitan area, pay TV, same below), with a minute-by-minute household peak reaching 0.9%, proving the value of the ‘tough-guy’ brand of clean laughs that viewers ardently support.
On the OTT platform Wavve, it landed in the TOP3 for variety shows; on friDay Video, the no. 1 local OTT platform in Taiwan, it ranked no. 2 in popularity; and it placed within the TOP10 of ‘Most Read Entertainment News’ on portal sites, demonstrating heated interest and upward-trending buzz at home and abroad.
Spending their second night in Tenmonkan, Kagoshima's biggest downtown, Choo Sung-hoon, Kim Jong-kook, and Daesung were pleased with lodgings that, unlike the first night, gave each of them a bed and had a shared living room and two rooms. After deciding their sleeping spots with rockpaperscissors, the three headed to a convenience store, where Choo Sung-hoon, seized by a burst of acquisitiveness, quickly filled a basket with snacks and even bought a neck warmer because he felt cold, drawing teasing from Kim Jong-kook.
Back at the lodgings, the three took time to regroup, and while doing laundry with the washer there, Choo Sung-hoon suddenly criticized Kim Jong-kook over his style, telling him “You give off too much old-man smell. This style gives off nothing but smell,” which made Kim bristle. Startled, Kim Jong-kook said, “In all my life, I am hearing something like this for the first time,” and rebutted with “Is it not better than walking around with a neck warmer because you are cold?” leading to a gloriously childish war of words with a combined age of 101.
Before turning in, when Daesung said, “It really feels like we came on a trip as men,” Choo Sung-hoon and Kim Jong-kook agreed, and the three had a candid talk without being conscious of the camera. Answering a question from Choo Sung-hoon about how old he would be twenty years from now, Daesung revealed a wish by saying, “By then, I hope I have a baby,” and opened up about marriage with, “I vaguely thought I definitely wanted to get married before forty,” to which Kim Jong-kook responded, “Same for me. I thought it would of course happen.” Choo Sung-hoon then said, “But our thinking is certainly very different from that of younger people,” bringing up an unavoidable sense of a generation gap, and Kim Jong-kook and Daesung agreed, creating a sincere mood.
The next day, the three moved to a top traditional local udon spot in Kagoshima that showcases the essence of ‘Inaniwa udon’, one of the three major udon styles of Japan. However, Choo Sung-hoon ignored the right of Kim Jong-kook to choose a menu and, with a ‘answer-already-decided’ remark, said, “You will eat what I eat,” leaving Kim flummoxed. Seeking payback, when Kim heard that Choo Sung-hoon uses heel lifts, he said, “Heel lifts?”라며“Your body goes around like a ski jumper like this?” teasing him and drawing laughs. After some bickering, the trio finished a satisfying meal, tasting onsen-egg udon and even udon served in a cold beer mug, and during a break, Choo Sung-hoon went to the restroom and delivered an unfiltered real sound that broadcast his inner situation widely, prompting Daesung to exclaim, “This is pure man!”
After that, the three went to a large shopping mall with a Ferris wheel. Choo Sung-hoon insisted they line up no matter what at a dessert pop-up store with a long queue and insisted on eating a crepe before boarding the Ferris wheel, bickering with Kim Jong-kook, but he was persuaded by training from Daesung, who serves as the handler of the ‘Chu-side’, prompting laughter. Aboard the Ferris wheel, the trio eagerly captured the Sakurajima volcano view and the panorama of Kagoshima with a self-cam, and Kim Jong-kook, showing his YouTuber side, suddenly realized reality and said, “This is... something you ride with a romantic partner, right? Or with family?” which drew laughs. On top of that, the three plotted, saying, “We should plan an operation to land a low kick on the PD once,” and Daesung, who has experienced a low kick from Choo Sung-hoon, revealed the aftereffects with “It was swollen for three days,” sparking big laughs.
After getting off the Ferris wheel and inhaling a crepe, when the production team suggested for the meal the black pork tonkatsu that he had recommended, Choo Sung-hoon said, “You should have said so earlier. Then I would not have eaten this!!” once again transforming into the ‘Chu-side’. At this point, Daesung completed the coaxing in rapid fire, saying, “If you eat something sweet before a meal, your appetite really kicks in, and then that crispy black pork tonkatsu. Imagine when the tonkatsu goes right in, how tasty it is,” drawing surprise. Having finished their black pork tonkatsu eating segment, the three boarded a limited express that shows spectacular sea views for 50 minutes and headed to their next stop, Ibusuki, and aside from Daesung, who enjoyed the romance, the two older brothers, who had a sweet nap, blithely joked as if they were showing off the scenery.
Meanwhile, in Ibusuki, an unusual resort area of Kagoshima, a surprise romantic wish of Choo Sung-hoon to ride in a luxury car came true. However, because of the open-top drive, Daesung took the wind head-on, producing a comically pitiful scene as if his soul had left his body.
At their destination, the black sand beach, the three began a sand bath, wearing only yukata and being buried in sand at about 55 degrees, and although it felt hot at first, they soon savored the toasty warmth and enjoyed healing. However, when Kim Jong-kook wiggled his toes and his toes emerged from the sand, Choo Sung-hoon overturned the scene with a 19-rated joke, and Daesung warned, “We are not wearing underwear now. Please be careful,” turning the place into a sea of laughter. After coming out of the bath, the three ate eggs steamed by volcanic vapor and replenished protein, and the production team said the highlight of the healing course was still to come, heightening anticipation for the next episode.
SBS Plus ‘Tough Guys Travel Guide in Kyushu’ episode 4 will air at 8:40 p.m. on May 12.
