Hugh met these guys while filming for a TV show in Spain. He was the first Korean friend they had ever had and their first real glimpse into Korean culture was through him. Ben is from Northern Ireland and Laurens is from The Netherlands. They decided to visit Hugh in Korea, taking their first trip to Korea, and to this part of the world.
Since Australia has a big Korean population and most of our Australian friends and family eat Korean food and know a bit about Korea, it was interesting to meet people who know NOTHING about Korea. (Also all food was too spicy for them! Haha). When we mentioned kimchi on their first day here they asked, “What’s that?” It was cool to see people discover Korea for the first time. We do kinda live in a bubble where assume that everyone already knows a lot about Korea. It was a bit of a shock to be able to introduce kimchi to someone for the first time. (The verdict that it was too spicy!).
Hugh met these guys on a physically challenging show, so the shirtlessness that went on there has carried over to here, kinda a running joke. Though the ahjussis in the park were very impressed!
They crammed a lot of stuff into the 10 days that they were here. There is always so much to see in Seoul and they were surprised at how big it is. At one point after being on the subway for quite a while Laurens asked, “What city are we in now?” and I had to reply, “Still in Seoul”.
Hopefully this video gives people some ideas for their own trips to Seoul.
Comments by Mika