Top stars create own ‘Maps’ of Jejudo Island

Four of Korea’s top celebrities take off on a trip across Jejudo Island to discover their very own travel routes on O’live TV’s new reality show “Maps.”

Korea’s most famous travel destination will be explored over four days-three nights by two teams -- actress Choi Gang-hee and Girls’ Generation’s Yuri, and Super Junior’s Heechul and hip-hop artist Simon D -- riding around in cars (called Maps Cars) equipped with 360-degree street view cameras.

“It’s a show unlike anything that’s come before. It has a unique approach, which led to a lot of difficulties in addition to new discoveries,” said Simon D at a news conference at the Stanford Hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul on Friday.

The show, helmed by producer You Hee-kyoung, aims to have the four stars discover the hidden gems of Jejudo Island by forcing them to slow down and look around. The Maps Cars must drive at under 40 kilometers an hour and the travelers must find their way around without the help of electronic navigation systems. All members had to return to their hotels by 6:30 p.m. each night.

“I felt really bad, because I thought I was being a burden to (Choi),” said Yuri. “I’m not good at reading paper maps, or driving for that matter, so I kept going over the speed limit and getting lost. It was very frustrating.”

Still, the members said that they enjoyed the new experience.

“I thought I was a really open-minded, but I realized through this trip that I was actually very tied down to conventions,” said Choi. “I had so much trouble just taking things slow. At first, I couldn’t even enjoy the scenery because I was so focused on the speed limit.”

“When I’m driving in Seoul, I never really thought about the process of getting from one point to another,” Yuri added. “On this trip, it was nice to take the time to get out of the car and talk to the local people, and really enjoy the scenery.”

The photos taken by the Maps Cars and the camera-equipped backpacks -- worn by the members in places that require them to move on foot -- will come together to create new travel maps of Jejudo Island, to be shared with fans online at the official website (http://me2.do/5J7oxnpt).

“The program is less about traveling and more about relationships,” said director You. “All the members had trouble with the rules at first, but as they learn to cope with the regulations you can see them growing closer together.”

“Maps” premieres on O’live TV on June 28 at 9:40 p.m. The show airs every Sunday, with a total of six episodes.



By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)