‘Youn’s Stay’ hopes to give foreigners little taste of Korea

New tvN entertainment show “Youn’s Stay” plans to bring the warmth of hanok, or traditional Korean houses, to the small screen this winter.

In the program from star director Na Young-seok, veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung runs a hanok guest house in Gurye, South Jeolla Province, for foreigners who have been in Korea for less than a year. Guests include those who came to Korea on business or for education, as the COVID-19 situation hinders tourist travel.

While Youn’s previous program “Youn’s Kitchen” brought Korean tastes to other countries, this program gives visitors a taste of Korea in the most traditional setting, in the form of hanok.

The first season of “Youn’s Kitchen” was set in Indonesia while the second took place in Spain. The third season of “Youn’s Kitchen” was to have been shot abroad early last year, but the protracted pandemic situation forced a change of plan.

“If people who came to Korea during COVID-19 times had come at a better time, they would have been able to experience Korean culture and have diverse experiences,” said Na in a live broadcast Dec. 26. “Through their one-night stay in a hanok, I wanted to make them truly experience Korean culture.”

Actors Lee Seo-jin, Jung Yu-mi and Park Seo-joon, who were with Youn in “Youn’s Kitchen,” once again join her as assistants, along with a new intern, actor Choi Woo-sik, known for his role as Ki-woo in “Parasite.”

A six-minute highlight video released Wednesday through online platform Naver TV shows the five actors gathering at the site of the new show, as well as doing everything from cooking to cleaning.

“Youn’s Stay” will air Fridays at 9:10 p.m. on tvN starting Jan. 8.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)