Travel variety shows that send celebrities on unplanned trips without smartphones or scripts are gaining popularity. Recent hits include tvN's Unplanned Trip: Limited Edition and the YouTube series Punghyanggo 2.
tvN's Unplanned Trip: Limited Edition premiered on May 3. Jung Yu-mi, Park Seo-jun and Choi Woo-shik star in the series, which confiscates their phones and limits them to a daily budget of 100,000 won while requiring travel to a new city each day. They encountered heavy snow in Daegu and struggled to find shelter, creating unexpected comedic moments.
The YouTube show Punghyanggo 2 drew 11 million views for its first episode. Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Sung-min, Jee Seok-jin and Yang Se-chan travel through Austria and Hungary using only guidebooks and paper maps. Lee Sung-min's down-to-earth charm stood out as he handled problems directly.
Pop culture critic Ha Jae-keun noted that viewers are tired of overly scripted trips and now seek the raw fun from accidents and chance encounters. The format highlights genuine interactions with locals over polished productions.