New Journey to the West

New Journey to The West (Korean: 신서유기; RR: Sinseoyugi) is a South Korean travel-reality show that has been broadcast online via Naver TVCast from 4 September 2015. This is the first project from “tvN Go,” a digital-content brand from cable channel tvN.

For other uses, see Journey to the West (disambiguation).

New Journey to The West
Official poster for New Journey to the West (Season 7)
Hangul	신서유기
Genre	Variety show
Written by	Lee Woo-jung Choi Jae-young
Directed by	Na Young-seok Shin Hyo-jung
Starring	(Various Artist)
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language(s)	Korean
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	Season 1: 2 (TV) Season 2: 9 (TV) Season 3: 10 Season 4: 11 Season 5 & 6: 10 Season 7: 11 (list of episodes)
Production
Production location(s)	Season 1: Xian (China) Season 2: Chengdu & Lijiang (China) Season 3: Guilin & Xiamen (China) Season 4: Hanoi, Cat Ba, Hai Phong & Sa Pa (Vietnam) Season 5: Hong Kong (China) Season 6: Hokkaido (Japan) & South Korea Season 7: South Korea
Running time	5-10 minutes each video, 5 videos every release on Friday at 10 a.m. (KST) (Season 1) 80–90 minutes per episode (Season 2-7)
Release
Original network	tvNgo broadcast via Naver TVCast (Season 1~2) tvN (Season 2–7)
Original release	Season 1: 4 September – 2 October 2015 (2015-09-04 – 2015-10-02) (webcast) Season 1: 8–15 April 2016 (2016-04-08 – 2016-04-15) (TV) Season 2: 19 April – 14 June 2016 (2016-04-19 – 2016-06-14) (webcast) Season 2: 22 April – 17 June 2016 (2016-04-22 – 2016-06-17) (TV) Season 2.5: 5–6 January 2017 (2017-01-05 – 2017-01-06) (webcast) Season 3: 8 January – 12 March 2017 (2017-01-08 – 2017-03-12) Season 4: 13 June – 22 August 2017 (2017-06-13 – 2017-08-22) Season 5: 30 September – 28 October 2018 (2018-09-30 – 2018-10-28) Season 6: 28 October – 2 December 2018 (2018-10-28 – 2018-12-02) Season 7: 25 October 2019 – 3 January 2020 (2019-10-25 – 2020-01-03)
External links
Website

The show's first season reunites former 2 Days & 1 Night Season 1 members Lee Seung-gi, Kang Ho-dong, Eun Ji-won and Lee Soo-geun. The four members each take one of the characters from the classic 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West as they go on a 5-days and 4 night backpacking trip through Xian, China, to play various games in Season 1. Season 1 webcast version ended on 2 October 2015.

Prior to the start of Season 2, tvN rebroadcast the online version of Season 1 to the TV by compiling it to two episodes on 8 and 15 April 2016.

In Season 2, Kang Ho-dong, Eun Ji-won and Lee Soo-geun with Ahn Jae-hyun (replacing Lee Seung-gi) travel to China (Chengdu and Lijiang). Each member takes on one of the characters as in Season 1 and played various games. The season started on 22 April and ended on 17 June 2016. Simultaneously, the show was also broadcast online via Naver TVCast between 19 April and 14 June 2016.

Season 2.5 consists of two new members (Mino and Kyuhyun) for familiarizing with the current members from Season 2.

In Season 3, Kang Ho-dong, Eun Ji-won, Lee Soo-geun, Ahn Jae-hyun, Mino and Kyuhyun travel to China (Guilin and Xiamen). New characters (Master Roshi and Bulma) were also introduced. The season started on 8 January and ended on 12 March 2017.

In Season 4, current members from Season 3 travel to Vietnam (Hanoi, Cat Ba, Hai Phong and Sa Pa) with new characters (Goku, Piccolo and Krillin) being added and replacing the some characters (Sun Wukong, Master Roshi and Bulma) from Season 3. The season started on 13 June and ended on 22 August 2017.

In Season 5 and 6, Kang Ho-dong, Eun Ji-won, Lee Soo-geun, Ahn Jae-hyun, Mino and P.O (new member) travel to Hong Kong and Hokkaido. A totally new set of characters (Chucky, Kaonashi, Dracula, Chinese Zombie, Grim Reaper and Virgin Female Ghost) are introduced for Hong Kong and farming theme (watermelon, pear, farmer, peach, grape and sprouts) for Hokkaido. The season started on 30 September and ended on 2 December 2018.

In Season 7, Kang Ho-dong, Lee Soo-geun, Eun Ji-won, Song Mino, P.O, and a returning Cho Kyu-hyun travel around South Korea. The season started on 25 October 2019 and ended on 3 January 2020.

Airtime

Season	Airdate	Broadcast Time (KST)	Broadcast channel
1	4 September – 2 October 2015	Fridays 10 a.m.	Naver TVCast
	8–15 April 2016	Fridays 9:45 p.m.	tvN
2	19 April – 14 June 2016	Tuesdays 10 a.m.	Naver TVCast
	22 April – 17 June 2016	Fridays 9:45 p.m.	tvN
2.5	5–6 January 2017	Thursday, Friday 10 a.m.	Naver TVCast
3	8 January – 12 March 2017	Sundays 9:20 p.m.	tvN
4	13 June – 22 August 2017	Tuesdays 9:30 p.m.
5, 6 & 6.5	30 September – 2 December 2018	Sundays 10:40 p.m.
7	25 October 2019 – 3 January 2020	Fridays 9:10 p.m.

Cast and characters

Members	Characters
	Season 1	Season 2		Season 3		Season 4		Season 5	Season 6	Season 7
	Xian	Chengdu	Lijiang	Guilin	Xiamen	Hanoi, Hai Phong	Sa Pa	Hong Kong	Hokkaido	South Korea
Kang Ho-dong	Zhu Bajie		Sun Wukong	Zhu Bajie	Sun Wukong	Zhu Bajie	Sun Wukong	Kaonashi (No-Face)	Watermelon	Shin Myohan	Park Jin-young	Panda King	Choi Ik-hyun
Lee Soo-geun	Sun Wukong	Monk Xuan Zhang	Sha Wujing	Master Roshi	Sha Wujing	Piccolo	Krillin	Chucky	Pear	Knee-drop Guru	Lee Jung-hyun	Sugeuras	Na'vi
Eun Ji-won （Sechs Kies）	Sha Wujing	Sun Wukong	Monk Xuan Zhang	Bulma	Monk Xuan Zhang	Sun Wukong	Sha Wujing	Grim Reaper (Death Angel)	Farmer	Gandalf	Rain	Santa Claus	Elliott
Kyuhyun （Super Junior）	N/A			Sun Wukong	Zhu Bajie	Sha Wujing	Zhu Bajie	N/A		Genie	Kang Joon-sang[lower-alpha 1]	Statue of Liberty	Joker
Song Mino （Winner）	N/A			Sha Wujing	Bulma	Krillin	Piccolo	Virgin Female Ghost	Grape	Radish Guru	Red Devil	Cleopatra	Jack Sparrow
P.O （Block B）	N/A							Dracula	Sprouts	Cabbage Guru	Song Eun-chae[lower-alpha 2]	Pharaoh	Olaf
Ahn Jae-hyun	N/A	Sha Wujing	Zhu Bajie	Monk Xuan Zhang	Master Roshi	Monk Xuan Zhang		Chinese Zombie	Peach	N/A
Lee Seung-gi	Monk Xuan Zhang	N/A

Timeline

Story plot

Season 1

In Season 1, Lee Seung Gi plays Tang Sanzang (a Buddhist monk in the novel) who leads and worries constantly about the monsters hyungs (his co-cast members) who don't listen to him. Lee Soo Geun plays Sun Wukong a monkey character with the greatest sin, Eun Ji Won plays Sha Wujing (a celestial being) who is either immature or genius villain, and Kang Ho Dong plays Zhu Bajie (a pig character) with low brain power but great strength and appetite. Together, they take a journey to the west (Xi'an, China) while completing various mission to find seven dragon balls which can grant wishes for those who can collect them.

Na Young Suk PD expressed, “The four are too familiar with each other, and they know what each other is thinking just from looking at each other's eyes. Everyone had a great and fun time during the 5 days four nights trip. We are working hard on the post-production at the moment, so that the viewers can experience the fun that we all had.”[1]

Season 2 to 4

In Season 2 to 4, the show followed the similar concept as Season 1 as they travelled with new characters and new cast members to several parts of China and Vietnam to find the seven dragon balls.

In Season 4, continued with the same members from Season 3, the whole group takes a journey to Vietnam. With the new theme of "The apocalypse of Hell",[2] each member has his new character: Kang Ho-dong plays Zhu Bajie; Lee Soo-geun plays Piccolo; Eun Ji-won plays Sun Wukong; Ahn Jae-hyun plays monk Xuan Zhang; Kyuhyun plays Sha Wujing; and since Min-ho loses the Ping-pong competition and shaves his hair, he plays the character of Krilin. In Gangshi Game, members complete all the tasks in time, and finally Mino accurately pushes the gift buttons (luxury cars) after spinning 15 turns around . Instead of giving expensive cars, Na Young-suk PD promises to give them dragon balls and other rewards instead. Min-ho also receives a new nickname as Song Garak (Song finger).[3] In this Season, members successfully collect all seven dragon balls and receive their rewards from the production team. Na Young-suk PD promises to put "Kang 's Kitchen" and "Youth Over Flowers" into schedule.[4]

Season 5, 6 and 6.5

In Season 5 and 6, a total new sets of characters and theme (Ghost Special and Season of Harvest) were introduced as the cast members travelled to Hong Kong and Hokkaido.

In Season 5, Kyuhyun has to start his military enlistment, and P.O joins in as a guest member. This season, they take a journey to Hong Kong (China) with a new theme of "With Ghost".[5] Each member has his completely new character: Kang Ho-dong plays Kaonashi (No-Face); Lee Soo-geun plays Chucky; Eun Ji-won plays Grim Reaper (Death Angel); Ahn Jae-hyun plays Chinese Zombie; Song Min-ho plays Virgin Female Ghost; and P.O plays as Dracula.[6][7] In the final mission, members do not receive the dragon balls as Lee Soo-geun and Song Min-ho failed to change clothes in a given time. Na Young-suk PD suddenly announces that Season 5 is over and Season 6 starts now.

In Season 6, members travelled to Hokkaido (Japan) with a new theme of "Geobong Geobong Geobong (Kyoho grape)". Each member dresses up as a fruit: Kang Ho-dong plays watermelon; Lee Soo-geun plays pear; Eun Ji-won plays farmer; Ahn Jae-hyun plays peach; Song Min-ho plays grape; and P.O plays sprout.[8] In this Season, members pair up as teams to play games. In the game, Lee Soo-geun becomes the "Golden Hand" since he picks out 2 super rewards out of 3 in a hundred options.[9]

In Season 6.5, members return to Seoul (South Korea). They spend time together in a house and play different games to win the rewards. At the end of the show, the production team announces that "Kang's Kitchen 2" will return soon.

Season 7

In this season, the show will be filmed in South Korea with the theme "Homecoming" and Na PD got the concept from the Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Homecoming

The dragon balls have fallen into Mount Gyeryong of South Korea and each member will become a spiritual guru. The members played "Signal Quiz" as the character selection game. Kang Ho-dong plays Shin Myohan; Lee Soo-geun plays Knee-drop Guru; Eun Ji-won plays Gandalf; Cho Kyuhyun plays Genie of the Lamp; Song Min-no plays Radish Guru and P.O plays as Cabbage Guru.[10]

Retro Special

The members played "Go Back Jump" as the character selection game. Kang Ho-dong plays Park Jin-young; Lee Soo-geun plays Lee Jung-hyun; Eun Ji-won plays Rain; Cho Kyuhyun plays Bae Yong-joon; Song Min-no plays Red Devil and P.O plays as Im Soo-jung.[11]

Innocence Special

The Innocence Special was initially not able to be accomplished as the members won the Great Release of Dragon Balls games and ended the filming earlier. After Na PD revealed that the production team has previously agreed with the sponsor to have the members to appear on a costume parade in Yong-in for Halloween, the members agreed after Na PD provided a sumptuous breakfast for the members. Kang Ho-dong plays Papa Smurf; Lee Soo-geun plays Smurfette; Eun Ji-won plays Grouchy Smurf; Cho Kyuhyun plays Brainy Smurf; Song Min-no plays Hefty Smurf and P.O plays as Vanity Smurf.[12]

Global Special

The members played "Classical Music Quiz" as the character selection game. Kang Ho-dong plays Panda; Lee Soo-geun plays Sugeuras; Eun Ji-won plays Santa Claus; Cho Kyuhyun plays Statue of Liberty; Song Min-no plays Cleopatra and P.O plays as Pharaoh.[12]

Cinema Special

The members played "Guess the Movie" quiz as the character selection game. Kang Ho-dong plays Choi Ik-hyun; Lee Soo-geun plays Na'vi; Eun Ji-won plays Elliott; Cho Kyuhyun plays Joker; Song Min-no plays Jack Sparrow and P.O plays Olaf.[13]

Production

Season 1

This show reunite four former cast members of the golden age of KBS '2 Days & 1 Night' in Season 1. On 16 July 2015, tvN announced that Na Young Seok PD will show a new form of variety program in fall through internet contents called 'New Journey to The West'. The production crew stated, "We invested [in the show] as a new format that will broadcast on the internet instead of TV. Right now, we are considering recruiting Lee Soo Geun, and Eun Ji Won in addition to Kang Ho Dong and Lee Seung Gi. There will be no more additions after four members are confirmed."[14]

A CJ E&M official told Sports Chosun on 23 July 2015, ‘New Journey to the West’ is holding the first meeting of the members.[15] On 5 August, a source involved in broadcasting said that Lee Seung Gi, Kang Ho Dong, Lee Soo Geun, Eun Ji Won, and Na Young Suk leave for China on 6 August to begin filming. Which later revealed that they heading to Xian, a city in China, for 5 days filming.[16]

tvN announced on 18 August 2015 that "New Journey to the West" will be released exclusively through PC and mobile Naver TVCast in early September.[17] It marked this show as the first South Korean variety show created by a TV network, tvN, to be broadcast exclusively online.[18]

New Journey to the West production crew and members make their first official appearance through a press conference held at 63 Convention Center on the afternoon of 1 September 2015.[19] The press conference go live on Tuesday at 2 p.m. on Naver and V app at the same time.[20]

The show also streamed exclusively on Tencent's QQ.com in China, simultaneously with its run on South Korean portal website Naver. Seo Jang-Ho, the head of international sales and acquisitions at CJ E&M, said, "We are excited to introduce New Journey to the West to Chinese viewers through Tencent, one of the largest online platforms in the country. As the show is CJ E&M's highly anticipated digital content of the year, we hope for its successful reception in China.”[21]

In the show press conference, Director Na said that there was no step-by-step casting process. "It all just happened very naturally when Lee Seung-gi mentioned going on a trip with the old members over a casual dinner," Na explained. “We then talked about filming it, but because it would lack completeness as a TV show, we decided to use the Internet platform.”[22] Na stated that they wanted to make a program that is new in every ways, including genre and format. Providing busy businessmen and students with short break in the midst of their hectic daily routines. The concept about five new clips at once time release, with each clip to be about ten minutes long, make those who can't afford the time to watch all of the clips in order can just randomly pick whatever looks good for them.[23]

Episodes

Season 1

Season 1 Destinations Xian, China Roles Role Member Zhu Bajie Kang Hodong Monk Xuan Zhang Lee Seunggi Sun Wukong Lee Soogeun Sha Wujin Eun Jiwon Naver TVCast Release Date Episode Title 4 September 2015 1 The Beginning of a Legend 2 Find the Monkey King, the greatest sinner 3 New Journey to the West Game Instruction Manual 4 Good Things to Know Before the Race 5 Finally China! Monk Tang Sanzang Race - Part 1 11 September 2015 6 The winner is Lee Seung Gi anyway! Monk Tang Sanzang Race - Part 2 7 Ho Dong does it too, part 1! Kang Ho Dong's first ever errand 8 The Birth of Zhu Bajie 9 First Dragon Ball Mission! What happened at DeFaChang?! 10 Sleeping together after 5 years! Monsters’ First Night 18 September 2015 11 Xi'an City Wall tour 12 Exploring The Terracotta Army 13 Second Dragon Ball Mission 14 A Trembling night with the massager! 15 Who's responsible for the missing shoes?! 22 September 2015 11-1 (Special) Time limit is 30 minutes! Dragon Ball Individual Mission! 25 September 2015 16 Culprit finally revealed! And breakfast at opposite extremes! 17 Relay Individual Mission! HoDong's desperate struggle with ATM machine! 18 Extraordinary Mission! Look for KyungMo PD! 19 Guess it right to eat! Who is this person? 29 September 2015 Chuseok Special Home Cooking Monk Lee 2 October 2015 20 Night of Wishes! Crazy guy Eun Ji Won's wish is? 21 Final Mission! Fate Up to HoDong! 22 It's All Over But Let's Still Do One Quiz Final Epilogue Made to Not Waste What Was Filmed (End) tvN Release Date Episode 8 April 2016 1 15 April 2016 2

Season 2
Season 2 Destinations China (Chengdu and Lijiang) Roles Role 1st part Member 2nd part Member Zhu Bajie Kang Hodong Ahn Jaehyun Monk Xuan Zhang Lee Soogeun Ahn Jaehyun > Eun Jiwon Sun Wukong Eun Jiwon Kang Hodong Sha Wujing Ahn Jaehyun Lee Soogeun Release Date Episode 22 April 2016 1 29 April 2016 2 6 May 2016 3 13 May 2016 4 20 May 2016 5 27 May 2016 6 3 June 2016 7 10 June 2016 8 17 June 2016 9

Season 2.5
Season 2.5 Season 2.5 consisted of 7 episode internet exclusive clips familiarizing the 2 new cast members, Cho Kyuhyun and Song Minho to the show among other things. It aired on Naver TVCast between 5 and 6 January 2017.

Season 3

Season 3 Destinations China (Guilin and Xiamen) Roles Role 1st part Member 2nd part Member *new* Master Roshi Lee Soogeun Ahn Jaehyun *new* Bulma Eun Jiwon Song Minho Zhu Bajie Kang Hodong Cho Kyuhyun Monk Xuan Zhang Ahn Jaehyun Eun Jiwon Sun Wukong Cho Kyuhyun Kang Hodong Sha Wujin Song Minho Lee Soogeun Release Date Episode 8 January 2017 1 15 January 2017 2 22 January 2017 3 29 January 2017 4 5 February 2017 5 12 February 2017 6 19 February 2017 7 26 February 2017 8 5 March 2017 9 12 March 2017 10

Season 4

Season 4 Destinations Vietnam (Hanoi, Cat Ba, Hai Phong and Sa Pa) Theme Hell's Apocalypse Roles Role 1st part Member 2nd part member *new* Piccolo Lee Soogeun Lee Soogeun > Song Minho *new* Krillin Song Minho Song Minho > Lee Soogeun Zhu Bajie Kang Hodong Cho Kyuhyun Monk Xuan Zhang Ahn Jaehyun Ahn Jaehyun Sun Wukong→*new* Goku Eun Jiwon Kang Hodong Sha Wujin Cho Kyuhyun Eun Jiwon Release Date Episode Recap 13 June 2017 1 Arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam. Sun Wukong has evolve to become Goku 20 June 2017 2 Arrival at the Army Hotel and Dragon Ball Games 27 June 2017 3 Let's go to Cat Ba Island 4 July 2017 4 Cat Ba Island: Cone Game and Guess Who Quiz 11 July 2017 5 The city of water- Hai Phong and The first Worlds' Best Martial Arts Competition 18 July 2017 6 Part 1 Ending, Dragon Ball Game 25 July 2017 7 Part 2 Beginning, Murder mystery train to Sa Pa, Vietnam 1 August 2017 8 8 August 2017 9 15 August 2017 10 Part 2 Ending, Individual Dragon Ball Game 22 August 2017 11 Director's Cut

Season 5, 6 & 6.5

Season 5, 6 and 6.5 Destinations Hong Kong, Hokkaido and South Korea Theme Season 5 (Ghost Special or Horror Special) Season 6 (Season of Harvest) Season 6.5 (3 Wise Meals A day) Roles Character Member Notes Hong Kong (Season 5) Hokkaido (Season 6) *new* Kaonashi *new* Watermelon Kang Hodong Old Boys Team *new* Chucky *new* Pear Lee Soogeun *new* Grim Reaper *new* Farmer Eun Jiwon *new* Chinese Zombie *new* Peach Ahn Jaehyun Young Boys Team *new* Virgin Female Ghost *new* Grape Song Minho *new* Dracula *new* Sprouts P.O Release Date Episode Recap 30 September 2018 1 Character selection and Ghost Olympiad. Soogeun won HK$300 as he chose not to "reincarnate" after winning the Ghost Olympiad. 7 October 2018 2 Arrive at Hong Kong (Day 1). Hodong won the first dragon ball for the team. 14 October 2018 3 Hong Kong (Day 2). Jiwon & Minho win HK$1,000, Hodong & Soogeun win HK$500, Jaehyun & P.O win HK$100 from the music & front seat quiz. They went for a lunch spree with the money they won on the double-decker bus. 21 October 2018 4 Hong Kong (Day 3 & 4). Kang Hodong won the second dragon ball for the team with correctly guess 5 different brands of Korean ramen. 28 October 2018 5 Hong Kong (Day 4). Soogeun and Minho failed in the fast changing of clothing challenge. End of Season 5. Release Date Episode Recap 28 October 2018 5 S6 Ep 0 Start of Season 6. Season of Harvest. Selection of new roles for Hokkaido via "Strawberry game". Arrive at Hokkaido (Day 1). 4 November 2018 6 S6 Ep 1 Hokkaido (Day 1). Soogeun & Jiwon win 11,000円, Minho & P.O win 5,000円, Hodong & Jaehyun got nothing from the "Shout in Silence" game. They used the winning for their Day 2 breakfast. Hokkaido (Day 2). After breakfast, the cast had a movie quiz to get the best driver for the "Amazing Race" on a car. The final destination is at a sports park. 11 November 2018 7 S6 Ep 2 Hokkaido (Day 2). Minho & P.O came in 1st place with 10 chances, Soogeun & Jiwon came in 2nd place with 5 chances and Hodong & Jaehyun came in last with 1 chance in drawing the big prize at the end of the "Amazing Race". The cast played in the "3 on 3 Zombie" with Soogeun, Jaehyun & Minho winning the game. They had the pork belly meal while the rest of the cast are temporary stayed in the loft. The morning mission (Protect the Specialties of the Hokkaido) is to hide and preserve the items given by the production staff. Hokkaido (Day 3). P.O is the only cast that won the morning mission and got to eat a sumptuous breakfast. Hodong, Jiwon & P.O won the abbreviation quiz and got to eat a special ramen lunch. 18 November 2018 8 S6 Ep 3 Hokkaido (Day 3). The cast had a classical music quiz on the moving bus. Each cast member with the correct answer will alight the bus and return to the restaurant for a king pork rice bowl which will last for 30 minutes. South Korea (Day 1). Soogeun & Jiwon won several prizes in the Great lucky draw games. <Release of Dragon Ball> P.O & Hodong managed to win one dragon ball each but Minho did not manage to, thus ends the great release of dragon ball. Start of Season 6.5 3 Wise Meals A day special. Hodong selected P.O & Jiwon as team members while Soogeun pair up with Jaehyun & Minho. Hodong team arrived first at the final destination and get to eat a sumptuous lunch. 25 November 2018 9 S6 Ep 4 South Korea (Day 1). <Individual Mission> Each cast was given an individual mission to perform and only Hodong manage to succeed. Hodong won the chance to buy something from the live home shopping channel. <Individual Game> Each cast was to select any TV channel and the one with the most people on the screen wins. Jaehyun won the game and has to leave early in the following morning to go fishing on a boat. <Team Mission> Each cast is to buy something from the mall to make gimbap without any prior discussion. All the cast manage to buy some ingredients for the dinner. South Korea (Day 2). Jaehyun woke up early and left the apartment with Na PD to go fishing at Anmyeondo Island. Jaehyun did not manage to get any fishes but Na PD caught several webfoot octopus and cuttlefish. Jaehyun end up buying six blue crabs from the market. <Final Great Release of Dragon Ball> Jiwon, P.O & Minho each won a dragon ball. The season ended after Jaehyun failed "kicking the jegi back and forth" game. 2 December 2018 10 S6 Ep 5 Director's cut.

Season 7

Season 7 Destinations South Korea Theme Homecoming, Retro Special Roles Homecoming Role Member Shin Myohan Kang Hodong Knee-drop Guru Lee Soogeun Gandalf Eun Jiwon Genie of the Lamp Cho Kyuhyun Guru Radish Song Minho Guru Cabbage P.O Retro Special Role Member Team Park Jin-young Kang Hodong Team Old Boys Lee Jung-hyun Lee Soogeun Rain Eun Jiwon Bae Yong-joon Cho Kyuhyun Team Young Boys Red Devil Song Minho Im Soo-jung P.O Innocence Special Role Member Papa Smurf Kang Hodong Smurfette Lee Soogeun Grouchy Smurf Eun Jiwon Brainy Smurf Cho Kyuhyun Hefty Smurf Song Minho Vanity Smurf P.O Global Special Role Member Kang Panda from China Kang Hodong Santa Eun from Chimney Eun Jiwon Cleosongtra from Egypt Song Minho P.raoh from Egypt P.O Sugeuras from Mexico Lee Soogeun Statue Cho of Liberty from the States Cho Kyuhyun Cinema Special Role Member Choi Ik-hyun of Nameless Gangster Kang Hodong Na'vi of Avatar Lee Soogeun Elliott of E.T. Eun Jiwon Joker of Batman Cho Kyuhyun Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean Song Minho Olaf of Frozen P.O Release Date Episode Recap 25 October 2019 1 Homecoming Day 1 The members played 'Signal Quiz' to earn allowance. Signal Quiz is a game where the music is played, each member has to guess its program & channel. Minho won the quiz and got ₩100,000. The members played Signal Quiz again as the character selection game. After the make-up is completed (make-up artist is Minho), the members are split into groups of two. Ho-dong and Kyuhyun will travel by an open-top sports car as both are symbol of wealth. Min-ho and P.O will travel by a truck as they are the deities of agriculture. Soogeun and Jiwon will travel by Renault-Samsung car as both characters are of East meet West. Min-ho & P.O, Soogeun & Jiwon swapped the travel mode as Soogeun has the licence to drive the truck. The members arrived at Hougwarts (a school for wizards) to attend the International Guru Symposium. They played a cone hat game to decide the sleeping conditions in the room. During the dinner time game, the productions received 12 autumn specialty ingredients. The members will receive one ingredient if they answer correctly in "Guess Who Quiz". 1 November 2019 2 The members did not win any of the speciality ingredients and had ramyeon for dinner. The members played the morning mission. The items are the autumn specialties from different regions. They can hide the items in the hallway or in the room. In the end, all the members failed the morning mission. The members sleep in the cone hat game that decide the sleeping conditions in the room. Day 2 With the sound of the alarm, Na PD opens the "Nana Snack Bar" for the breakfast. After breakfast, they played the scream in silence game. 8 November 2019 3 Jiwon, Mino & Kyuhyun choose the van that takes them to a famous jjamppong restaurant for lunch. Hodong, Soogeun and P.O choose the bus that takes them to deliver lunchboxes for the production staff. As the members failed to win any of the speciality ingredients on Day 1, Na PD suggested to play a long jump with hat cone game. Kyuhyun, who win the game was entitle to 3 of the speciality ingredients. Na PD added a second and third place game of "catch you own shoe". Mino gets second place and Jiwon, third place. The members failed to complete the third game during the Great Release of Dragon Balls. Hence, this marked the end of the International Guru Symposium. Retro Special Two weeks later, the members meet up again for breakfast. The members played a game to determine the costumes for the Retro Special. The members are split up into group of 3. Hodong, Mino & P.O. (Team 1) Soogeun, Jiwon & Kyuhyun (Team 2) Both teams travel in older cars that are without GPS and their smartphone are also taken away from them. The members can use old mobile phone provided by the production staff. The production staff will provide hints on the final location that are placed in their cars. 15 November 2019 4 After all the hints are given, both teams managed to guess the final location as Daeseong-ri train station. Team Kyuhyun arrived at the final destination ahead of Team P.O. 2 teams are formed (Old boys vs Young Boys) for the dinner music challenge. The winning team of each round is entitled to some amount of dinner. For the morning mission, each member is given a special task to perform before breakfast. Only the first 3 to complete their mission are given breakfast. 22 November 2019 5 Mino, Kyuhun and Soogeun managed to complete their morning mission and was given a sumptuous breakfast. In the nonsense quiz, 2 members will pair up to complete the retro mission. Mino and P.O (Team 1) Hodong and Soogeun (Team 2) Kyuhyun and Jiwon (Team 3) Kyuhyun and Jiwon won the retro mission race after 3 rounds of missions, follow by Mino and P.O & Hodong and Soogeun. The members failed to complete the second game during the Great Release of Dragon Balls. 29 November 2019 6 Innocence Special Na PD started the episode with the third Great Release of Dragon Balls. If the members wins music quiz, they will end the filming earlier. Else, they will starts the Smurf Village episode. The members completed the music quiz and Innocent quiz and therefore won all the Dragon Balls. Na PD agreed to the members' requests on their gift. While the members were having their group selfie, Soogeun accidentally damaged Kyuhyun's cellphone. After a lengthy discussion, Na PD decided to buy a new phone for Kyuhyun. The production team has rented a resting place for the members and Na PD suggested that the members should use the rented place and decide on their schedule for the day. The members discuss with Na PD and the members allow the production team to finish filming in 2 hours in the rented place (Smurf Village). The members did not win any side dish and end up having rice, sesame oil and gochujang for the dinner. After the dinner, the members have a 10 Minute Innocence Debate that humans are basically good/evil. Mino, Jiwon & Soogeun will represent the evil nature side. P.O, Hodong & Kyuhyun will represent the good nature side. The team that manage to convince production staff wins the debate. Final result is humans are basically evil and Mino, Jiwon & Soogeun win the debate. The next game is Zombie game. One of the members is a zombie. Mino wins the game without becoming a zombie. 6 December 2019 7 Each member is given a task to complete within the remaining 2 hours of the filming time. Jiwon wins the game. After the 2-hours filming, the members have the team dinner and karaoke session. As the production team as agreed with the sponsor to have the members to appear on a costume parade in Yong-in, Na PD provided a sumptuous breakfast for the members. The costume parade requires the members to a choreographed dance and the members learnt the dance steps with the help from Mino & Kyuhyun. The members put on makeup and dress up as Smurfs for the costume parade. Global Special A few days later, the members meet up and have breakfast. The members played Classical Music Quiz to determine their costumes for the Global Special. 13 December 2019 8 The members board the city bus to the French restaurant. Hodong lose the general knowledge quiz and have to find his way to the French restaurant which is located next to the French Embassy. Hodong has to reach the restaurant within 30 minutes using public transport to earn a dragon ball. Hodong win a dragon ball for completing his mission. In the Guess Who quiz, the members gets to drink a cup of bubble tea of Taiwan each after 3 attempts. At the Texas theme in Ganghwa island, the members played foot volleyball. Old Boys Team (Hodong, Soogeun & Jiwon) lose to the Young Boys Team (Kyuhyun Mino P.O) and have to sleep in outdoor tent. Na PD give Hodong a secret mission to explain to the members on how to play the Three Words Game and 15 minutes later if the atmosphere is heated up, the members will received the 2nd dragon ball. The members did not win the dragon ball as the failed Hodong's secret mission. At the Los Angeles theme, the members played the Soundtrack Quiz, Old Boys Team vs Young Boys Team for dinner. At the Italy theme, the members played the 2 rounds of Mafia Game. 20 December 2019 9 Top 5 winners of the Mafia Game gets to eat a sumptuous breakfast for the next day. At the China theme, the members played the Cauldron Game for the tie-breaker. Jiwon loses the game. After the sumptuous breakfast, Soogeun change to his swimming attire and dips into the swimming pool at 4 °C. Na PD challenge P.O to do the same as Soogeun and will get a dragon ball if he does not make a sound within 30 seconds. P.O failed eventually after last than 10 seconds in the pool. Na PD challenge Hodong to get into the pool and will get 2 dragon balls if he does not make a sound within 20 seconds. Hodong succeed with the challenge. The members have collected 3 dragon balls in total. Mino challenge himself and succeed with get into the pool without make a sound for 20 seconds for personal honour. Initially, Na PD challenge Jiwon and Kyuhyun to get into the pool and will get a dragon ball if they do not make a sound within 20 seconds. Jiwon accidentally fell into the pool and Kyuhyun was perplexed on what to do next. Na PD finally challenge the members that Kyuhyun to get into the pool and will get 2 dragon balls if he does not make a sound within 20 seconds and the remaining members will dive in. The members win the 2 more dragon balls with a total of 5 dragon balls in total. While the members get ready, a villain has captured Myohan and the members have 77 minutes to complete 3 missions to rescue Myohan. If they succeed in rescuing Myohan, they win a dragon ball. First mission is "Cham Cham Cham Game". They succeed after 13th try. Second mission is "Cone Hat Soccer". The members have to score a goal within a minute. They managed to succeed after 2 tries. Final mission is "Group Skipping Rope". The members have to skip 20 times together to win the mission. They managed to succeed and three minutes left on the timer to safe Myohan. Hence getting the 6th dragon ball. The members go to the Chinatown in Incheon. The dinner mission is "4 Syllables Relay Talking". The "Guess Remains Quiz" is the final mission for the 7th dragon ball. They fail the mission and end the Global Special. 27 December 2019 10 Cinema Special The members started out from Seoul Station to Miryang Station via train. In the Guess the Movie quiz, members are paired up to compete for characters selection. Hodong & Jiwon Sooegeun & Kyuhyun Mino & P.O After putting on their character's costume and makeup, the members proceed to the base camp. The members played Preference Shuffle to decide the room. Kyuhyun sleeps alone Hodong, Mino & Jiwon share a room Sooegeun & P.O share a room The production will re-create the food eaten in the some movies as the food for Cinema Dinner. Members will play Relay Talk to win the food. After winning one of the food and a ramyeon set, the members played Find Your Partner game to have a Duet Singing Festival. Soogeun & Jiwon Hodong & Kyuhyun Mino & P.O Each team are given 30 minutes to practice and prepare for the duet singing. Soogeun & Jiwon win the duet singing competition. 3 January 2020 11 The members' wake-up mission is 2 vs 2 vs 2 (heading table-tennis match). The members are free to choose who they want to pair with, but they decided to pair with their duet singing partners. Hodong & Kyuhyun lose the wake-up mission. Director's cut. The members lose the final Great Release of Dragon Balls.

Reception

Season 1

In a survey done prior to the program's airing, 62.5% of the recipients knew about the new program, while 76.9% indicated that they would watch the program.[24] The first trailer of the show which was revealed on 25 August 2015 via Naver TVCast exceeded more than 1 million view in less than 24 hours and became a hot topic among netizen.[25]

The first five episodes, each spanning between five and ten minutes, were uploaded at 10 a.m. Five hours after it release, more than 50,000 people had subscribed to the channel on Naver's video streaming website TVCast, where the show is broadcast. The first episode has been viewed more than 700,000 times, with the five together recording a combined 2 million views. After 12 hours of its release, the five episodes almost hit 5 million views.[26]

It has received positive response from the public. The show's network tvN revealed that the first five episodes, released through Naver TV Cast recorded 6.1 million hits on the first day of its release. If the trailer and the video unveiled in production presentation are also included, the number adds up to 11.5 million views as of the morning of 5 September 2015.[27] In 3 days after its release, the first five episodes hit 8.7 million views and reach 14.4 million views altogether (including views for press conference and trailer clips).[28]

On 8 September 2015, 'New Journey the West' has accumulated 15 million views on Naver TV Cast since its release. In the day of the second five episodes release, 11 September, the show already attracted more than 20 million combined views online with its trailer and first episode. It made "New Journey to the West" as the first online broadcast to reach the break-even point with only advertising revenues in South Korea. Executive of CJ E&M stated, “We are likely to reap the profits earlier-than-expected thanks to a surge in viewers. Online broadcast is emerging as a new cash cow with TV ad revenues declining.”[29][30]

It also receive good response in China. On 5 September 2015, 'New Journey to the West' first on QQ video real time chart, and fourth in overall QQ videos site. On 7 September, the first 5 episodes of this show already got more than 10 million views on QQ Video in China. The Second 5 episodes (episode 6-10) which released in following week, got 10 million just 2 days after its release.

Ratings

• In the ratings below, the highest rating for the show will be in red and the lowest rating for the show will be in blue.
• Note that the show airs on a cable channel (pay TV), which plays part in its slower uptake and relatively small audience share when compared to programs broadcast (FTA) on public networks such as KBS, SBS, MBC or EBS.

Season 1

List of ratings

Episode #	Broadcast Date	AGB Ratings (Nationwide) [31][32]
1	8 April 2016	2.702%
2	15 April 2016	2.721%

Season 2

List of ratings

Episode #	Broadcast Date	AGB Ratings (Nationwide) [33][32]
1	22 April 2016	2.722%
2	29 April 2016	2.688%
3	6 May 2016	2.746%
4	13 May 2016	5.012%
5	20 May 2016	3.622%
6	27 May 2016	3.480%
7	3 June 2016	2.862%
8	10 June 2016	3.660%
9	17 June 2016	3.830%

Season 3

List of ratings

Episode #	Broadcast Date	AGB Ratings (Nationwide) [34][32][35]
1	8 January 2017	3.618%
2	15 January 2017	3.538%
3	22 January 2017	3.619%
4	29 January 2017	3.071%
5	5 February 2017	3.529%
6	12 February 2017	3.132%
7	19 February 2017	3.540%
8	26 February 2017	3.706%
9	5 March 2017	3.355%
10	12 March 2017	2.839%

Season 4

List of ratings

Episode #	Broadcast Date	AGB Ratings (Nationwide) [36][32][37]
1	13 June 2017	3.299%
2	20 June 2017	2.766%
3	27 June 2017	3.534%
4	4 July 2017	3.762%
5	11 July 2017	3.244%
6	18 July 2017	4.329%
7	25 July 2017	3.474%
8	1 August 2017	4.423%
9	8 August 2017	4.624%
10	15 August 2017	5.119%
11	22 August 2017	3.921%

Season 5 and 6

List of ratings

Season	Episode #	Broadcast Date	AGB Ratings (Nationwide) [32][38][39][40][41]
5	1	30 September 2018	5.727%
	2	7 October 2018	4.772%
	3	14 October 2018	5.295%
	4	21 October 2018	4.639%
	5	28 October 2018	4.762%
6
	6	4 November 2018	5.629%
	7	11 November 2018	6.295%
	8	18 November 2018	6.612%
	9	25 November 2018	6.822%
	10	2 December 2018	5.410%

Season 7

List of ratings

Episode #	Broadcast Date	AGB Ratings (Nationwide) [32][42][43]
1	25 October 2019	5.660%
2	1 November 2019	6.637%
3	8 November 2019	6.041%
4	15 November 2019	6.425%
5	22 November 2019	5.515%
6	29 November 2019	6.419%
7	6 December 2019	6.072%
8	13 December 2019	6.387%
9	20 December 2019	5.457%
10	27 December 2019	5.884%
11	3 January 2020	5.842%

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2016	tvN10 Awards	Best Content Award, Variety	New Journey to the West	Won
		Variety Icon	Kang Ho-dong Lee Soo-geun Eun Ji-won Ahn Jae-hyun	Nominated

Notes

1. Character played by Bae Yong-joon in Winter Sonata
2. Character played by Im Soo-jung in I'm Sorry, I Love You

References

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2. "의 품격? 역대 가장 '막장' 가 온다". ohmynews (in Korean). 14 June 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
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6. "'HOT HOT' Shin Seung Yuki season 5 popular rising". dtoday (in Korean). 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019.
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8. "Real adverture Journey to the West 6th story". gyotongn (in Korean). 5 November 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019.
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18. ""South Korean Variety Show 'New Journey to The West' Off to a Strong Start"". koogle.tv. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
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21. "'New Journey to the West' to be shown on Chinese portal". KoreaTimes (in Korean). Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
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24. "'New Journey To The West' variety program is already drawing much popularity prior to airing". KpopFighting. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
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31. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 1" (in Korean) – via naver.
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33. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 2" (in Korean) – via Daum.
34. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 3" (in Korean) – via naver.
35. "Season 3 Ratings" (in Korean) – via Daum.
36. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 4" (in Korean) – via naver.
37. "Season 4 Ratings" (in Korean) – via Daum.
38. "Season 5 Ratings" (in Korean) – via Daum.
39. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 5" (in Korean) – via naver.
40. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 6" (in Korean) – via naver.
41. "Season 6 Ratings" (in Korean) – via Daum.
42. "AGB Nielsen Ratings Season 7" (in Korean) – via naver.
43. "Season 7 Ratings" (in Korean) – via Daum.

External links

• Official website for Season 1 (in Korean)
• Official website for Season 2 (in Korean)
• Official website for Season 3 (in Korean)
• Official website for Season 4 (in Korean)
• Official website for Season 5 (in Korean)
• Official website for Season 6 (in Korean)
• Official website for Season 7 (in Korean)