Family Outing

Family Outing is a comedic game/variety show featuring a cast of Korean celebrities. The cast visit various Korean rural homes, carrying out household/farming tasks, and compete in physical and mental challenges, eliciting laughter and endearment along the way.

At the heart of the show is the wonderfully complementary team ("family") of comedians, musicians, and actors. Their warm interactions easy established relationships familiar to the audience, including old and young, teacher and student, bright and not-so-bright, assertive and submissive, romantic partners, and siblings. Whether it be in the midst of the most physical battles (e.g. monkey bars or wrestling in the mud) or lightest of moments (e.g. dinner preparations), these relationships provided moments of tenderness and laughter that kept me watching week after week, episode after episode.

Certainly, Family Outing shares a commonality with other Korean pop culture -- the void of violence, sex, profanity, and the wholesome cultural values of filial piety and importance of family. But Family Outing extended beyond these elements with its bonding and interactions.