Lee Seung-gi and Jasper Liu are traveling Twogether for the fans
Imagine yourself being thrown into a trip with a stranger and there’s a language barrier, and without any idea that your “surprise” itinerary includes the very things you avoid when you have all the luxury of planning your travel.
Sounds exciting? That’s what South Korean star Lee Seung-gi and Taiwanese star Jasper Liu got themselves into when they said yes to go on Twogether, a travel series, game show and fan meet rolled into one on Netflix.
Seung-gi is known in South Korea and elsewhere in Asia as a “triple threat entertainer” because he’s a singer, actor (Gu Family Book, A Korean Odyssey and Vagabond) and host (Two Days and One Night, Sisters Over Flowers, Busted! and Master in the House).
Jasper, on the other hand, became popular across Asia for his movies Take Me to the Moon and More than Blue, and dramas Before We Get Married, Triad Princess, Amour et Pâtisserie and Pleasantly Surprised. He also has a rock band in Taiwan called Morning Call.
While aware of each other’s careers, the two were hardly close in the beginning of the show. But whether it was because of their similar showbiz backgrounds or complementary personalities, they clicked right away that Twogether turned out to be — in the words of Seung-gi — a trip filled with “bromance”.
During their recent virtual interview with journalists from Asia, including The STAR, the two candidly spoke of initial concerns and how they overcame them. Seung-gi said, “I did have some concerns in the beginning because we come from different backgrounds. Due to the language barrier, I was kind of concerned about whether we would be able to create conversations that were fit for shooting a variety show.”
He added, “However, Jasper took away all of those concerns. Maybe it’s because we look so much alike when we smile (jokes), but meeting Jasper, I decided that this (was) something that I definitely wanted to do.”
Jasper, for his part, admitted that the offer of doing the TV project took him by surprise at first. “I was kind of worried about the way that I was unable to speak any Korean and we could only talk in English. I thought it was going to be quite difficult.
“However, I’ve long been a fan of Seung-gi. I’ve seen a lot of his works and I knew him to be a very smart guy so from then on, in our meetings, I thought, ‘Okay, let’s not worry about anything.’ I also thought that our language barrier could actually lead to some really fun and entertaining moments together.”
Worth noting, too, that the guys behind Twogether are considered the masters of “unscripted entertainment”. Company Sang Sang is behind the widely-popular Korean variety shows X-Man, Family Outing, Running Man and Netflix’s Busted. So, the travelogue Twogether isn’t just any travelogue. It had them visiting fan-recommended destinations across six cities in Asia but with Indiana Jones-esque “missions” to accomplish before the close encounter with their ultimate fans.
There’s no Philippine city though. It would have been nice to see a Pinoy fan scoring the chance to afford these celebrities a taste of our signature hospitality. Nevertheless, Twogether proved to be a huge fan service for showing that these stars, despite their countless fan meets, were still willing to go the extra mile for their fans.
Twogether kicked off with the two at the airport of their respective countries, looking genuinely clueless at what was in store for them on this journey. When they saw their boarding passes that said that they were going to Yogyakarta in Indonesia, aside from hearing of the city for the first time, they couldn’t believe they have actual fans there.
Their first challenge saw them going into Jomblang Cave to find a lamp that offered clues to where a fan lives. They had to rappel down a mountain, with Jasper confronting his fear of heights. When they entered the cave, they were welcomed with the “light of heaven” so breathtaking that the experience prompted a convo about their personal lives.
“I want to come one more (time) here with my friend or if I have a girlfriend,” Seung-gi said.
“Hide some gift there... A ring!” Jasper suggested.
“Yeah, enjoy the light... And (look) there’s a ring!” Seung-gi continued. “I’ll put the ring on her finger as we look at the light. That would be incredible. Want to marry me (to imaginary girlfriend)?” jokingly adding, “She’ll say yes, but we’ll be covered with mud.”
He then asked, “Jasper, do you want to marry?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. So many things I want to do. I have no time,” Jasper answered and then threw back the question at Seung-gi, who replied that he wanted to wed before he turned 40. Both actors are 33 years old.
Jasper reflected, “Life needs some person to be together. It’s about taking care of each other and helping each other. We need to find that person.”
For Jasper and Seung-gi though, they found the perfect person to be with as they took on adventure after adventure on this trip — from paragliding over Bali’s Sawangan Beach, to taking souvenir photographs of Annapurna, the 10th highest peak in the Himalayas and the world, in Dhampus and Pokhara, Nepal.
And amid these trying times of pandemic and travel restrictions, Twogether treats viewers to laugh-out-loud moments, a feel of unknown, amazing places and truly touching idol/fan encounters.
The stars themselves described their experience as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.
Jasper said, “I think through this journey we realized how big Asia and the entire world is. And still, despite the huge amount of space, it was amazing to find that there are still fans of ours in these places. We were able to talk and learn why they were fans of us, fans of me. It was a very new experience! We also got to experience a lot of new cultural and fun things suggested to us by our fans and I think we were able to understand our fans even better.”
Seung-gi, for his part, said, “It was really great to be able to see them in person to feel how much love they gave to me and Jasper... and you know, to know their ages, where they came from, where they lived, what they did for a living, what they like.
“And so I felt like we were really able to get closer to our fans through this opportunity. And it was very special because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where they’re not visiting us but we actually go to our fans and visit their homes. I think that makes the entire memory all the more great.”
(The eight-episode Twogether is now streaming on Netflix.)
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