There is a variety program that has taken China by storm.

Hunan Television, a Chinese satellite TV outlet, has started broadcasting a Mandarin version of the popular Korean variety show “Where Are We Going, Dad?” that aired regularly as part of MBC’s “Sunday Night” program. Many eyes are now on show formats from Korea as this one spreads across the Chinese entertainment industry.


“Where Are We Going, Dad?” first aired on MBC in January last year, and has been a smash hit across all of Korea. It follows a group of five fathers, all actors, entertainers or athletes, as they go on a trip with their sons and daughters.

The five father-child pairs stay for a night in the countryside, where something funny always happens to one of them. At the same time, they build a strong sense of family affection amongst the group. The producers often set them unexpected challenges, such as using a squat toilet or having to wash their face with ice cold water.

During their time on the show, the children were required to do something new and challenging, something they’ve never experienced before, such as venturing out to find cooking ingredients in an unfamiliar area, all while their fathers take care of them without help from their spouses, handling all the cooking and changing of clothes.

The concept has successfully gotten across to Chinese audiences as well. A Chinese adaptation of the show was aired from October to December last year. It averaged 4.3 percent in viewer ratings, and once even hit a high of 5.67 percent.

Considering that the nation has only five shows, at most, per year whose ratings record more than 1 percent, the Chinese production has made quite remarkable progress.


The Mandarin-language version retained the same format as in the Korean original. Likewise, it featured five Chinese celebrities taking their children somewhere in the countryside.

The five Chinese father-child pairs are: former Olympic champion diver-turned-actor Tian Liang and his five-year-old daughter Tian Yucheng; actor Guo Tao and his six-year-old son Guo Zirui; director Wang Yue Lun and his four-year-old daughter Wang Shiling; model Zhang Liang and his six-year-old son Zhang Yuexuan; and, finally, Taiwanese singer and actor Jimmy Lin Chih-ying and his four-year-old son Kimi.

“While working on the Chinese version of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ I was thinking a lot about the role of fathers in the raising of children,” said the producer of the show. “I’ve learned a lot and have done a lot of self-reflection throughout the production. These days, more and more fathers are losing ground in their families. In that sense, this show implies many things.”

The show’s popularity was so big that it even spawned many spin-offs, from mobile games and cartoons to a movie.

The movie, in particular, featured the five fathers and their children as it followed them exploring wild life at the zoo. The big screen version premiered on January 31 and was a huge success.

According to a Chinese news outlet, because China is a big country, boasting an immense amount of land, it offers a broader range of exotic location for the fathers and their children to visit, much more so than those available in the Korean version. China’s vast stretches of white snow and deserts, the media outlet said, offers viewers a sort of “upgraded” version, allowing the celebrity families to see many outstanding parts of the nation.


Propelled by the show’s unprecedented wave of popularity, Hunan TV is now in the process of producing its follow-up second season, which is slated to air in June.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
jiae5853@korea.kr