'Kwaktube' to take viewers to world's hidden gems with new TV show

Traveling should always be stimulating, according to travel YouTuber Kwak Joon-bin, better known by his YouTube channel, "Kwaktube. "I personally don't like just visiting landmarks and going to tourist-filled places, especially as I've already ...

Travel YouTuber Kwak Joon-bin, left, and EBS producer Song Jun-seob pose for a photo during the press conference for the new travel-reality show "Kwak Joon-bin's Diner Tour Around The World" (translated), in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Monday. [EBS]

Traveling should always be stimulating, according to travel YouTuber Kwak Joon-bin, better known by his YouTube channel, "Kwaktube."

"I personally don't like just visiting landmarks and going to tourist-filled places, especially as I've already traveled to over 30 countries now," Kwak told the press in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Monday. "I am always looking to find something new, and I think I was able to visit some very unusual, authentic and local places that viewers of the upcoming EBS television show will be able to enjoy."

"Kwak Joon-bin's Diner Tour Around The World" (translated) premiers Sunday, featuring Kwak traveling to authentic locations in foreign countries, solely through recommendations of local taxi drivers.

"It felt just like filming for my YouTube channel, except there were better cameras, and I had to watch my language a little more," Kwak said.

Kwak's YouTube channel, "Kwaktube's 'Eat The World'," has 1.6 million subscribers and 300 video clips as of Monday.

Travel YouTuber Kwak Joon-bin talks to the press during the press conference. [EBS]

The producer of the show Song Jun-seob said he wanted to make a show with Kwak because of his warm affability with locals, which was showcased in Kwak's YouTube videos.

"He is funny but doesn't cross the line to be funny," he said. "I especially found his interactions with taxi drivers very amusing and wanted to bring that to the show."

Kwak not only receives recommendations from taxi drivers but also eats with them and visits places rarely visited by tourists, like a fortune teller's office or a nursing home.

"I think viewers [of the upcoming show] will find our show very different from other travel reality shows because we really try to experience the genuine culture of the countries through the actual locals," Song said.

Scenes from EBS's upcoming travel-reality show "Kwak Joon-bin's Diner Tour Around The World" (translated) [EBS]

Kwak is relatively fluent in English and Russian after majoring in Russian language and trade at Busan University of Foreign Studies. He also briefly worked at the Embassy of Azerbaijan before becoming a YouTuber in 2020.

The destinations that he is set to visit on the show are places that Kwak hasn't yet uploaded on his YouTube channel.

The first country that Kwak will visit is Hong Kong.

Episodes air every Sunday at 10 p.m. on EBS.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]