Dad! Where are we going?

Yena Kim, Ruilin Yang, Yejin Seo

Do you like watching TV? Do you know the program named “Dad! Where are we going”? This is a popular TV show which now has a Chinese version. A Chinese film company paid for the rights to produce its own version. Both TV programs feature fathers and their children as they travel and go on camping missions. Let’s find out what the differences are between the Korean version and the Chinese version.

 


Introduction to the programs

KOREAN VERSION
The show debuted on MBC on January 6, 2013, as part of the Sunday night programming block. The original cast members were announcer Kim Sung-joo, actor Lee Jong-hyuk, former soccer player Song Chong-gug, actor Sung Dong-il, and Vibe singer Yoon Min-soo (and their respective offspring).

CHINESE VERSION
Based on the original South Korean reality show the first season debuted on 11 October 2013 featuring five fathers and their children as they travel to rural places. The show debuted on Hunan Television as part of the Friday night programming block.


Common features
In both versions the father and sons leave the place where they live and travel to the countryside. There, each father and son pair lives separately and one pair is chosen to live in a house in very poor condition. While living there they must accomplish a mission. For example, in one program the children had to get some food without money, and the fathers had to cook the food that their children brought back. The missions are hard for both fathers and children, but helpful to improve the community skill.


Different Things

SETTING

Korea
Since Korea is a small country, the film is shot in foreign countries, like New Zealand, Hong Kong, China and Japan. This makes the missions more difficult because they have to operate in foreign languages, use local language, and acclimatize to foreign cultures. Fathers and children really need to help each other in these situations.

China
In China, there are 6 different places per season for fathers and children to visit. Different to Korea, the travel places are all chosen in China. Every place will be very far from each other, so they have to transfer to other places by airplane. Every place is special, like ocean-island, desert, a snow land. So, the mission will also very different in every place, to change in accordance with local culture.

CASTING

Korea

In the Korean version of "Dad where are we going?" they have had one season per year starting in January. They reorganized the program one year after they originally started. They did not change the styles and rules of program. However they changed some of the fathers and children. Three of the original father members including Kim sung-joo, Sung Dong-il and Yoon Min soo continued on to participate in season 2. However, Kim Sung-joo and Sung Dong-il switched their accompanying child, so all the children are new except one. In addition, in the Korean version, the children's age is around eight. They get missions from their fathers, such as buying some food for dinner. The members’ nationality is only Korean.

China

The Chinese version of the program introduces a new season every three-months. All members of the cast change with each new season. The children's age is around 4. Compared with Korean version, the average age of children is younger. Even though they are younger than in the Korean version, they also get missions like that of their Korean counterparts. In addition, the members are not only from mainland China, but also from Taiwan and Hong Kong. Thus, the program can have appeal in many countries compare with that of Korea.

FOCUS

Korea
The Korean version usually tells about the restoration of relations between fathers and their children and the life of growing children. They visit some historic sites like Gyeongju, which have many historical sites to see and get some missions like memorizing ruins' names or making delicious dinners with given ingredients. Sometimes children have to find the way to the destination themselves with maps. As days go by, the fathers and their children become more friendly and the program viewers can feel their closeness. We also can see that children are growing up with the program through trying to accomplish their missions.

China
The Chinese version usually focusses on the way of teaching and on communication between fathers and their children. The Chinese version's fathers come from Hong Kong, Tai Wan and mainland China, so every father has big differences between their backgrounds and their ways of teaching. Fathers can learn a better way to communicate and take care of their children from other fathers. This is the program’s main objective.

Conclusion
We found the features of "Dad, where are we going?" and the differences between the Korean version and the Chinese version. Through this program, we can not only see program differences between Korea and China, but also differences between their cultures, way of teaching, and life-styles.