Introduction → Leg 1 → Leg 2 → Leg 3 → Leg 4 → Leg 5 → Leg 6 → Leg 7 → Leg 8 → Leg 9 → Leg 10 → Leg 11 → Leg 12
Leg 9: “Do you think I slammed my face into the ice on purpose?!”
Teams begin the 9th Leg by opening the first clue telling them to fly to Seoul, South Korea!
Teams will fly back on a charter plane to Sydney where they will then need to secure their own tickets to Seoul. But really, they will all be on the same flight via Hong Kong arriving at 5:35am.
Teams will be flying into Incheon International Airport. From here, they will need to take a train into Seoul and then navigate the city’s intricate subway system to figure out how get to Olympic Park.
Teams MUST use the subway unless otherwise noted.
At Olympic Park, teams must look for the Philippine flag. Below it will be their next clue.
That clue directs teams to take a subway train to N Seoul Tower in Namsan Park.
In the plaza next to N Seoul Tower, teams will watch a Korean warrior performance. The warriors will then hand them a pair of uniforms and their next clue which reveals the Road Block: Who won’t get out of line?
For this Road Block, teams will take the subway to Deoksugung Palace. There, both team members will dress up, but only one will learn and then participate in the Changing of the Guard ceremony. If they make a mistake during the ceremony, they must repeat. Once they get through the ceremony with no mistakes, they will receive their next clue.
That clue reveals the Detour: Fast Ice or Good Eyes. To get to either Detour location, teams are now allowed to take a taxi.
In Fast Ice, teams must make their way to Mok-dong Ice Rink where they will put on short track speed skating suits and complete a two-person skating relay of 24 laps of the rink before receiving their next clue, a parchment with three Korean characters: 숭례문
In Good Eyes, teams must make their way to the busy Myeongdong shopping area. After picking up a brand new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, teams must search for three people wearing red and/or yellow jackets who will each give them a Korean syllable using the phones. They must then put the characters in order to reveal: 숭례문
Teams must figure out “숭례문” is referring to Sungnyemun Gate, or more popularly known as Namdaemun.
It is at Namdaemun that teams will find the final Double U-Turn of the Race.
After checking in at the U-Turn board, teams can now take a taxi to Seoul Times Square in Yongdeungpo for their next clue.
Teams will now get a chance to become K-pop stars. After dressing up in flashy K-pop outfits, teams must learn the choreography to a K-pop dance routine. Once they feel they are ready, they must step onto center stage in the mall and perform the routine to hundreds of screaming fans and record executives. If the fans love them and the record executives want to sign them, teams will receive the next clue.
That clue tells teams to hop back on the subway to get them to the Pit Stop, Cheonggye Plaza.
Teams will need to search the area and find that the Mat is actually below street level alongside Cheonggyecheon Stream.
The first team to check-in here will win P100,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+ and a pair of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edges.
The last team to check-in here WILL be eliminated.
“Director’s” Commentary
Now THIS should be a fun Leg. Like San Francisco, Seoul is actually a place I’m sort of familiar with. Not just because I’m been completely caught up in the Korean Wave, but most of the tasks in this Leg are from my own trip to Seoul three years ago. (lol)
Now the subway in Seoul is amazing for being able to get you anywhere in the city. But damn is it confusing! Especially for those who are used to simpler subway systems (or not familiar with subways at all! Which is likely all of the TARPH teams who are not sosyal hehe).
Taxis will only be allowed between Route Markers where teams are going to different locations since that will definitely give some teams advantages and others fall behind depending on the distance.
Since teams will be arriving at sunrise, a full day-long Leg should be amazing. Especially if teams arrive at Cheonggyecheon Stream after dark. The Stream and the waterfall will look amazing in HD in the evening.
Route Markers at Olympic Park and N Seoul Tower are basically just to force teams to navigate the subway.
The Road Block gets teams into a Korean palace and the changing of the guard is a big attraction for Deoksugung Palace specifically.
Koreans rule the speed skating oval, so the Fast Ice Detour is a must. And of course, Korea is the home of Samsung. (Who also sponsors TARPHDME! Hehe) So using Samsung phones for the Good Eyes task is also good. Myeongdong can get very crowded, so it’s an opportunity for teams to walk around the hustle and bustle of Seoul.
Namdaemun would be a great Pit Stop location. But here, it’s the U-Turn location since it’s equally distant from either Detour choice.
You can’t have a Korean leg without a K-pop task. Seoul Times Square is a good, public place for a K-pop dance performance. Gotta figure out how to get hundreds of fans to Times Square though. Maybe TARPH can somehow convince a big pop star to appear as judges or hosts or even as the teachers of the routine.
And finally, getting teams to wander around the street level Cheonggye Plaza when the Pit Stop is kinda-hidden below next to Cheonggyecheon Stream should be a nice tricky, sneaky final task for this Leg. Could be lots of drama and tension there at the end. That kind of sneaky Pit Stop clue should also really be done when there are maybe 8 or more teams so you can have lots of teams running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Hehe.
12 thoughts on “The Amazing Race Philippines: DryedMangoez Edition 4 – Leg 9 – South Korea”