Introduction → Meet the Teams → Race Tracker → Leg 1A → Leg 1B → Leg 2 → Leg 3 → Leg 4 → Leg 5 → Leg 6 → Leg 7 → Leg 8 → Leg 9 → Leg 10 → Leg 11 → Leg 12 → Leg 13
Leg 20.12 – “She’s going to slam my head backwards!”
This is it! The Penultimate Leg begins as teams must now fly to Seoul, South Korea! All teams will be on the same Aeromexico flight via Mexico City arriving in Seoul Incheon at 6am.
Teams must decide between the train, bus or taxi to make their way to Beat360 in Seoul.
At this immersive Kia brand experience, teams will find their next clue.
That clue tells teams to choose any of Kia’s vehicles on display which they must drive to the Sokcho Expo Tower in Sokcho.
Here, teams will head up to the observation platform and search below for their next clue. That clue is on the lake below and can only be seen from above: a logo for Lotte Resort Sokcho (by Donghwa Hotels).
Teams must drive themselves to Lotte Resort and search for their next clue.
Teams will now park their Kias here and make their way on foot to Daepo Port.
First, teams will head down to the water to untangle nets and then exchange those nets for a pair of crates of freshly caught fish.
They must then deliver the fish to a marked stall inside to receive the next clue.
Teams must now make their way on foot to Daepo Harbor Lighthouse for their next clue. That clue tells teams to make their way on foot back to their Kias at Lotte Resort Sokcho by Donghwa Hotels.
Teams will then drive themselves to Abai Village, a small village of North Korean refugees who escaped to the south during the Korean War.
Here, teams must ride a gaetbae boat by pulling along a cable, on their own, to get them to the other side and receive the next clue.
Teams must now learn how to and successfully make four abai sundaes, a squid stuffed with a mixture of clear noodles, tofu, vegetables and squid.
When approved and after they’ve enjoyed one abai sundae each, they will receive the next clue.
Teams must now drive themselves to the Gangneung Dano Cultural Center in Gangneung where they will find the Detour: Swinging or Grappling.
In Swinging, teams must assemble a traditional Korean swing to participate in geune ttwigi, a popular outdoor folkgame during Dano. Once they’ve successfully constructed a swing and are able to safely swing on it together, they will receive the next clue.
In Grappling, teams will face off against a local in ssireum, traditional Korean wrestling. When both team members can each win a match, they will receive the next clue.
That clue will merely be a 50,000 won note. Teams should see that the note features the image of Shin Saimdang, a Korean artist, writer, calligraphist and poet and also mother of the most prominent Korean Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty Yi I.
Teams will need to figure out that the next clue awaits them at Ojukheon, the birthplace of Shin Saimdang and Yi I. And here, teams will find the Road Block: Who can arrange a spot in the Final Leg?
For this Road Block, teams will take part in Korean Confucian tradition through Korean flower arrangement. When teams can properly put together a floral art piece, they will be pointed to a scroll with their next clue.
Teams must now reproduce the clue written in calligraphy on their own scroll and then figure out how to translate it.
They will soon find out the clue directs them to Simgok Harbor in Gangneung, the final Pit Stop of the Race.
The first team to check-in here will win P200,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.
The first three teams will Race in the Final Leg. And the last team to check-in WILL be eliminated!
“Director’s” Commentary
I wasn’t planning on having a South Korea Leg so soon, but like the Cuba Leg, this one was inspired by the Korean drama Encounter. TARPHDME has never visited Gangwon-do and I was able to put together a pretty good, full Leg.
I had hoped to essentially center the Leg around the fictional Donghwa hotel from the drama series (which in reality is the Lotte Resort), but I realized there was much more things to do elsewhere.
First up, we of course had to do something for our loyal sponsors Kia in their home country. Originally I had teams heading to Kia headquarters. But I found the new Beat360 space in Seoul and thought that would be a perfect location to feature. It would definitely make our wonderful friends at Kia happy!
The next series of Route Markers are just points for teams to get to, including the Lotte Resort. I imagine there could be some interesting tasks at Lotte Resort too for some extra sponsor moneys. (Not fixing hotel room beds though.) But the main point here is for teams to leave their cars and run around for a few hours including at Daepo Port.
Next up, featuring the Abai Village should be wonderful. We could probably find a Detour here too. Pairing the abai-sundae task with something else. But both the boat and the abai-sundaes should make for good extra tasks.
The Detour gives us some great cultural tasks. I’ve always wanted to squeeze in the geune ttwigi somehow into a Korean Leg. And it was perfect here. I also realized I never had teams to ssireum yet! We will of course ensure the teams’ safety here. I know the last time TARAu and TAR China did wrestling of some sort, teams got hurt. But we’ll be sure to keep things safe here.
In looking for a task to do at Ojukheon, I decided on flower arrangement which I saw is a part of Korean Confucian tradition as well. Doing calligraphy could also be a possibility. Or memorizing a poem in Korean. It’s a possible Detour location as well.
Finally, the Pit Stop is from a stunning scene in Encounter. It should be a great location with our 8K UHD drone shots in the late afternoon!