* * *
“Let’s go already...”
This was Gimhae Airport. Wang Haoyu, waiting for the limousine bus, looked like his soul had half left his body.
iling and her friends were once again replaying the music video—who even knew how many tis it had been now.
“Uuuugh—.”
Exactly at 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Wang Haoyu had morized the entire tiline of Shim Juhwan’s new music video. Because every ti that scene ca on, they all made that exact sound.
He spoke to his mother, who was covering her mouth beside him.
“Can you tell them it’s ti to go already?”
“Mmm...”
“If you’re adults, act like it. Both of you.”
Even iling’s mother and Wang Haoyu’s mother, who had co along as guardians, were busy replaying the music video.
The heat of hadn’t died down at all. If anything, it felt like it was only just beginning.
“Uuuugh...”
Of course, that sound wasn’t coming only from iling and the mothers.
“Alright, it’s ti for the bus! Shall we go?”
Everyone at Gimhae Airport was making the sa sound. Those with pear blossom keychains hanging from their phones all shared the sa purpose.
“ tour! It officially starts now!”
That’s right. A pilgrimage for fans.
Even after the drama ended, the craze hadn’t cooled.
If anything, people kept rewatching it over and over, squeezing out every last drop, and the K-TV audience was only growing more and more intense.
Everyone had morized every single line.
[JIN HAE]
“Hurry, hurry, get on!”
The destination sign on the bus glead brightly.
Wang Haoyu was holding two heavy Olive0 shopping bags in both hands—things he had bought like a madman the mont he got off the plane.
For the record, none of it was actually his. It was all costics bought by iling, her friends, and even the mothers.
To say you love soone,
ans you’ll buy the sa tint they use.
Everyone here had their lips stained with the Yeon Huijae tint that Dok Gogyeol had revealed on Intube.
“Co on, student, you should get on too!”
Since iling’s mother had already boarded the bus in excitent without even checking if he had gotten on, the guide ended up taking care of him instead. Wang Haoyu trudged up the bus steps.
“Uuuugh...”
The groaning continued. Because inside the bus, was playing.
“Oh my, starting from episode one!”
“Haha, I’ve got a good sense, right?”
Even the monitors inside the bus were replaying from episode one.
Wang Haoyu glanced at iling, who was watching a new Intube video.
INTUBE
[Sim Ju Hwan how MV Behind Story ⎢Han Yeoreum, Myeong Jeha] 7:25
Views 38,754
— “Since this is my first ti doing romance... I’m very nervous. But thanks to our romance senior giving a lot of advice, haha... Even if I’m a bit clumsy, please watch kindly.”
Korean that Wang Haoyu couldn’t understand filled the screen.
But iling, who had studied Korean like a madwoman on her own, seed to understand everything. Even from behind, her cheeks were lifted high with a huge smile.
‘The only thing I know is SENIOR.’
Then suddenly, Wang Haoyu realized sothing.
‘...Huh?’
At so point, he could understand it too.
‘I definitely wasn’t that interested before?’
He quickly raised his head and looked at the screen, unconsciously muttering,
“Liberation... happened...”
— “Liberation happened!”
“Mom... it really happened.”
— “Mom, it really happened. I thought we’d have to live like this forever.”
On the screen, Jinhae from was filled with Joseon people running with flags.
Wang Haoyu stared blankly, mumbling Korean phrases that popped randomly into his head.
“I... thank you. What’s your na. In the world, soone who doesn’t even know their own na. You’re pretty, very much. Enjoy your al. I am a Joseon person. Do you only know polite speech? Polite speech? I find honorifics difficult. Are you crazy. Have a safe trip. But then... much, much later? I miss you. I want to go. I am quite brave. It’s hard to walk, right. I am big? Not heavy at all. Let’s co again soday...”
Through endless repetition of , Wang Haoyu realized that he himself had reached the point of being able to listen to and speak Korean.
Shocked, he glanced out the window—and saw a massive billboard.
[Welco to Jinhae, a beautiful city where culture and nature coexist]
At last, he had arrived at that place.
* * *
Korea in February was still a land that had to battle harsh cold.
“Ah... it’s so warm...”
But people’s hearts were in spring.
“Hehe... that’s right...”
“Ah... so warm...”
To be precise, the rchants of Jinhae Market and local business owners didn’t even feel the cold anymore.
The mayor of Jinhae gazed out the window with deep emotion.
If you had to pick the most prosperous ti in Jinhae, it would undoubtedly be spring—the season of cherry blossoms during the Gunhang Festival, when 2.7 million visitors ca.
The festival alone created an economic impact of 76.6 billion won.
But now, Jinhae had beco a filming location for .
Typically, filming locations of hit dramas or movies bring about a 10% economic boost.
Most places consider 5–15% growth in the first year to be a good result.
But...
“Who would’ve thought it’d be this much...”
Tourist locations near Seoul always had an advantage. Transportation was essential for travel.
But this was Jinhae.
It took five hours by car from Seoul. Even by train, you had to get off at Masan and then take another car.
Even flying ant landing at Gimhae Airport and then driving another hour.
It was not convenient.
That’s why Jinhae had always longed for foreign tourists.
NEVER BLOG
[10 travel spots from ]
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But now, Jinhae had beco a pilgrimage site for foreign tourists—no less than Busan, which it used to envy.
All thanks to .
People from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore ca all the way just to take a 인증 shot at the “Yeon Huijae wall.”
The benefits of even extended to Jeju Island.
The hotel where Gi Taeseok’s success and reunion were depicted beca a famous spot, but Jinhae—where their entire story unfolded—couldn’t be beaten.
Even on weekdays, there were foreign tour groups. On weekends, it felt like double.
In just one year, overseas visitors had increased by 150,000.
“NetHolics needs to hurry up and co in too.”
“If that happens, won’t Jinhae beat Myeongdong?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Even though it had only been exported within Asia, the effect was enormous. Instead of dismantling the set, Jinhae City purchased it.
As a result, photo zones and new shops popped up everywhere.
Jinhae had once been famous for cherry blossoms, but now pear blossoms were starting to take over.
“I still have nightmares about the ending of episode one sotis...”
Even when the “Joseon scum” ending had caused a massive controversy, no one had expected the montum to last this long.
The mayor sincerely hoped that Han Yeoreum would expand overseas as soon as possible.
* * *
Manager Ma leaned back with a crooked neck pillow, watching the news.
— “The Korean drama , which has successfully expanded into the Asian market, is ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ now driving a surge of tourism in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province. As foreign tourists flock to the filming locations, the entire region is buzzing. We now connect to reporter Minji on site.”
It was news about .
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