‘The Family That Crossed the Line’ MC Ahn Jung-hwan, while immersed in the travel story of the ‘Canadian Family’, recalled memories of his thrilling trip to Canada with his son, making everyone laugh.

On the 57th episode of Channel A‘s ‘The Family That Crossed the Line’ on the 7th, the 4 MCs Ahn Jung-hwan, Lee Hye-won, Yoo Se-yoon, and Song Jin-woo were joined by Guillaume, a ‘25-year veteran’, Lara, a ‘9-year veteran’, and Julia, a ‘9-year veteran’. They sat in the studio to watch the local news from the ‘The Family That Crossed the Line’ to Canada, Spain, and Finland, adding various information and humor.

Son Yeon-joo, who joined the ‘Canadian Family’ that day and greeted them happily, said, “I went to Canada to study abroad in 2016 and met Kyle and we became lovers. After that, we got married in Canada in 2020 and in Korea in 2022.” Ahn Jung-hwan joked, “There are many people who go on language training and then get married. It’s not language training, it’s marriage training~,” making everyone laugh. In a friendly atmosphere, Son Yeon-ju and Kyle said, “We love camping so much that we even went camping when we were full-term pregnant. We’ll introduce you to the best camping spots in Canada,” and packed their bags and left for Banff National Park. However, they explained that ‘bear spray’ is an essential camping item, to which Son Yeon-ju emphasized, “In Canada, there are cases where you encounter bears in wilderness areas or national parks, so you need to know how to use (bear spray) well.” Ahn Jung-hwan then said, “I went on a trip to Canada with my son before, and we also saw a black wolf there. We were driving, and a black wolf came down from the other side and stood there, so we were surprised.” Lee Hye-won sympathized, saying, ”(A long time has passed) my son still talks about that story. Father and son became much closer after that trip.“

When they finally arrived at Banff National Park, Son Yeon-ju explained, ”It’s 14 times the size of Jirisan National Park, so it‘s a must-see place,“ and shortly thereafter, they rode the gondola up to the Sulphur Mountain lookout in Banff Town. They also continued hiking in Banff National Park despite the rain. At this time, Ahn Jung-hwan pretended to know, saying, ”Wait a minute! If you go this far, you’ll come across a waterfall,“ and bragged, ”I went in the winter and almost froze to death. I have a picture I took with my son.“ After that, Son Yeon-ju X Kyle family toured Lake Louise, known as the most beautiful lake in the world, and settled in at Johnston Canyon Campground, one of the ‘Banff Big 3 Campgrounds’, and ended the happy day enjoying bean sprout bulgogi and ‘bulmong’.

Next, the ‘Spanish Family’ Yoon Ina-Daniel couple joined and made their first greetings. Yoon Ina said, “We are a couple of 7 years who are planning to get married. I quit my job as a flight attendant in 2017 to learn Spanish and then we became lovers (with Daniel).” She continued, “Daniel‘s younger sibling runs a restaurant and said he wanted to introduce Korean food, so we are going to develop a Korean menu. We will present tapas-style Korean food that you can eat in one bite.” Immediately after, Daniel made bulgogi ssam and shrimp and zucchini pancakes, and Yoon Ina made whole cucumber kimbap. After that, they headed to their brother’s restaurant. While walking, the two came across the scene of the ‘Merce Human Tower Building’, the biggest festival in Barcelona, and upon seeing this, Lee Hye-won suddenly grumbled, “Mr. Ahn Jung-hwan can‘t even eat me...”, making everyone burst into laughter. Yoon Ina and Daniel arrived at their brother’s restaurant and presented the Korean food they had ambitiously prepared. Fortunately, the customers gave rave reviews to Yoon Ina‘s whole cucumber kimbap. Ahn Jung-hwan, who was happily watching this, cheered them on, saying, “There’s going to be a cucumber crisis in Spain.”

Lastly, ‘Finnish Family’ Jang Sun-mi and El Meri made a rare appearance and announced that they were planning a vintage shopping trip. Jang Sun-mi explained, “We‘re going to take a 2-day, 1-night cruise to nearby Sweden to go on an extreme shopping spree,” and boarded the cruise. After arriving in Sweden, Jang Sun-mi and El Meri visited the downtown square, ‘Hoetorget Square’, where a flea market is held, and looked at various vintage items. They also purchased various items from across the ages at a vintage shop in Vallentuna, which they were introduced to by an acquaintance. The studio cast members were extremely immersed in the feast of various items that filled the vintage shop, saying, “You have to go alone (to look around for a long time)”, “It’s almost like a museum”, and “I think we have to sweep it all up.” Finally, Ahn Jung-hwan said, “I really like cruises where I can travel and buy things~” and showed his selfish desire for a cruise, presenting laughter full of humanity until the end.

Channel A‘s entertainment program, “Family Beyond the Line,” which conveys the daily lives of international families who have borne the fruit of love across borders, airs every Thursday at 8:10 p.m.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com