We’ve talked before about the TV series In the Soop, a reality show starring K-pop group and global superstars BTS.
For those who are new to the series, however, here’s a quick recap!
In the Soop first came about in the place of BTS’ standard travel series Bon Voyage, which was benched due to the general inability to travel internationally during the pandemic.
Instead, their label produced In the Soop, the local travel version that filmed them taking a holiday locally.
There are currently two seasons of BTS In the Soop, and an offshoot with their labelmates Seventeen (which also has two seasons as of writing).
In the Soop’s second spinoff comes in the form of In the Soop: Friendcation.
One of the most well-known and well-loved celebrity friendships in the Korean entertainment world is what fans (and the friend group themselves) fondly refer to as the Wooga Squad, comprised of actors Park Seojoon, Choi Wooshik, and Park Hyungsik, as well as musicians Peakboy and BTS’ Kim Taehyung (whose stage name is V).
In the Soop: Friendcation features the Wooga Squad as they go on a 4-day, 3-night winter trip – a much-needed break and time to catch up, as they hadn’t all been together in too long due to their extremely busy individual schedules.
Even though In the Soop: Friendcation only had 4 episodes, and both Wooshik and Hyungsik arrived late due to filming schedules (and the latter had to leave early as well), it certainly was a joy to see the five friends spending time together again after so long!
Here are some of our favorite moments from each episode.
Episode 1
It’s no secret that Taehyung is the youngest in the Wooga Squad, and the others certainly treat him that way!
Not only do they look out for him and are always obviously terribly endeared by his antics, but they pretty much always do whatever he says and whatever he wants!
This was clear right from the beginning of the episode, which showed the 5 of them gathered in the Hybe building (which houses Taehyung’s label, among others) for an ‘emergency meeting’.
It was revealed that just two days prior, Taehyung had called his staff to ask for that meeting specifically because he wanted to go on vacation with his friends and asked them to make it happen. The day after, his staff had arranged everyone’s schedules and scouted a location, and voila! brought them all together that day to confirm and discuss it.
Even the other Wooga Squad guys commented on their disbelief that it’s actually happening and so quickly, too!
The “whatever Taehyung says, goes” continued when he, Peakboy, and Seojoon were winding down for the night, having arrived at their lodging earlier that day and used the afternoon to rest and have dinner.
They set up the Go board and decide to play a game involving flicking opponents’ stones off, with the penalty being a flick on the forehead of course.
Taehyung goes up against Seojoon first and loses spectacularly, but somehow pleads his way out of punishment by saying “it doesn’t count” because “I was going easy on him” and “punishments start in the next round”. Seojoon and Peakboy, who also happen to be the two oldest members of the group, denied it at first but almost immediately gave in anyway!
Having successfully avoided a painful forehead flick, he went up against Peakboy next. He won both rounds; the first punishment almost sent Peakboy swearing in pain and the second time, Taehyung opted for a solid slap on the cheek instead.
They really do let him get away with anything!
Episode 2
Wooshik has finally joined them and the teasing immediately begins as they dub him the “Rom-Com King”, a nickname that sticks as the rest of them are determined to watch the series he stars in that was currently airing, Our Beloved Summer.
As the dawn of Day 2 begins, the last member of their group arrives as well: Hyungsik.
The morning is spent catching up over breakfast and a quick morning nap that had Seojoon and Taehyung cuddling on one bed and Wooshik and Hyungsik on another.
Finally, they set out for their main agenda of the day: deep-sea fishing.
Considering how windy it was and how strong the waves were, it made complete sense that they were nervous enough about seasickness that they even thought to drink medicine beforehand.
It wasn’t for nothing either, as it was clear that dizziness was afoot as they rocked back and forth while on the boat going further out into the sea. However, this was soon forgotten as soon as they were taught how to hook their lines.
With the promise from their fishermen companions that “it will be weird if someone wasn’t able to catch anything”, the five of them cast their lines.
Sure enough, each cast caught at least 4 halibut, so they were able to have an abundant snack of fresh fish when they returned home.
The day was far from over, however!
After a quick swim, they decided to cook steak on the outdoor grill and smoke a beer-soaked chicken over some coal, while sharing drinks and stories around the fire pit.
Fans of the Wooga Squad (both as a friend group and as individual celebrities) are sure to enjoy this heartwarming scene as they talk about their experiences as actors and musicians, how they even came to be friends (apparently Seojoon was the common link and all it took was an online video game!), and their first impressions of Hyungsik and Taehyung as they were the ‘additions’ to the trio who had already been friends for a while.
Episode 3
Episode 3 begins after their fireside chat as they troop back indoors to watch the latest episode of Our Beloved Summer.
Wooshik tries to get out of it one more time but he knows it’s in vain; after all, they’ve all been teasing him the whole day about being the Rom-Com King for this very reason!
As they begin to watch, they waste no opportunities to tease Wooshik about his cheesy, romantic lines, and he’s fidgeting in good-natured embarrassment the whole time. The teasing crests when Wooshik (finally, according to them) kisses the female lead, and their reactions are priceless!
All this eventually leads to another heart-to-heart about their jobs as actors, as Seojoon shares that Wooshik is the only one who really inspires him as an actor to the point that when he’s stuck in a role, he watches Wooshik’s work to help him figure out how to portray the role best.
They agree that while their original trio came together with good energy at the right time (Wooshik reveals it was during a time when Seojoon was having personal troubles), the synergy that Hyungsik and Taehyung added to their dynamic was really special.
It was truly beautiful to see the different facets of their friendship coming from different paths in entertainment, and the genuine support they have for each others’ craft and talent!
As they finally settle down into bed for the night (after having pushed two mattresses together so they could all sleep beside each other), they continue to talk in the darkness about their goals for 2022.
Wooshik and Seojoon share their hopes for their careers, and Taehyung heartbreakingly says he just doesn’t want to be sad anymore. They say it’s okay to be sad and even if he is, they’ll be there for him, which leads him to start quietly crying.
Seojoon, who was lying beside him, immediately notices and they are all quick to sit up and comfort their youngest member. He shares that the past year was just disappointing, which was honestly devastating for us ARMYs to hear knowing the personal hardships he and the rest of BTS endured during the pandemic.
However, the rest of Wooga Squad reassuring him and expressing their love and support for him was definitely a source of comfort for all.
Episode 4
After another leisurely morning comprised of Seojoon teasing Wooshik’s snoring (which ended up actually being Peakboy’s) and a Hyungsik-Taehyung cuddle session while rewatching Our Beloved Summer, the guys head out again but this time, to go ice-skating!
To pass the time in the car, they play a fun song recognition game where Wooshik always comes close to the right answer, but just never gets it right.
When they start ice-skating, Hyungsik and Seojoon caught on really quickly but the other three visibly struggled — Taehyung especially!
His hyungs (the Korean term for a man’s ‘older brother’, which is commonly used amongst friends too) tried to tutor him as he kept slipping and sliding out of balance. They even have a solo “performance” as, er, gracefully as they can manage despite having zero actual skills!
To round out their skating session, they play a game of tag and their giggles and laughter will definitely add 10 years to your lifespan!
Even cooking their dinner together was a whole event, with them splitting the tasks and teaching their youngest how to properly chop the vegetables and later on teasing him about his sudden crying the night before.
The conversation deepens again as Taehyung explains how Seojoon helped him so much during their time acting together on Hwarang despite experiencing personal hardships himself, and Seojoon explains that he just wanted to help precisely because Taehyung was honest about what he lacked.
Sadly, Hyungsik has to leave much earlier than the rest of them.
Their trip coming to an end was sad for them and for the viewers, but their ending interviews also warmed hearts as they spoke of their time fondly as a trip they’ll hold dear for a long time.
In the Soop: Friendcation wraps up with the Wooga Squad coming together again to record the show’s opening credits soundtrack!
Here’s hoping they can find time in their busy schedules to take another trip together.