Hometown Flex (Seoul Bumpkin / Seoul Chonnom / 서울 촌놈)

Cheongju.

The intercity bus terminal is... - It's been a while, right?

It's been a long time. - Really.

I haven't seen buses standing by...

like this for a long time. - It's been a while.

I haven't even been to the express bus terminal in Banpo-dong.

I've been there. - They got the destinations here.

What does "slow bus" mean?

A slow bus? What does it mean?

Like slow trains, it sounds like it will stop by many places.

They told us to come to the snack bar.

Do we go here? - I guess?

There is more pressure than I thought after deciding to do this.

I didn't think it would be that big of a deal.

Honestly, I don't know everything about Cheongju.

It was mostly school, home, and private academies.

I do feel a little bit of sense of responsibility...

about being on Hometown Flex and...

Here he is.

Hello, hello.

Hello.

Hyo Joo.

How are you? - How have you been?

Nice to see you again. - It's been a while.

This is... - That shirt is...

Do they make a T-shirt like this?

No, they don't.

Did you make it?

Yes. Because we're going to my hometown.

Cheongju became popular.

Considering the fact that it's a third destination on the show.

Population-wise,

it's 11th, 12th, or 13th city in Korea, I think.

It's been a while since I met you last time.

Have you been doing well? - Yes.

It's the first time I see you after the film, right?

It's been almost five years. - Five years?

4 or 5? - Yes.

Which school did you go to? - I went to...

Bukil and Seokgyo Elementary School.

You went to Seokgyo Elementary School?

Yes. It was when I was in my 2nd and 3rd grade.

It's in front of Cheongju Yukgeori Traditional Market.

Which high school did you go to?

Sekwang High School.

One of the best academic high schools.

Well...

I can't say it myself.

It's over there. The snack bar.

What's this?

Ramyeon and gimbap sound good. - What's this?

They're there. - I feel so nostalgic.

What? - Totally.

Hello. Hyo Joo!

Hello.

Hello. - How are you?

Hyo Joo.

Hello.

Have you been doing well? - Sure.

Your T-shirt says "Cheongju".

What? - You didn't prepare it?

Hey.

Beom Soo, what does a slow bus mean?

Like slow buses, slow trains. - Slow buses.

It's... - We saw the sign on our way.

You don't know what that means? - No. What's that?

He asked me what it is. - I saw a sign saying "slow bus".

You guys are...

I don't know what it is. - I feel so...

I'll explain it.

Slow buses. - What's that?

The opposite of a slow bus is...

an express bus. - So that means it stops by...

many places. I was right. - Yes.

This is not because we're Seoul hillbillies.

It's because we're ignorant.

We just didn't know.

It's been a very long time since I met you on a show, right?

Yes. I think it's actually the first time to be on a show like this.

Yes. You can practically say we're clubmates.

Both are born in 1987. - Right.

Are you the same age? - Yes.

I have a lot in common with him. We're both born in early 1987.

We went to Dongguk University.

We went to the same university.

We debuted on the show called "Nonstop".

"Nonstop". The same show. - Right.

I see. - Yes.

And before coming today, she was worried so much.

I was.

What kind of pressure was it?

How should I put it?

I realized that I didn't know...

much about Cheongju.

So I looked up a lot of information about the city.

You studied about Cheongju? - You made it?

Yes. - Really?

She studied about Cheongju.

What I learned through that was...

Cheongju is 1.6 times bigger than Seoul.

What? You read a map?

What?

It has a population of as many as 850,000 people.

You're amazing.

It's like I'm talking to AlphaGo. - I think she's right.

It's true. - Except for direct control cities.

Except for direct control cities.

Direct control cities? - What's that?

What's that? - Yes. It's Metropolitan cities now.

Direct control cities! - It's such an old term.

I was surprised when he said that.

You know what direct control cities are.

It's been over 10 years since the name has changed.

You must have something about the city though.

What was the question about? - "What was the question about?"

No one asked anything.

No one asked anything. - I mean...

You lived in the city for a long time.

Of course, I lived in Cheongju for 19 years.

And I've lived in Seoul for even longer.

But childhood memories leave more lasting traces.

I see. - Right.

I'm curious about your childhood memories.

I also lived in Cheongju for a while when I was young.

Really? - For two years.

In Yullyang-dong.

I lived in Yullyang-dong only.

And he said he lived there.

I was talking with her on the phone,

and I found out that Hyo Joo's house was...

across my house.

Right? Across the road. - Yes.

We could have... - It always happens that way.

walked right by each other.

It's possible. - It really is.

The Cheongju I remember is that there were quite a lot of fields.

Yes, there were. - And...

Yes, there were a lot of fields.

They're all fields in the outskirt of a city.

That's true. It's always farmland.

There's no way people wouldn't make use of the land.

It's true though.

Unless you build apartments.

Isn't the way here so pretty?

Did you see the tree-lined road?

Was there a street like that? - The entrance.

I didn't know. - I didn't see it.

You didn't see it? - You should know...

since you came here. - Really?

After the tollgate to Cheongju,

there is a 2.5km long tree-lined avenue.

Really? - Yes.

That's fascinating. - It's...

the way from the interchange to the terminal.

Whenever I come here by bus, I pass by the road.

So you can see it.

That's when I realize that I arrived in Cheongju.

Even when I'm asleep, when it feels like the bus is turning,

I know I arrived in Cheongju.

I arrived.

Right.

You passed by the road so many times, right?

When I was a high school student,

I wanted to study theater and film so I went to a private academy...

You too? - Yes.

From here to Seoul?

Right. Because there isn't one here.

To prepare for the university admissions,

I went to Seoul once a week every weekend...

to go to a private acting academy. - To go to a private academy?

Every weekend, I used to come to the bus terminal...

to take a bus to Yeouido.

From here to Yeouido? - Yes.

To go to a private acting academy. - Yes.

I also didn't know.

I searched for it on the internet.

When Hyo Joo said...

she looked it up on the internet...

Did you look it up in a newspaper? - Or a phone book?

It must be a newspaper.

In a newspaper. - How did you find the information?

Something similar. "TV Guide".