Roommate (룸메이트)

It's one of the last shantytowns in Seoul. It's called the Bukjeong village.

The roommates will meet their neighbors in Seongbukdong.

Just what kind of neighbors will they meet?

What's up, Grandma?

- Also... - We've got mail.

- Nice timing. - Finland!

- The Finnish embassy has invited us. - Wow.

Are we going to Finland?

The ambassador of Finland, requests the company of 'Roommate' at a luncheon.

What do you think will occur at the ambassador's residence?

Cheers!

[They play traditional games together.]

[Even if they can't understand each other, they understand each other's feelings.]

Learn.

Share.

Have fun!

Home share, whole share. Roommate will start now.

[First story: How to get friendly with your neighbors.]

Let's go over here...

Jong Ok, your outfit is awesome. It's the same as Jackson.

- Right? Don't we look like twins? - Let me see your pants. Go up front.

Yo! It looks as if you two took a dump!

MC Hammer!

- Is that it? - It's here!

It's a minibus. Let's hurry up and get on it.

Let's ask.

Mister, does this bus go to Bukjeong Village?

How much is it? 850 won? One, two... the fare is 850 won.

- I have money. - We need to pay him 6,500 won.

Mister, here's 10,000 won.

Oh my gosh.

Mister, the change you're giving me is all 100 won?

- He gave him 10,000 won. - The change is all coins.

[So many coins he can't grab them all at once.]

- Is everyone on? - Did you give him 10,000 won?

[Will they be able to make it to Bukjeong Village safely?]

- Do you live in Seongbukdong? - Yes.

How long have you lived there?

- 34 years. - Wow.

- 34 years? - Yes.

- It's a nice place to live with clean air. - Of course.

But, there are a lot of elderly people. All the young people moved to apartments.

- So, those people continue to live there? - Yes.

Right now, we're heading to Bukgyeong Village.

Bukjeong!

[The last stop for the bus is Bukjeong Village.]

The name of the village came from a tiny well at the north side of the capital.

It's a pretty village in Seoul that is frozen in time of the seventies.

- Drive safely! - Thank you.

They finally arrived at Bukjeong Village.

- Hello. - Wow, what is this

- It's pancakes! - Wow.

What are all these pictures?

- Pictures from the past. - I see.

They are from a long time ago.

- I saw you a lot on TV. - High-five!

- Yo, reggae man. - Do we just go around here?

[His hair has transformed into dreadlocks of dried eggplants.]

- Hey man. - It's dried eggplants.

[The kind lady is feeding Joon Hyung some pancakes.]

- Wow! - That's how you're supposed to eat it.

- It's delicious. - Good, good.

- It's spicy. - It has peppers in it.

[Tons of hot peppers have been mixed into the pancakes!]

Yes, thank you.

Ma'am your hands are so plump and lovely.

- I'm old. They're all wrinkly! - No!

[There isn't a single Korean dish that doesn't have peppers in it...]

You guys are drinking during the day. Yo, So-juice!

So-juice!

The members are walking around the village.

Look at this hole-in-the-wall shop.

They used to have these kinds of stores in neighborhoods a long time ago.

- Hello. - Hello.

Ma'am, what are you doing to your hair right now?

- I'm perming my hair. - Ah, a perm!

That's great. Your perm is going to be awesome.

Let's shake hands.

We live in this neighborhood too.

- We live over there. - That's what we heard.

We were really curious about the area so we're exploring the neighborhood.

It'll start growing on you as time goes by.

Thank you so much. I hope you two live a long and healthy life.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Let's go.

- Jong Ok, it just feels good. - It's peaceful.

It would be nice if these neighborhoods were preserved.

But, these apartment buildings keep developing in the city.

It's all apartments.

I'll read it.

Let's live on the clouds.

'Yidi' is there another place as nice as this? 'Ula Uneo.'

- What does 'yidi' mean? - 'Yidi, yidi.'

Where, where! It's where not 'yidi'!

- Where is it? - It's not where!

- It's been erased. - No, it hasn't been written at all!

It's right here. Look.

And this means, 'Let's laugh.' You read it wrong.

- 'Let's live on the clouds.' - That doesn't make sense.

- Right at the end. - This is how it's spelled.

- 'Let's smile and live.' - Right.

'Where is there another place as nice as this? 'Ula Uneo.'

- 'Smile, let's smile.' - Correct!

In English, a word can have multiple meanings depending upon the situation.

- It's the same with Korean. - That's true.

'Let's smile and live.'

'Where is there another place as nice as this?'

'Let's smile.'

The people of Bukjeong Village find joy in the simplest of things.

Seeing them smile brightly really makes you feel good.

What is this?

- It looks really elegant. - Isn't that a pavilion?

- It's a place of rest. - Hello.

- Ma'am, are we allowed to sit here? - Yes.

Can we sit here?

Does this belong to you?

It's belongs to the neighborhood.

The village I used to live in all looked like this.

But, everything changed once the apartments came in.

- It's really nice. - I'm getting nostalgic.

Ryohei, get a recording of that side over there.

[The many apartment buildings below the hill.]

[And this place is still cherishing the past.]

It's almost as if time has stopped.

I'm in trouble.

This keeps popping open every time I button it.

Wow, Gook Ju looks beautiful in a traditional gown.

[They've never been invited to an embassy before.]

[Diligently, practicing the Finnish language.]

These four people are heading off to the home of the Finnish ambassador.

What kind of neighbors will they meet?

It feels like, Gook Ju and I are the parents.

Nana's the oldest and you're our baby boy.

Gook Ju is our mother.

So, we'll be going there today.

To grandma's house.

The Jo residence. Jo Kang Joon and Jo Nana.

Jo Kang Joon! Jo Nana!

Kang Joon, what time did you come home last night?

I drank with my friends yesterday.

You little rascal. Did I or did I not tell you to come home early?

- Don't worry about it. - It's not the time to have fun right now!

You have to go to college! How many times have you been rejected already?

Mom, leave him alone!

You little brat, going out and about with all that makeup... look at these shorts!

- They look like underwear! - This is all the rage these days!

This is how you're supposed to wear them.

I swear, why do we start our mornings with a shouting match every time?

Nana, you look exactly like me when I was young.

Stop stressing me out.

Stress? Don't take my nagging as being stressful.

I say these things because I care about you.

- Be quiet, Mom. - What did you say?

You don't tell your mother to be quiet.

I'm telling you, it's useless raising your own children.

- I'm going to decrease your allowance. - Dad!

Give me some of that allowance.

What's the point of giving them 10 million won a month?

- That's not enough. - You give the kids 10 million won a month?

You only give me 100 thousand won.

I use that money to cook and clean.

But you give your children 10 million won a month?

Since they're you're flesh and blood, right? I see.

My poor fate!

Mom, shouldn't you put your hair up?

Help your mother with her hair and tie it up with the ribbon.

[Everyone is having a good time at the moment.]

This must be it.

I'm getting nervous all of a sudden.

- Mom, let's go. - Sure

Your mother was quite lovely when she was young.

I married your mother because of her beauty.

I looked exactly like Nana.

Then that means Nana is going to look like your mother later on.

Located in Northern Europe. Finland is a country of forest and lakes!

A beautiful and natural environment.

A famous country known for their world-renowned buildings and modern designs.

- We're ready. - Let's go.

[What kind of people are the Finnish ambassador and his wife?]

What do we do if we can't understand each other? I'm so nervous.

Someone's coming.

Hello.

- Hyvaa! - Hello!

- Hyvaa! - Hyvaa!

[They are warmly welcoming the 'Roommate' family.]

- Hyvaa. - Hello.

I noticed there is some famous group just in our neighborhood.

Ah, really?

We're are so happy that we could invite you to our home. Very good.

- This is one ticket, four person okay? - Okay.

- I can understand your English. - You understood everything?

A delightful, first meeting with Ambassador Matti Heimonen

and his wife, Hilkka Heimonen.

There's no need to take shoes off, it's fine. Shoes are fine.

She told us not to takes our shoes off.

- Put them back on! Quickly! - How embarrassing.

- Why are you so slow? - I'm almost done.

Kang Joon, you're even slower.

Yes please. Come in.

Everyone, welcome to the home of the Finnish Ambassador.