풍향중 EP.1 이틀 만에 409만 뷰, 첫 화제 장면은 유재석의 세금 납부

On day one of a two-day road trip, Yoo Jae-suk ran off to a bank in the middle of filming. "Taxes should be paid on time." That scene comes from EP.1 of Punghyangjung, the web variety show released at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 1 on DdeunDdeun, a YouTube channel with 3.3 million subscribers. Major Korean outlets including Maeil Business Newspaper and JoongAng Ilbo covered the moment under headlines calling it "the first tax payment ever captured on a show," and the episode passed 4.09 million views within two days.

Punghyangjung is the second installment of DdeunDdeun's summer special, the 2026 Summer Road series. Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Sung-min, Ji Suk-jin, and Yang Se-chan travel from Seoul to Iksan, North Jeolla Province, over one night and two days with no navigation app and no highways: destinations are picked with a spinning wheel and routes come from a paper road atlas.

The Biggest Moment of a Road-Trip Show Happened at a Bank

The most talked-about scene of EP.1 was not a destination but a bank. Right after departure, Yoo Jae-suk told the group he had taxes to pay and asked to stop by a bank. Ji Suk-jin told him to do it later, but Yoo replied, "Taxes should be paid on time," and headed straight for the teller window.

Coverage poured in from day one. Maeil Business Newspaper ran the headline "Earn 10 billion won, pay 4.1 billion in tax: why Yoo Jae-suk ran to a bank mid-shoot," and JoongAng Ilbo and others followed with positive stories framed around his "zero tax controversy" record. According to a tax accountant quoted in the coverage, Yoo uses an estimated filing method based on standard expense rates. Under a hypothetical annual income of 10 billion won, that structure would mean paying roughly 4.1 billion won, compared with about 2.7 billion won for a typical business owner who documents 4 billion won in expenses through bookkeeping. Reports also noted that an intensive 2024 tax audit found no income omissions or evasion. One caveat: the "10 billion won a year" figure is a hypothetical scenario used by the accountant for illustration, and his actual income and tax payments have never been disclosed.

What Kind of Show Is Punghyangjung: A Spinning Wheel, a Road Atlas, and No Navigation

Punghyangjung is a national-highway road-trip show starring Yoo Jae-suk, actor Lee Sung-min, Ji Suk-jin, and Yang Se-chan. Destinations are decided by a spinning wheel, routes are left to a road atlas, and navigation apps and highways are off limits. The first journey runs from Seoul to Iksan, North Jeolla Province, over one night and two days.

The lineup extends DdeunDdeun's "Punghyanggo" universe. The four cast members, who clicked in "Punghyanggo 2," reunited for this spin-off, and interest in the cast and filming locations built up from the trailer stage before the first episode even aired. Destination candidates go on the wheel, the spin happens on the day, and the group drives only national roads to wherever it lands. Improvisation runs on firm rules.

4.09 Million Views in Two Days, and a Search Curve That Rose for Three Straight Weeks

Punghyangjung EP.1 logged 4,088,993 views within two days of its August 1 release, the highest view count among long-form videos collected by Dhesy over the past 7 days. DdeunDdeun is a long-form web variety channel built around roughly hour-long episodes, and its Shorts are clips edited from full episodes, so the figures in this article are counted at the full-episode (long-form) level.

Search metrics point the same way. On Naver Datalab's weekly search index, "Punghyangjung" climbed for three consecutive weeks: 4.83 in the week of July 13, 11.37 in the week of July 20, and 34.13 in the week of July 27. The August 1 premiere is only partially reflected in that final week, so the curve is still rising.

Here are the key launch metrics in one table.

The point of this table: in just two days, the episode has nearly reached the channel's 90-day long-form average of 4.21 million views.

From "Ramyeon, Anyone?" to Punghyangjung: The Summer Road Relay

Punghyangjung started from a running start built by its predecessor. Over July and August, DdeunDdeun is rolling out its summer special, the 2026 Summer Road series, releasing Pinggyego, "But Still... Ramyeon, Anyone?" and Punghyangjung in sequence and rallying its viewers, who call themselves "gyewon" (club members).

The first installment, "Ramyeon, Anyone?", starred Yoo Jae-suk, Kim Nam-gil, Yoon Kyung-ho, and Ju Ji-hoon. EP.1 reached 7.4 million views and EP.2 reached 4.76 million, and coverage reported the two episodes had passed 10 million combined views as of July 21.

Punghyangjung drew a response before its first episode aired. According to Top Star News, the official driving trailer released on July 25 passed 1 million views in a single day; its cumulative count in Dhesy data stands at 1.41 million. As with the Avengers: Doomsday teaser that gathered 503 million views in 24 hours, the trailer generated buzz ahead of the main event.

Laid out in release order, the relay comes into view.

Two days in, Punghyangjung EP.1 has already closed in on Ramyeon EP.2, which has been accumulating views for more than three weeks. That is the evidence the series relay has not dropped the baton.

From Gongseri Cathedral to Singjeongho: The Filming-Location Search Wave EP.1 Set Off

The fastest-spreading searches right after EP.1 were about filming locations: Gongseri Cathedral, Onyang Hot Spring Traditional Market, and Sinjeongho Lake in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, all stops on the way to Iksan. Gongseri Cathedral is a filming location for the film "Taegukgi" and is often described as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Korea.

Within hours of the episode, Naver blogs filled with visit guides covering directions, parking, and opening hours, along with one-day itineraries running from Gongseri Cathedral through Onyang Hot Spring Traditional Market to Sinjeongho. Beyond travel, searches spread to Yoo Jae-suk's travel gear, including his backpack and Stanley tumbler. The 62,577 Naver blog posts on "Punghyangjung" as of August 2 include both viewing reviews and these location-hunting posts. A single episode is generating regional travel demand well beyond its view count.

Three Sponsored Long-Forms in a Row: Isaac Toast, minix, and Subway

All three main episodes of the Summer Road series carry brand sponsorships. Based on Dhesy data, "Ramyeon, Anyone?" EP.1 was sponsored by Isaac Toast, EP.2 by minix, and Punghyangjung EP.1 by Subway.

Why advertisers pick this series shows up in the weight of its episodes. Over the past 90 days, DdeunDdeun's 8 sponsored videos averaged 5.49 million views, well above the 1.91 million average of its 15 non-sponsored videos (per Dhesy data). The fact that the 7.4 million-view Ramyeon EP.1 and the 4.09 million-view Punghyangjung EP.1 are both sponsored long-forms fits the same pattern. Sponsorship fees and contract terms are not public, and this article does not speculate on them.

Can It Match Punghyanggo: Next Weekend Will Answer

Not every reaction is praise. Some blog reviews question the staging, asking why he had to visit a bank mid-shoot when taxes can be paid online, and a real question on Naver Jisik-iN reads, "Can Punghyangjung become as popular as Punghyanggo?" The predecessor's halo doubles as pressure. Two days of numbers cannot settle the fate of an entire series.

Still, there are signals to read. Unlike single-day events where buzz spikes and fades, such as Son Heung-min's MLS All-Star Game MVP, a series sees search interest jump again with every episode. If the weekly release pattern holds, each release weekend is likely to bring a repeating cycle of "Punghyangjung" searches and filming-location posts rising together. Whether DdeunDdeun's summer lineup, from Pinggyego through Ramyeon, Anyone? to Punghyangjung, keeps lifting the channel's momentum through the end of the Summer Road series is a question next weekend's episode will start to answer.

FAQ

Q. Who is in the Punghyangjung cast?

Four members: Yoo Jae-suk, actor Lee Sung-min, Ji Suk-jin, and Yang Se-chan. It is a spin-off lineup reuniting the cast of DdeunDdeun's "Punghyanggo 2," traveling national roads with only a spinning wheel and a road atlas, no navigation.

Q. Where was Punghyangjung filmed?

EP.1's journey runs from Seoul to Iksan, North Jeolla Province. Stops along the way in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, became instant search topics: Gongseri Cathedral (a filming location for the film "Taegukgi"), Onyang Hot Spring Traditional Market, and Sinjeongho Lake.

Q. Can you actually follow the route from the show?

Yes. Right after EP.1, blog posts spread with a one-day itinerary from Gongseri Cathedral through Onyang Hot Spring Traditional Market to Sinjeongho, including directions, parking, and opening-hour details.

Q. Can Punghyangjung become as popular as Punghyanggo?

The launch indicators are strong: 4.09 million views in two days and a Naver Datalab weekly search index that rose for three straight weeks (from 4.83 to 34.13). But two days of data is too early to call the whole series, and the response on the next release weekend will be the real gauge.

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Methodology: Based on collaboration data covering 6,913 brands and 67,566 creator channels on the Dhesy platform. Analysis period: 2026-05-05 to 2026-08-03 (DdeunDdeun's most recent 90 days and the 2026 Summer Road series release window). View counts and sponsorship labels follow data collected by Dhesy; collaborations outside the collection scope may not be included. Data source: Dhesy External sources: Maeil Business Newspaper · JoongAng Ilbo · Top Star News Last updated: 2026-08-03