Thanks to DK’s lucky hands, Seventeen beat the odds to win the biggest prize on The Game Caterers to film their rendition of Youth Over Flowers, now known as Nana Tour with Seventeen (Nana Tour).
While it is a new adventure for the group, it rekindled memories of their humble beginnings, particularly for the members and long-time Carats like myself. Whether it is pure coincidence or the result of extensive research by the PDs, Nana Tour bears many similarities to younger Seventeen. More specifically, many moments on Nana Tour are unexpectedly reminiscent of when they did 17TV, Seventeen Project, and Seventeen’s One Fine Day (13 Castaway Boys). In the best way possible, Nana Tour is far more nostalgic than it needs to be as a variety show.
Nana Tour, which was originally planned as Youth Over Flowers, stuck to its original format while adapting to Seventeen’s demanding schedule. For the uninitiated, Youth Over Flowers is best known for surprising its cast with tickets just hours before their flight. Or as the cast likes to call it, “the kidnap”. They will then travel on a budget to less-visited places such as Iceland and Laos. But for lucky Seventeen who just ended their Japan tour, Nana Tour treats them to an all-expenses-paid and planned trip to Italy, with Na PD as their “tour guide”.
One of Youth Over Flowers’ highlights is Na PD’s “kidnapping”. For Seventeen who were also tricked on 13 Castaway Boys, it seems like a big déjà vu. On 13 Castaway Boys, unlike the earlier iterations where the cast splurged and rested on their vacation, Seventeen found themselves on Yeoseo Island with nothing but a small bag of items each, their survival skills, and a lot of perseverance. Despite being in tough situations, bright-eyed Seventeen in 2016 still found plenty of joy.
Likewise, Nana Tour surprised them at their hotel in Tokyo following their concert last September. Known for his cunningness, once there, he barges into their rooms to “kidnap” them in the wee hours of the morning and announces that they have three minutes to wash up before leaving for Italy. Some may think 13 Castaway Boys would’ve prepared them for the same level of spontaneity years later. To everyone’s amusement, Seventeen were caught equally off guard. Fortunately, despite their unpreparedness, Seventeen in 2023 were also filled with joy and excitement.
With Na PD interfering only when necessary, the beauty of Nana Tour is seeing Seventeen simply hanging out and being themselves. Having matured and grown these last few years, we only see their glammed and polished sides. Ironically, despite having their own show, Going Seventeen, Carats still hardly see this side of them. But on Nana Tour, they eat, exercise, sleep, and some even walk around shirtless all the time, much to Na PD’s and Carats’ surprise. With Woozi and Mingyu frequently shirtless, Na PD even jokes that “I thought they didn’t have clothes”.
What Carats love about Seventeen hanging out is them talking about the older days, something they can go on forever about. With few opportunities to tell these stories, Nana Tour is the place for it.
Often, they offhandedly mention that certain things remind them of their trainee days. For example, while most live separately now, having to sleep together in a room in all their lodgings in Italy, DK cheerfully shares that they haven’t slept in the same house in years and that it feels like their early days. At another time, Woozi shares that trainees had to learn traditional Korean dance, causing many to quit, leaving only the current members.
One of the highlights of Nana Tour is the talent show. Whether by coincidence or not, Seventeen, too, held talent shows while they were trainees. Having learnt comedy during their trainee days and as “content monsters”, a nickname given by Na PD, they burst into skits, songs, and even pulling out magic card tricks to entertain.
Sharp-eyed Carats will notice that the winners of the talent show, Mingyu and The8, used three comedic techniques they learnt years ago: repetition, relatable, and a plot twist. Their efforts come to fruition, winning the hearts and laughs of the “judges” and members. More impressively, despite finishing second, team Salute’s (Hoshi, DK, Jeonghan, Vernon) dedication to evoking laughter was highly praised. Unable to calm their nerves for this little talent show, Wonwoo admits, “I haven’t been this nervous since I was a trainee”. Seventeen, hungry to entertain, carried this level of anxiousness all day, with team Salute even practising on the side of the road on the way back home.
Another surprising callback to their 17TV days is Seventeen donning shirts with their names. It is even for the same reason: so that the public can get acquainted with them, as Nana Tour is concurrently broadcasted on channel tvN. (Though some may argue that this may be the show’s clever strategy to subtly push Seventeen towards mainstream variety, with tvN even using their real names in their promotional materials.)
More convincingly, Nana Tour deliberately features a montage of every member to grant them each a “title”. Jeonghan, for example, is the kind sub-leader and “sweet angel”, DK is the comedian wannabe, and Joshua is the “guilty man”. For older Carats, this is reminiscent of their debut days when each member had a nickname.
As someone who has been following them since pre-debut, it is both heartwarming to watch them succeed and also strangely nostalgic to see this introduction again. It unexpectedly brings me back to day one. Or more specifically, before day one.
Nana Tour is as special to me as it is to Seventeen. Of course, the elephant in the room is that there has not been any discussion here of how entertaining and successful Nana Tour was. In my defence, it was deliberate. Seventeen are known for being witty, entertaining, and easy to love on Going Seventeen. Na PD is a star PD known to produce funny, distinct, and authentic shows such as Earth Arcade and Three Meals a Day. With Seventeen and Na PD in the mix meant that Nana Tour is guaranteed to be fun.
Nana Tour bears many deja vu moments to their early days, making me feel like I was rediscovering Seventeen, harbouring the same feeling I had years ago. The only difference now is that we no longer see their desperation to debut and gain popularity. Their only desperation now is to be funny. We see a more relaxed Seventeen who simply love to be with one another and make everyone laugh (and cry), a scene only Nana Tour can create and capture.
With their recent surge in popularity, Nana Tour is a refreshing show for newer fans to view Seventeen in a different light, with a focus on their non-idol side. But it is quite the opposite for older fans. It is nostalgic and heartwarming for fans who first saw them before their rise to fame. For someone who has watched older shows like 17TV, Seventeen Project, and One Fine Day (13 Castaway Boys) when it premiered, there are far too many instances on Nana Tour that unexpectedly unlocked memories from within.
