Korea’s Most Beloved Monk Is Taking His First-Ever Variety Show to India — and It Looks Unmissable

What happens when Korea’s most respected Buddhist figure hops on a rickshaw, shares street food with celebrities, and travels through the sacred heartland of India for the very first time on television? You get Sunim Sonim Soul Trip in India — SBS’s most unexpectedly compelling variety show announcement of 2026.

Korea Show Overview

What Is Sunim Sonim Soul Trip in India About?

The title itself carries a gentle wordplay — sunim means Buddhist monk and sonim means guest — and that duality defines the entire show. Venerable Pomnyun Sunim, one of Korea’s most celebrated and widely respected Buddhist figures known affectionately as “the nation’s mentor,” embarks on his very first road variety show at the age where most people wouldn’t be taking on new adventures in entertainment.

The show retraces part of his remarkable 34-year pilgrimage journey across India’s most sacred sites — but this time, with a camera crew, celebrity guests, and the kind of unscripted chaos that only a variety show format can produce. He rides rickshaws, samples street food, wanders through bustling market alleys, and visits a remote school he personally established three decades ago. His self-aware humour makes the whole thing more endearing — at one point he reportedly remarks that “variety shows are harder than spiritual practice,” which honestly might be the most relatable thing ever said on Korean television.

The show ventures into parts of India that rarely appear on Korean variety programming — far beyond the tourist trail and into the raw, unfiltered texture of everyday Indian life, from the tributaries of the Ganges River to hidden market corners. For Indian fans of Korean content especially, this one carries a uniquely personal resonance.

Meet the Cast

Venerable Pomnyun Sunim anchors the show as its spiritual core — a figure so deeply trusted in Korean society that his first foray into variety television alone makes this a cultural event worth watching.

Noh Hong Chul is one of Korea’s most beloved variety veterans, whose infectious energy is guaranteed to bring warmth and comedy to every leg of the journey.

Lee Sang Yoon brings a calmer, more reflective presence — the kind of traveller who absorbs experiences rather than just reacting to them.

Lee Joo Bin reportedly cancelled an already-planned trip to New York specifically to join this show — a detail that says everything about how appealing this project must have seemed from the inside.

Lee Ki Taek rounds out the ensemble with his distinct personality, known well to fans from recent drama appearances.

ALLDAY PROJECT’s Woochan joins as the youngest member of the group, adding the kind of youthful perspective that always works beautifully against the wisdom and experience of older travel companions.

Why This Show Is Worth Your Attention?

Korean variety has excelled at travel content for years, but Sunim Sonim Soul Trip in India feels genuinely different. The combination of spiritual depth, human candour, and raw Indian landscapes gives this show a soul that most travel variety programmes simply don’t have. And for Indian viewers discovering it — seeing their own country through the eyes of a Korean monk who has been quietly visiting for 34 years — there’s something quietly moving about that perspective.

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