Lee Chan-won joins JTBC '톡파원 25시' summer special as Seoul school-trip guide

Lee Chan-won appears on JTBC's 톡파원 25시 July 13 at 8:50 PM as correspondent for the summer vacation special, 수학여행 in 서울 (School Trip in Seoul).

Episode 217 pairs Seoul with virtual tours of Milwaukee, USA and Kolkata and Varanasi, India. In the capital, Lee Chan-won travels with Fabien, a licensed tour guide interpreter, Kim Sook, and singer Hwang Yun-sung, described as his close friend. They visit Jongmyo Main Hall—the state shrine of the Joseon Dynasty—and Changdeokgung Palace's Secret Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Host Jeon Hyun-moo watched Lee Chan-won at the Secret Garden and remarked: "세자 같다 세자" — "You look like a crown prince."

This marks the first time Kim Sook and Lee Chan-won have worked together on the show. They stop at a royal court cuisine restaurant opened in 1957, sampling gujeolpan and pumpkin sikhye bingsu. Lee Chan-won later returned with his parents after filming and posted a photo.

The India segments feature street food in Kolkata (one cast member described a local beverage as tasting like hot spring water), cremation sites and Ganges River religious ceremonies in Varanasi, and a Bollywood dance studio. Milwaukee's segment explores the city's summer beer culture through a butter burger eating challenge and beer lane.

Lee Chan-won placed third on 내일은 미스터트롯 in 2020 and received the show's inaugural 미(美) title. His song 편의점 (2021) earned his first music broadcast win. 참 좋은 날 (2021) took consecutive first places on 더트롯쇼. 하늘 여행 reached number one on KBS2 뮤직뱅크 in 2024—the first trot genre win on that chart in 17 years. His discography includes mini-album bright；燦 (2024) and second full-length 찬란 (燦爛) (2025).

A self-developed menu he won with on 신상출시 편스토랑 sold 500,000 units of the resulting triangle kimbap in four days after release. He donated over 200 million won to an organization supporting hearing-impaired people on his birthday alongside fans from his official fan club, CHAN'S.