Rented in Finland: The Breathtaking Lapland in Summer

“Mennään!” ( = “let’s go!”)

Introduction

I hardly ever watch reality TV shows, because I dislike that they are not real, but scripted. However, when I found out about the South Korean reality travel show Rented in Finland, it piqued my interest. First of all, I love traveling, so the chance to ‘travel’ to Finland without leaving my home provides a mental break from routine. Secondly, I only heard about Finland from my past hobby of playing the Finnish-developed mobile farming game Hay Day, and the Finnish country band Steve ‘n’ Seagulls. Therefore, I would love to find out more about the country through this show. And finally, because Cha Eun Woo is in it. I have watched a lot of his dramas.

This review article doesn’t explain the details of the show, for example, specific situations and challenges the members experienced or their emotions and struggles. Neither does it give recaps of the episodes. I will leave them for you to enjoy because Rented in Finland is truly fun to watch. I will write an editorial about Lapland from what I saw through this show

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Show Info

Show title: Rented in Finland (Native title: 핀란드 셋방살이 or Pinrandeu Setbangsali)
Genres: Comedy, Life
Aired: Dec 6, 2024 - Feb 7, 2025
Episodes: 10  |  Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Where to watch: Viki
Trailer:

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Synopsis

What happens if you drop four “city boys” into the wilderness of Lapland, Finland? Cha Eun Woo, Lee Je Hoon, Lee Dong Hwi, and Kwak Dong Yeon are about to find out! Trading in their cushy apartments for a cabin in the woods, where running water and electricity are luxuries, they’ll have to chop wood, bathe in a river, and more. There’s no better way for them to bond than by suffering a little together – and maybe this break from modern society is what they need to recharge. (Source: Viki)

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Cast

The description of the cast is loosely translated from Namu Wiki.

From now on, I called the cast members “The Renters” or as the show named them “The Setbangs”.

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Hosts

Aleksi (and Frida) from Kuusamo – Episodes 1 to 4

For almost half of the show, The Renters stayed at Aleksi’s cottage with a large private swimming pool. I think it’s necessary for them to start with getting explanations for a lot of basic things about the nature and culture of Finland. At this place, they lived off-the-grid (no water supply, no electricity, no signals) and Aleksi taught them how to survive.

Olva and Marketa from Poiso – Episodes 4 to 7

Olva’s place for the renters to stay is rather a small cottage with two beds and two hanging tents in his private lake. Although not as off-the-grid stay in comparison to Aleksi, Olva didn’t have as much patience as Aleksi, probably ran out of time on that day, and rather gave them food supplies like blackcurrant pie, fish, and vegetables, all with self-sustained sources.

Juri and Anne from Kemijärvi – Episodes 7 to 9

In another back-to-the-nature theme, Juri and Anne are newlyweds who had lived city life and then moved to the countryside to start a new life with animals and neighbors.

Katja and Jonni Kiuru from Rovaniemi – Episodes 9 to 10

Although the area where they live is considered the City of Rovaniemi, with municipal water supply, electricity, and signals, the couple with their family live in a remote area, that can be accessed by boat, where they live with their big family and breed Finnish horses for psychotherapy.

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Review

Let me start with what I like about this show, which has a lot of positive features 😍, one suggestion for improvement 🤔, and ends with one dislike of this show 😒.

😍 The Mixed Get-Away with Nature Theme 😍

The synopsis doesn’t tell what actually happened in the show. I think there are four types of travel introduced in Rented in Finland. First, with Aleksi and Olva, is off-the-grid travel in which The Renters embark on a journey away from modern amenities and conveniences, such as wi-fi, electricity, running water, and technology, on bumpy off-road on rough terrains. Secondly, during the two destinations above they did the normal type of travel people do, such as visiting tourist places, specifically Finland, for example: the Reindeer Yoga, the Husky Farm places, eating Finnish specialty food in popular eateries, and meeting locals. Thirdly, there is agritourism at Juri and Anne’s place, in which the renters were introduced to farm and rural life. Lastly, is therapeutic therapy where The Renters went to Katja and Jonni’s place, an isolated destination, and rode horses. A destination that is likely to inspire and enchant in a way that enhances well-being, maybe even be healing.

I like Rented in Finland shows different choices of get-away travel besides the common one.

😍 The Reflection and Takeaway Message in the End of the Show 😍

By the end of the show, after meeting with Santa Claus, there are some clips of their reflection on their lives and their getaway vacation. Also from the hosts’ point of view about what they think happiness is (since Finland is considered the happiest country in the world). The messages we get from the ending scenes themselves can be rewatched again and again, and the whole show can also be rewatched as a trip down memory lane of the wonderful Lapland through Rented in Finland.

😍 Witty Editing and Script 😍 – with Special Adoration to Cha Eun Woo

The editing of this show is superb. A mix of expertise to find the best captures of tons of cameras they put around The Renters, hosts, nature, animals, and pretty much everything. The scriptwriting of this show is also full of humor, making fun of The Renters’ facial expressions. It’s also imaginative to match the situation and events, borderline romantic as shown below. I wonder if the scriptwriter usually writes scripts for advertisements or romcoms.

Either the cameramen, editor, scriptwriter, or all of them made a special tribute to adore Cha Eun Woo since there are many captures with accompanying texts praising his beauty, lol!

😍 Extra Info Added from Various Sources 😍

I like that the production company also added extra information (taken from online sources with credits) about Finland and Lapland that is not available in the show for certain circumstances. For example, the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), are visible in the auroral zone, which is an oval-shaped region around the Earth’s north pole (Scandinavian countries, Russia, Alaska, and Canada). Aurora is a natural light display in Earth‘s sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky.

😍 Perfect Ensemble of Cast with All Four Personalities 😍

The Renters’ different personalities seem to represent four types of fundamental human personalities: choleric (leader), sanguine (partier), melancholic (thinker), and phlegmatic (follower). I’m not sure if these are The Renters’ real personalities or if they were assigned personalities to act through, considering they are actors. But these personalities clashed and teamed up together, the ensemble of Rented in Finland cast is perfectly blended and I can see their different approaches to their adventures.

Dong Yeon, The Leader

Dong Yeon, even though he is the youngest, appeared to be the leader and the caretaker of The Renters. He planned everything before the trip, from printing out the map (since they wouldn’t have wifi) to buying gifts for the hosts. He oversaw everything and found out early on that the eldest is the clumsy one (since he forgot his valuable bag at the arcade). And of course, he cooked, almost every day, for the rest. He was the chef who could even improvise the recipe when there was any missing ingredient. Dong Yeon is a husband material indeed.

Eun Woo, The Merrymaker

Having seen him in several dramas in which his characters are cold and quiet (Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, My ID Is Gangnam Beauty, True Beauty, and A Good Day to Be a Dog), I was surprised that Cha Eun Woo in this show is so easy going and playful. I hope they make dramas with this side of him in the future because it seems he can be fun to be with. He was also a camera-conscious person, saying “hi” and smiling at the hidden cameras, while others didn’t bother. He eased up tensions with his silly jokes and acts, and he was very helpful during awkward or unwanted situations.

Dong Hwi, The Thinker

In the character description, Dong Hwi is described as looking grumpy from the outside. However, I think he is more of a worrier and thinker, typical of a melancholic person. Adding to that are his artistic hobbies of singing and drawing. He was sensitive in the show that he strived to be better at chopping wood when at first he failed while others succeeded. Also, what he was good at doing, for example, his first time catching fish, made him try again on the next chance. Dubbed Hwicasso by the rest, he drew the hosts on their departure day. In the scene below he sincerely apologized to Frida, Aleksi’s pup, for unsuccessfully drawing a dog look-alike.

Je Hoon, The Follower

Lee Je Hoon, although he is the oldest, he’s the most naive, clueless, and inexperienced of the pack. But he was very sweet and cute, must be protected at all costs. No wonder the show described him as the baby chick! He went along with everyone in patient and gentle ways and was supportive of helping others including cooking, although he cannot cook. The video clip below is the highlight of Je Hoon’s first time making scrambled eggs. The English-subtitled scene is in Episode 3.

This scene below, when The Renters splurged themselves with coffee, ice cream, and pastries, shows all four types of personalities in action.

😍Breathtaking Sceneries 😍

There are tons of beautiful scenic shots of Lapland nature in this show. If I put them all here, this article will be a gallery instead. Therefore, I only screenshot aerial views of the hosts’ places. But just from these four pictures below you have an idea of how breathtaking Lapland is!

🤔 Need More Focus on Lapland 🤔

After all the praises about this show, I think the show needs to focus more on the Lappic culture. There are too many prolonged scenes on how the renters cook and what they cook. I understand it’s a Korean show, so there are scenes of them cooking Korean food, but in my opinion, the cooking process took a considerable portion of the show. There are several Lappic-focused ideas on how they can focus more on the topic and, if needed, expand the show to 12 episodes:

• The Renters go hunting with Aleksi and he shows how Frida acts as a true Labrador Retriever.
• More explanation on how to take care of reindeer in Reindeer Yoga.
• The Renters can catch fish and clean them, not just shown how to clean them by Olva.
• A longer interview with Miki, the Korean lady, about her experiences adapting to a new life in Lapland.
• What to do in a long summer besides cleaning carpets and harvesting rye in Yuri and Anne’s farmhouse.
• A longer part at Jonni and Katja’s place with the topic on psychotherapy using horses.

😒 Misfit ‘Soundtrack’ 😒

There is no original soundtrack, I mean any Korean song, used for the theme songs. There are several Korean songs sung by The Renters for entertainment. However, when you start hearing American songs are used, in my opinion, that’s a distaste of the music department of this show. If they cannot find Finnish country and pop songs, just use generic country music instead.

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Conclusion

Rented in Finland is definitely a Korean reality show to watch… and rewatch. There is so much interesting information about the beautiful Lapland. Even if you are already familiar with or know inside and out about the area, there are still endearing interactions between The Renters, adorn with amusing script. As for me, who knew nothing about Lapland before this show, I also wrote down what I learned about the part of Finland in Rented in Finland: A Mindblowing Virtual Trip.