This Is What It's Like Hanging Out With Jayley And Hayley Woo In Seoul

The phrase “lost in translation” plays out like a comedy during dinner with the twins and Korean cast of CHEF at a very atas restaurant. Both parties attempt to converse with each other — the former in Korean and the latter in Konglish — to rib-tickling results. The twins also fly the Singapore flag high as they school their Korean counterparts in Singlish with phrases like “buay song” and “bo bian”. Ho sei ah!

After dinner, we got on a bus that took us to buzzy Hongdae. “I take the bus more often here than when I’m in Singapore ’cos back home, I got a lot of things to do so I feel like taking the bus is a waste of time!” muses Jayley. She adds that she and her sister do get their fair bit of attention when taking the bus back home. “People stare and point at us. Once, this woman just buay paiseh gawked at me!” Manners, people, manners.

Dog and cat cafes? Meh. The twins indulge in a spot of sheep watching at the popular Thanks Nature Café in Hongdae. While ogling at the two fluffy sheep roaming around in their pen, Jayley squeals: “So poor thing!” If you think the café looks familiar, that’s ’cos it’s been featured on hit show We Got Married.

Jayley and Hayley watching buskers do their thang in Hongdae. Says Jayley: “Sometimes, we come here to soak in the atmosphere.”

Jayley getting a Henna tattoo at a makeshift stand. The self-proclaimed goody-two-shoes says: “This is the closest I'll ever get to a tattoo!” Halfway through, the tattoo artiste, an intimidating-looking rock chick with multiple facial piercings, leans over to tell Jayley: “Unni [Older sister], you’re very pretty,” in Korean. The elated star later tells us: “When I heard that, I was so touched. She looks so cool on the surface [so I never expected her to say that]. That’s why you should never judge a book by the cover!”

A close-up of Jayley’s Henna tattoo. Think it’s an oh-so-romantic heart emblem? Think again. It’s actually made up of two dinosaur-like skeletons. Yikes!

Sibling rivalry rears its not-so-ugly head when the twins challenge each other to a friendly match of darts. Rule of the game: The more balloons you pop, the bigger your plushie prize. In the end, Hayley lost to Jay 1-5.

Despite the big gap in their scores, both stars won a plushie of their choice. And, surprise, surprise, the twins opted for identical-looking whale plushies. But the competition is not over. A slightly miffed Hayley huffs: “Let’s go shoot hoops. That one I surely win her!”

As we amble along the bustling streets of Hongdae, Hayley darts into a thrift store and starts poring through racks and racks of clothes. “If I buy three, will it be cheaper?” Hayley coos to the store assistant who shoots back a firm “no”. Three minutes later, Hayley emerges from the store, with three garments in her hand and $80 poorer. Jayley laments: “Every time after she splurges on shopping, she will always tell me she can earn the money back!” At the next store, Hayley tries on a pair of fake glasses and decides to buy it immediately. “Am I showing my shopaholic self?” she asks. Uh-huh.

It’s showdown time! We arrive at a arcade where Hayley and Jayley face-off in a game of arcade basketball. Hayley, again, lost out to Jayley with a score of 46 - 107. Guess it’s just not your day, Hay. Which is why we decide to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

Following interviews with the Singapore media, Jayley and Hayley slip into their Barbie pink apron dresses and prep for their full-dress rehearsal at the Bibap theatre.

Jayley slinks off into the audience area and heaves a sigh of relief as it’s Hayley's turn to perform today. The twins will take turns playing the bubbly, vivacious Cutie Chef during the two-month-long run of the 75-minute play come June. In other words, like a box of chocolates, you never know which twin you’re going to get on any given day.

Whoever said acting is a breeze should have sat in on the director’s review of the twins’ performances. With each scene, the director spat out a list of instructions via a translator. "Show more anger!", "Look sheepish and cute after that!", "Act more ‘man’!" Meanwhile, we feel exhausted just watching them re-enact the same scene over and over again.

The sisters learning to perfect their pitch from their vocal coach who pulls double duty as the flirtatious Sexy Chef in the musical. Their vocal training includes pre-vocal warm-up exercises and learning how to project their voices.

To unwind, we mosey over to Myeondong for some much-needed R&R. Here, Jayley helps Hayley to snap an #OOTD shot. That’s what sisters are for, right?

The twins posing outside the Myeongdong Cathedral. P.S. Carrie Wong was just here two weeks earlier. Coincidence? We think not.

While in Myeongdong, the twins introduce us to some of their favourite street snacks, like traditional honey cream ice cream and roasted lobster with cheese. During a leisurely walk, Jayley suddenly comes up to us and goes “Ahhhh!”, urging us to open our mouth so she could feed us some lobster. She goes on to do the same for the rest of the crew. Seoul sweet.

Dinnertime! Hayley Instagram Live-d her way through a bibimbap buffet. “It’s been quite some time since I did an Instagram Live broadcast,” she says as her assistant films her choosing her food. Elsewhere, Hayley hotfoots to film her sister who’s piling her plate with chow. And that’s how you earn your salt as a social media star, people.

CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab runs from June 10 to July 22 at the Resorts World Theatre, Resorts World Sentosa. Tix on Sistic.