And so the members of 10 two-man teams literally put their best foot forward on Sunday to impress the judges.

The prize? To be among the final five teams to slug it out in Seoul on Nov 1 in the latest edition of the Life! Takes You Places reality travel contest.

The 10 teams were earlier drawn from a box where entry forms were deposited by readers of Life!.

On Sunday, one of the challenges posed to the teams was to imitate a hip-hop performance by a foot-loose member of a Korean dance troupe, which had been brought in to entertain the crowds at SA Tours' travel fair at Suntec.

The Seoul qualifying round was held as part of the fair.

Said Ms Cindy Ding, 27, supply planner, who impressed the crowd with her competent dance moves: 'This was the first time we had to dance before a crowd. We were the first team to perform, so we didn't have enough time to discuss how to synchronise our moves.'

But an earlier Life! story had alerted those keen on taking part in the contest to be prepared for anything on Sunday.

Which explained why Ms Ding stood out because she and her team-mate, Ms Jane Chua, 27, a sales engineer, had watched videos of Korean superstar Rain, who is known for his slick dance moves.

Another ecstatic contestant who made it was dentist Sapphire Gan, 26. She and her team-mate Evelynn Leng, 26, a logistics officer, had submitted 60 entry forms.

'But Evelynn gagged when we had to eat kimchi,' said Ms Gan, referring to one test which timed the teams on how fast they could polish off the spicy dish.

'I had no choice but to eat for the two of us,' she said.

The Seoul showdown on Nov 1 is the fourth edition of Life!'s contest, which is supported by SA Tours. It began last year, with previous challenges held in Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo.

The first price is a $5,000 travel voucher, with the second- and third-placed teams bagging vouchers worth $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.

kengfatt@sph.com.sg