The hottest topic of discussion all over the internet globally - "Single's Inferno 2" has officially ended its run, giving us some adorable new stars to fawn over. Even if you haven't watched the show, it is impossible to avoid names like SoE, SeJun, Nadine, SeulKi, JongWoo, and more that have become keywords and trends on online forums. Over the course of 10 episodes stretched over eight days on a remote island, the hottest singles in South Korea met to find love and the result was a global sensation. This begs the question - why and how is the Korean entertainment industry also dominating the dating show game? Let's get into it!
It is no surprise that Korean cultural exports have achieved unparalleled success over the last decade, but Korean music, dramas, and films have existed for much longer than they have been popular worldwide. On the contrary, it is relatively recent in that timeline that show-makers started dipping their toes into the non-celebrity dating reality world and, almost instantly, found a cult following that remains unbeatable. Despite having produced dating-related shows for decades, particularly involving celebrities like "We Got Married", "Match Made In Heaven" etc., they have never been as popular as they are now.
Unlike K-Pop or K-Dramas that powered the Korean Wave by opening up new worlds to the audience and providing unique value to them, dating reality shows are nothing new. They have been a part of Western television for as far back as we can remember - the early 2000s, to be precise. We have "Love Island", "Too Hot To Handle", "The Bachelor", "Temptation Island", "Love Is Blind", "90-Day Fiancé" and innumerable more that have become staples of the reality TV landscape over the years. These formats were adapted elsewhere too, giving birth to spin-offs and remakes in other countries. Still, it is Korean dating shows that are creating a stir more revolutionary than ever before.
To understand the reason why these Korean dating shows are so popular, it is important to see the differences that define them and make them stand out from the rest. For starters, Western dating reality shows are more uninhibited, uncensored, and liberal, much like the rest of Western entertainment. Their values are different from the East and as such, the boundaries they can push are too. The ultimate aim is to bring out the real, unrestrained emotions of the contestants by putting them under stressful circumstances and restricting their will. It is quite common to see shows with the premise of "resisting intimacy", such as "Temptation Island", which aired for the first time in 2001 and "Too Hot To Handle", where celibacy wins you money or "forced proximity" like in "90-Day Fiancé". This is not to say that Western dating shows capitalize on the physical aspect of relationships but simply that it is not off the table. These shows are catered towards an adult audience and are rated "A" across the board, with some exceptions of "U/A 16+".
On the other hand, we have Korean dating shows, which, like Korean romance dramas themselves, focus on the emotional connection between participants with little to no scope for "skinship". With Korean society's conservative perception of public intimacy, it is no surprise that the contestants on these shows are image conscious. So, it is rather rare that you'll ever see anything more than a peck. This is why shows like "Single's Inferno" and "Change Days" are rated U/A 13+ as opposed to the predominant mature rating of Western dating reality TV. One of the only Korean dating reality shows that chose to highlight physical attraction as a differentiating point - "Eden: Descendants of Instinct", did not achieve the level of global success as others and was even criticized for being overly sexualized despite having a PG-15 rating. A lot of this criticism wasn't just coming from Korean viewers but also from international ones who thought it was "nothing special" and just the Korean version of "Too Hot To Handle". What this implies is that the issue is not necessarily with "skinship" but rather the lack of originality.
Another unique selling point of Korean dating reality shows is the celebrity panel of commentators that accompany the actual episodes. They draw in viewership and their commentary allows fans to ponder upon the events of the show alongside their favorite stars. It is not only the contestants and their actions but also the panelists and their reactions that create the buzz.
If we pick apart all the Korean dating reality shows that gained outstanding popularity on a global scale, they all have one thing in common - the idea of "love", which is much more complex and elusive than just attraction. We're watching real people deal with their real feelings, choices, and regrets, and oftentimes, these lead to dreamy or heartbreaking moments like in K-Dramas. So, just like characters in K-Dramas, we're naturally drawn to empathize with the contestants, root for them, or disapprove of their decisions. As viewers live vicariously through these shows, they also find themselves getting emotionally attached to the participants, which plays a huge role in popularising them even when the show has ended. There is something so raw and authentic about their feelings and the way they navigate the same that the audience can see reflections of their own lives in them and perhaps even find answers that they had been looking for in their own relationships.
An inadvertent effect of these lovey-dovey dating shows is that they are promoting the concept of realistic love and relationships in a way that we otherwise associate with K-Dramas, thus conveying that even ordinary people in South Korea are swoon-worthy lovers like our favorite characters. Now, one might point out that most of the contestants on these shows are influencers, models, highly accomplished, and glamorous. Even if they're not celebrities, they're nothing less either. Well, one of the most popular Korean dating shows, both in South Korea and overseas, is actually "I Am Solo", which brings together ordinary, relatable people from different walks of life who want to get married and are sincere about this goal.
"I Am Solo" gave us realistic, mature romance with extremely heart-fluttering moments, and some unforgettable couples, and one of the most common remarks online about it was - "it's straight out of a K-Drama". Now, who wouldn't enjoy seeing a K-Drama pan out in real life, even imagining themselves in the contestants' shoes? Especially in the case of an international viewer, it might be a common assumption that all men or women are romantic, like K-Drama characters. Now, this might be far-fetched to some extent but this could certainly boost tourism as Hallyu fans travel to South Korea to find this fairytale romance. K-Pop and K-Dramas have had this effect before so this is not the first time and it certainly won't be the last.
As derivative Korean dating shows with simple premises started getting more and more popular albeit oversaturated, the creative minds behind some of the most groundbreaking K-Dramas naturally came up with even wilder concepts like "Chain Reaction" where participants are, quite literally, chained together, "Transit Love" where exes live under the same roof and must pretend not to know each other while they find new love, "Pink Lie" where each participant carries one lie about them and the show pans out like a social experiment to see if love can transcend these lies, "Love After Divorce" featuring divorced singles looking for a second chance at love and "Love Catcher" where participants are looking for love or money, thus playing on their psychology and change of heart.
In addition, we also got the first gay dating show in the history of Korean television last year - "His Man", marking a crucial step towards queer visibility in mainstream entertainment. Slowly, queer relationships started being normalized in dating shows such as in "Love Alarm Clap! Clap! Clap!" where a female contestant chose to go on a date with another female contestant, making her romantic feelings for her obvious. It is not physical intimacy but rather heartening moments of courage and honesty like these that truly make these shows global.
Fun Fact: The upcoming dating reality show on the Japanese OTT platform Abema TV will feature Japanese and Korean idol trainees who will live together under one roof to find love before their debut. It is premised on the fact that most idols have to abide by dating bans and relies on the nerve of sympathy that fans have often expressed about idols not being able to have love lives because of their profession. At the same time, it also opens a discourse about whether such a show is appropriate, given the participants' age range and the impact it will have on their careers later on. Either way, it has got people talking.
Why do you think Korean dating shows are gaining more and more popularity worldwide? Share your thoughts with Kpopmap in the comments section down below!