9 New Korean Reality Shows To Binge This Year
From dating shows to a culinary series starring BTS’ V and Park Seo-joon
With the success of Netflix’s Single’s Inferno and Physical:100, reality shows look set to be the next big thing in South Korean content. Netflix is bringing a fresh slate of unscripted shows (more dating and thrilling survival themes) to our screens, and Korean entertainment channels TVN, One Channel and Mnet are also debuting new shows to get hooked on.
Related article: The Korean Dramas To Watch In 2021
Fans of K-pop group BTS or popular K-drama actor Park Seo-joon will want to catch (or perhaps have already caught) Jinny’s Kitchen, an unscripted culinary show that sees five Korean stars attempting to run a snack bar offering Korean street food in Bacalar, Mexico. They include Lee Seo-jin, Jung Yu-mi, Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-shik, and BTS’ V (Kim Taehyung).
Catch these famous faces taking on culinary challenges, including veteran actor Lee Seo-jin as the boss, Jung Yu-mi as the executive, and Park Seo-joon as the head of the kitchen. Choi Woo-shik and V take on the roles of interns. How will they hold up in a professional kitchen? Watch to find out.
Now available on Prime Video.
By now, you’d probably know about Physical: 100, Netflix’s survival production that’s been a global hit. Likened to K-drama Squid Game (without the deaths), the nine-episode series pits 100 contestants against each other in a show of physical fitness, strength and agility. Apart from the gruelling tasks, a highlight is also the sportsmanship shown by the participants, who run the gamut from national athletes and Olympians to former special forces soldiers, bodybuilders, and fitness personalities.
The last contestant standing takes home a whopping KRW300 million that’s roughly the equivalent of S$308,522.
Now available on Netflix.
Single’s Inferno premise centres around a group of young, single, and undeniably attractive South Koreans who are ready to mingle. Left stranded on an island to find that special one, it’s only when they hit it up with another singleton that can they then head to Paradise (basically a luxury hotel), so they can get to know one another better.
The participants’ raw and candid emotions for each other have been what’s drawing audiences, as they’re only able to focus only on their feelings in a restricted space without any knowledge of each others’ age or jobs.
The smash hit series has been confirmed for a third season, which will make a comeback with hotter and newer faces. There will also be big changes in store, according to Netflix, including new rules and filming locations, making the show and its budding romances more unpredictable than before.
Coming to Netflix in Q4 2023.
Love South Korea’s zombie shows like Train To Busan, Alive and All of us Are Dead? Ever imagined what a zombie apocalypse will be like IRL?
Enter Zombieverse, where contestants experience a simulated zombie attack and fight to survive till the end — from completing quests such as looking for food or a safe space, to deciding whether to save those infected by a ‘zombie’. To make it more realistic, special effects will be provided by the All of Us Are Dead art team and the zombie choreographers of Kingdom.
Participants include K-pop idols, actors, TV personalities, and professionals. And if you couldn’t get enough of Single’s Inferno S2 contestant Kim Jinyoung, you’ll be glad to know that the heartthrob will be returning to our screens as part of the Zombieverse cast. Guess we’ll get to see his military tactic skills put to good use here.
Coming to Netflix in Q3 2023.
Similar to Physical:100, this combat survival show will feature teams of Korea’s fittest women with different backgrounds and occupations, including firefighters, bodyguards, military women and athletes. Their combat and strategic thinking skills will be put to the test as they fight to survive during their seven-day stay on a vast unknown island.
Only one team will emerge as the winner after a mission that puts their limitations to the test. Expect extreme situations and unexpected twists that’ll have you glued to your seat.
Coming to Netflix in Q2 2023.
Those who enjoy coming-of-age dramas will want to tune in to this reality entertainment show that tracks a group of Gen Zs in their last week of being 19 years old just before they hit 20. During that final week, they attend “19 School” to learn practical things about adult life and prepare for adulthood. Then on Jan 1, they all stay at “20 House,” a space where they are independent of their parents and teachers.
On the cusp of adulthood, these 19-year-olds create unexpectedly vivacious and nostalgic moments throughout the show. Singer and television host Cho Kyu-hyun, actress Kim Ji-eun, and singer will participate as emcees. It’s produced by Kim Jae-won, who’s also behind Single’s Inferno.
Coming to Netflix in Q3 2023.
In this mind-bending survival game show devised by “the Devil”, “recruits” get one week to be crowned the brainiest player and win the ultimate prize. Contestants will include celebrities and social media influencers, who’ll be challenged to take off their “social masks” and reveal their identities.
“We had the opportunity to work with some of Korea’s top unscripted showrunners and creatives. Jeong Jong-yeon, who pioneered Korea’s survival shows based on mind games, is the mastermind behind our upcoming series The Devil’s Plan,” Netflix shares.
Coming to Netflix in Q3 2023.
Can’t get enough of the idol industry? Be one of the first fans of an upcoming K-pop group on Boys’ Planet. This reality show by South Korean music channel Mnet, which concluded recently, stars 93 male trainees battling it out to beat the rest and emerge as part of a new global K-pop boy group. The concept is similar to the Girls Planet 999 reality competition show in 2021, also produced by Mnet.
Throughout the live-streamed series, viewers got to vote for their faves or the cream of the crop among all the trainees.
Now on the M-net Kpop YouTube channel.
United Fathers is a family reality show that follows fathers from around the globe who raise their children in South Korea. They include expats from six different countries ― Italy, China, India, Azerbaijan, the UK, and South Africa. The show observes these fathers’ unique ways of caring for their children and shares the experiences, challenges and knowledge of raising kids in a foreign country.
Available on Prime Video and Viki.
This article was originally published in Her World.