Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal

Korean Dating Reality Shows That You Need To Watch

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Have you ever loved a K-drama character so much that it made you wonder how the actor/actress will be like in their actual love life? If you’re a K-pop fan then you’ve imagined how dating your bias will be like at least once, we’ve all done it! Has this ever made you wonder how they will behave to their actual love partner? Or being into K-drama and K-pop ever turned on your curiosity regarding how Korean people date in general? Worry no more! To satisfy your curiosity, here are some Korean Dating Reality Shows That You Need To Watch:

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1. We Got Married:
I think most of us already know about this program. But for those you who don’t, this show pairs up Korean celebrities to show what life would be like if they were married. The couples are assigned various missions to complete each week along with candid interviews of the participants which reveal their thoughts and feelings during the filming. It aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017 and has 4 seasons. Some of my favorite couples from WGM include 2PM's Nichkhun& f(x)'s Victoria, SHINee's Lee Tae-min &Apink's Son Na-eun, Namkoong Min & Hong Jin-young, Hong Jong-hyun& Girl's Day's Kim Yura, Song Jae-rim & Kim So-eun, Super Junior M's Henry Lau & Kim Ye-won, BtoB'sYookSungjae& Red Velvet's Joy, Eric Nam &Mamamoo's Solar and 5urprise's Gong Myung& Jung Hye-sung. You’d also wanna check out its Chinese version and global edition.

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2. Heart Signal:
If a show is more real than reality and more dramatic than dramas, it is heart signal! This shows features eight stranger, four men and four women, who come together and get to know each other for the first time, just as the audience does. All of them live together in the same house called "Signal House"for 30 days and develop romances.Signal House is filled with rosy expectation of love and romance blooms as the couples spend time together not just by going on dates, but also by simply sharing their daily lives with each other. Predictors” with vast experiences in dating and love will detect potential lovers as the suspense to find out who likes who increases with every episode. Each member is supposed to text other person in the house anonymously every night.While the cast memebers may get mistaken for celebrities due to their looks, surprisingly they are all ordinary people from different backgrounds. This show has 3 seasons and all three seasons will make your heart flutter like anything. The third season is currently ongoing.

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3. Love Catcher:
This is a show that had me on my toes until the last episode! It is a new concept of love survival that deals with the subtle psychology of young men and women who fall in love but doubt love at the same time. It brings together 10 strangers, 5 men and 5 women, with hidden identities to live together for eight days under the same roof. Some of them are “love catchers,” and some are “money catchers”. Love catchers, who are looking for true love, must avoid falling for a money catcher and match with a love catcher in their quest for true love.Whereas, money catchers, who have entered the competition to win the prize money of 50 million won (approximately $44,600), try to identify a love catcher to partner up with themin order to win the money.If they end up choosing another money catcher, they are eliminated from the game. It is a sophisticated mind game among participants that creates suspense to find out who is love catcher and who is money catcher.

4. Love Me Actually:
It is a unique romance variety show that features 5 single men and women that join the club voluntarily to escape their dull and jaded lives and find true love. The five eligible bachelors consist of the comedian Heo Kyeong Hwan, the business savvy entrepreneur Park Sung Kwang, the rapper from INFINITE Dong Woo, the irresistible smiley Yang Se Chan, and the youngest of them all, the up-and-coming star actor Kim Min Gue. The female participants of the show are so beautiful that it made me a bit self conscious.They are taken  to different destinations all over the country and gives them a chance to get to know each other. As the hosts in this real romance variety show and experience the endless laughter, the awkwardness, and the affection each one of them has to offer, idols like Red Velvet’s endy, EXID’s Solji and iKON’s Jinhwan share their thoughts about love and romance. If it’s your first time dipping your toe into korean reality/ variety show pool, you’ll be sold to this one. This show is hilarious and adorable at the same time and will get you completely invested in each of the men and women finding love.

5. My Daughter’s Men:
This show is about celebrity dads who watch the love life of their daughters. The dads watch their daughters go out on blind dates or dates with their boyfriend and captures what the dads talk about and how they react to their daughter’s relationships. This show has 4 seasons and includes Shin Hyun-joon, Lee Soo-geun, Kim Hee-chul, Park So-jin and Park Soo-ah as the main hosts. The daughters go out on blind dates and meet new single men if they’re single. If they’re already in a relationship, the show focuses on the blooming love between the couple. Along with their dates, the couples are also shown travelling various places and having food that looks yummylicious. This show is like no other, it creates suspense to find out whether pair that went on a blind date will actually start dating or not and even covers the quarrrels between the lovers. At times the daughter dump their date, other times the date dumps the daughter. It’s not always a happy ending as they set out on their journey to find their other half. It is an interesting show that shows love, romance and relationships from dads’ perspective.

-By Shreeya Maskey