In February, Tuesdays became a highlight of the week for seniors Jayden Chen, Carter Lawrence and Winston Silsby, as each one brought the release of a new episode of Single’s Inferno.
Dubbed the “Korean Love Island,” Single’s Inferno is a Korean reality dating show in which men and women live together on a deserted island. Couples can escape to “Paradise” after matching up. The show debuted in 2021, receiving global attention. It consistently ranks in the Top 10 non-English TV shows on Netflix.
January marked the start of the fifth season. Before the seniors learned the real names of the cast, they were already screaming nicknames at the screen.
“Single’s Inferno is a lot more conservative and moderate, and I enjoyed seeing that on TV,” Silsby said. When comparing Singles Inferno to Western reality TV shows like Love Island, students enjoyed that the Korean dating show carried much more emotional connection, given the slower pace of Single’s Inferno.
“You get so attached to the characters,” Silsby said. “With Single’s Inferno, you support couples so you really feel it when they break up, but in Love Island, it doesn’t matter.”
The cast prioritized establishing an emotional connection over just physical attraction. Chen, who watched some of the show with his parents, considers Singles Inferno more like flirting—distinct from Love Island’s fast paced relationships and flings.
“I like to compare the two shows like summer camp versus real long-term dating,” Chen said.
One of the cast members that quickly became the early favorite was Kim Mingee, who became a huge fan-favorite across most of the show’s global audience for her authentic personality and athleticism. “Track baddie” or “diva” was used to describe Kim Mingee, “hoodie guy” for Song Seung-il and “villain” for Choi Mina Sue. These nicknames have become familiar and almost universal amongst the viewers of the show.
“You see these people a lot on social media now, so people just brand them as these nicknames,” Chen said.
Sophomores Tatiana Duque and Celina Zhao noticed that some contestants were vilified to an extreme.
“I saw this video that said that what the directors actually aired on Single’s Inferno was only about thirty percent of what actually happened,” Duque said. “It’s unfair because viewers don’t get to see the whole picture.”
Zhao noted that she could see the good chemistry between Mina Sue, the “villain,” and the other cast members when she was watching post-season videos.
“The show had to pick someone to make it interesting, and they just landed on Mina Sue,” Zhao said. “It worked for publicity, but I feel kind of bad for her now.”
After the show, Mina Sue ended up receiving a lot of negative hate and feedback, so much so that she even turned off her Instagram comments for a while.
To Silsby, Mina Sue did not consider any of the relationships other cast members explored. Even though she was criticized and alienized, both groups of viewers agree that the show could have done better to make her look like a better person.
“She was insensitive,” Chen said. “But at the same time, there was a lot of negative feedback in real life, and that’s not something you want for anyone, even if they portray a villain on a dating show.”
Another factor that sets Single’s Inferno apart from other dating shows is the panel of commentators—which has many mixed reviews.
“I like most of the people on the board, but there’s one person that irritates me, which is the older woman in the middle,” Chen said. “She gives me the trauma of my mom because she’s such a judgy person.”
Lawrence says that the host, Hong Jin Kyung, is extremely funny and has valid reasons for her opinions and reactions to the cast members and their actions.
“They relate to the viewer because we have the exact same reaction,” Lawrence said. “It’s a smart transition.”
But beyond the controversies of the cast and panel of commentators, Single’s Inferno has provided viewers a different, more conservative glimpse of reality dating shows that many of the audience members have enjoyed.
“I would definitely recommend watching Single’s Inferno,” Chen said. “It’s a very good alternative to a lot of Western reality TV.”
