Singles Inferno 3

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean reality dating show with 11, 56-85 minute episodes

First I provide a unique synopsis then Review

Synopsis

A group of single men and women live on an island called Inferno which has the basic necessities for survival. The set up is a base level glamping environment and very minimal foods are provided. Through a combination of competition rewards and matching during selections couples are able to go to another island called Paradise. On Paradise couples are able to reveal their ages and occupations and get to know each other in luxury accommodations and with a feast of food items. Singles can also interact on Inferno but are not allowed to reveal their ages or occupations. Friends form in the cabin style dorms and singles interact as friend and potential romantic partners while cooking and going about daily living. During the final episode, the single women are stationed around the island and the men are able to go to the single women if their choice. The single woman then selects by grabbing the hand if the man she chooses to leave the island with.

CELEBRITY HOSTS

Hong Jin kyung Born in 1977. She would have been 46 when the show aired. She is an entrepreneur, model, host, comedian and actress.

Lee Da-hee Born in 1985 she would have been 39 when the show aired. She is a model and actress.

Cho Kyu Hyun (Kyuhyun) Born in 1988 he would have been 35 when the show aired. He is a multi talented musical theater actor, television show host and member of Kpop band Super Junior

Jung Han hae (Hanhae) Born in 1990 he would have been 33 when the show aired. He was a singer and rapper. A Former member of the South Korean hip hop boy band Phantom.

Kim Jin Young (Dex) Born in 1985 he would have been 38 when the show aired. He was a single during season 2 but is returning to join the host panel. He was a member of the Korean Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) soldier has also appeared in South Korean reality shows Game of Blood and Zombieverse. He may soon be taking roles in South Korean dramas.

SINGLES

WOMEN

Kim Gyu ri Born in 1996 would have been about 28 at the time the show aired. Fashion and beauty model Gyu-ri was a runner-up for Miss Korea 2022.

Choi Hye seon Born in 1998 would have been about 26 at the time. A bioinformatics major at the Life Sciences department of Ewha Women’s University,

An Min young . A Pilates instructor who owns her own studio. She also competed in Miss Busan Jinhae 2023 and influencer with over 40k followers prior to the show.

Yun Ha jeong, Born in 1998 would have been about 26 at the time. She is an office worker at a medical clothing company. She is also an aspiring actress and model signed to an agency. A former beauty pageant contestant where she was runner-up in Miss Chunhyang 2021.

Cho Min ji Born in 1998. She would have been about 26 at the time. She was a college student studying to be an anchor. Attended Ewha Womans University. She was a Miss Korea 2021 runner up.

Yu Si eun Born in 1997. She would have been about 27 when the show aired.Freelance model in beauty and fashion. She is an influencer and was the first runner up for Miss Korea in 2022.

MEN

Choi Min woo, Born in 2000. He was about 23 at the time. He is a model who has worked for several fashion brands and walked in Seoul Fashion week.

Lee Gwan hee Born in 1988 he was about 36 at the time. He is a professional basketball player. He appeared on variety shows such as Running Man. He also does a personal youtube channel.

Son Won ik Born in 1993 he would have been about 31 at the time. He is a licensed realtor and avid marathon runner. Like several of the others, he also has his own youtube channel.

Yun Ha bin Born in 1993 he was about 31 at the time. He is an actor who mostly does independent films, He had a brief appearance in Episode 2 of the recent South Korean drama, My Demon.

Park Min kyu, Born in 1989 he would have been about 34. He is a police officer and rescue diver on the Korean Coast Guard's Sea Special Rescue Team. He was a competitive swimmer in his school years but had to drop out of competition after a shoulder injury.

Lee Jin-seok Born in 1993 he would have been about 31 when the show aired. He is an entrepreneur who owns several bakery cafés in Daegu and Seoul, South Korea.

Review

Overall this is another exiting addition to the reality dating genre. In my opinion it is an improvement over American shows that have a lot of very sexualized content. That being said, these singles seem much more comfortable with physical contact than one may be used to in other South Korean shows.

I liked the first part of the show a lot. The getting to know each other phase was very interesting. The latter episodes had a lot more conflict that wasn’t about I have genuine feelings but more I feel strongly about this person in a competitive sense. I find myself disillusioned a bit the more I watch reality dating as I want to observe the progression of a relationship leading to a more permanent relationship or at least dating and I don’t think that is what many of these shows wind up being about. It is more Mr. and Mrs. Right now and within the game. I think the perfect example of this is one single will become the most desired of that gender and everyone goes for them in a competitive way. Then it seems more like competing than having any genuine compatibility or long term interest. South Korean’s are, in general, very private about their romantic relationships so it is hard to find things on how the couples are doing after the show except for what little clues might be found on various Single’s Instagram and other social media accounts.

In terms of reality dating show, this remains one of the better ones. If you are looking for a more wholesome version of American shows like the “Bachelor in Paradise” this would be it. There is definitely limited physical contact like no kissing or other more intimate acts. Hand holding and touching is about the extent of it and it doesn’t have to break away because a couple is spending the night together. It is all non cringy. If you want more risqué behavior then American shows would fit that bill.

It is good, worth watching, and I would recommend it to others with similar interest. I will not rewatch it but I don’t tend to rewatch any reality shows. Is it sad? Depends on how much you feel for those that exhibit heartbreak or get rejected. I don’t find it sad just because I don’t believe any deep attachments can be formed in such a short time period. Does it end happy? Well, that depends on whether or not you can be happy even if the person does not decide on the one you think is a good match for them. There are no guarantees that your favorite couple will wind up together. But that is just reality dating shows for you. People, in regular life also often pick based on attraction rather than true compatibility. Not saying that is what happened but it is definitely a thing that does happen with some of the singles.

Spoilers

Like others I always have my opinions on who seemed the most compatible to me and my thoughts on certain events. I realize viewers do not get to see footage of every interaction but I know they do show the key interactions and events.

This show emphasized that first impressions should hold very little value in how you consider a person. Kim Gyu ri is a perfect example to me. She is gorgeous by most people’s standards. And she had a slightly haughty air about her when they were first introducing the singles. I thought, I am a bit embarrassed to say now, she was likely a prissy full of herself person. During that first interaction she was relatively quiet. As the show went on she became one of my favorite singles. She was not stuck up. Actually quite the opposite. Her actions proved her to be quite genuine and down to Earth. And I think that is why her interaction with Choi Min Woo was misinterpreted. When they confessed the start of feelings for each other she was very honest. And she asked him to “stay put” which I thought was clear she was asking him to wait for her. But after he decided, for no apparent reason, that he was suddenly very attracted to Yu Si eun. I did not think they had enough interaction to warrant that sudden inseparable fated love union the two of them formed. I could see how Gyu ri would have been surprised and hurt after having come back from Paradise, where she kept her word and wasn’t showing any romantic interest, to find that Min Woo was suddenly all in for Si eun. Min Woo knew what he said to Gyu ri and I thought Gyu Ri’s comment to him that he was being like player Lee Gwan hee was warranted. I thought Si eun knew the situation but didn’t care because she decided she wanted him. I was disappointed in both of them. If Min Woo changed his mind that is totally okay in the context but there are ways to let the other person down gently and ways where you are just being hurtful. I was really glad Gyu ri told Min Woo his behavior was hurtful and wrong because it was. I was also disappointed in the panel who concluded Gyu ri was too harsh and wrong to scold Min Woo. She was nice about it really.

Si eun gave a negative impression from the beginning when she stated her and Yun Ha-jeong knew each other and that she thought she was better. If she had depth of character and a nice personality that certainly did not come through. All we saw was her being rather cold to Son Won ik when he expressed his feelings and back stabbing Gyu ri by emotionally manipulating Min Woo late in the show. Her tears when she couldn’t see him and pouty behavior was extremely emotionally manipulative and juvenile. There is a way to romantically compete that is fair and above board and I did not feel like her behavior met that criteria. She could have discussed her mutual interest in Gyu ri and gave her a heads up that she planned to pursue Min woo as well. That is sort of what the Gwan Hee harem did. I also lost a lot of respect for Si eun when she want and interrupted when Gyu ri and Min Woo were talking. If she was so confident he now liked her why did she feel the need to interrupt. If you think you need to interrupt then you obviously think the two might have some feelings and, since you are the one that stepped in late, it would have been classier to give them their moment. She was the one that stepped in after those two already had something going. The fact that others were encouraging her to interrupt them made me a little disappointed in those others as well. Gyu ri was hurt and yes she was venting and scolding Min Woo a bit but it was the least he could do for going about things the way he did. Being rejected hurts and being rejected so publicly would hurt even worse. I didn’t think Si eun and Min Woo’s interactions were cute or romantic at all. And it did not make me root for their relationship. I think they are both young and they were very fatalistic in their desire to be together as only people that young might be. Still he needed to know that the way he did that was hurtful. And Si eun should have backed off and not essentially rubbed it in. It was a mean girl thing to do.

I had a love and hate impression of Lee Gwan Hee the entire show. As an American woman his selfish and chauvinistic behavior really had my ire up. He wanted the women to make the moves on him and he thought it was perfectly okay that he pursue as many women as he felt like but if any of those women showed any interest in the other men then that was points against them. It was hypocritical. He likes to tease girls he is interested in? He was actually called on some of his rude comments and behavior by several of the women. Yun Ha Jeong was spot on when she called him and chastised him for his horrible comments and behavior. It was a shame she apologized. I think she may have done that either because the show had her do it or perhaps due to feedback she received. He seemed surprised and maybe lost some respect for her when she apologized. I thought it was a growth opportunity for Gwan hee to have someone tell him some of the things he did would not fall in the fun and playful teasing category but more like mean and bully like. He was so full of himself and arrogant he needed to hear he was far from perfect. He acted very different with Choi Hye seon and it was clear that he had feelings for her as he always wanted to know where she was and what she was up to. What really got me about Gwan hee is we would see him tell one woman what a great time he had with them, how he was leaning toward them and then tell the other woman he didn’t have such a good time and was actually leaning toward them. That is why he was labeled a “player” by a lot of people.

Lee Jin seok was another single who I had a completely erroneous first impression of. I have known handsome muscular men over time and a lot of them are very arrogant and not very personable. So my first thought was that would be how he was. And that impression was reinforced when he selected An Min young who was showing off a lot more of her assets then I consider typical of women her age. And the two got really close and their attraction was very evident and mutual during their time together on Paradise. But then Min Young made a series of comments about how she didn’t like that the other singles already considered them a pair and how she didn’t like those decisions being made for her. He backed off and actually changed his mind. I respected that. What she said was hurtful and I am a person that thinks people mean what they say. He was also very kind, mature and thoughtful in all of his interactions with the other participants. So my first impression of Jin seok was totally off base and he was one of the males on the island I found the most personable and genuine. I thought a good pair would have been him and Gyu ri as they were both very direct, didn’t like games and were very thoughtful and kind. But, for whatever reason it seems they did not have that thought about each other.

When Choi Min ji first joined the singles I thought wow! here is a woman who is beautiful, confident and will not be a game player. At first, that seemed to be the case. I liked her initial interactions with Jin seok and thought he may have someone who truly appreciated him on the show. But she changed so much in such a short period I wondered which version was her true self. Once she decided she liked and wanted to compete for Gwan hee it was like she became a different person. He behavior where she was trying to get Gwan hee’s attention on the flight to Paradise was uncomfortable and I thought it was insensitive of her. Gwan hee was with Hye-seon for that date and it was disrespectful to both of them to be hitting on Gwan hee on his date with Hye-seon. I also felt bad and uncomfortable for Park Min kyu. He was so nice to her during that and even wing manned for her with Gwan hee when he got back to Inferno. But her tears and fit she threw about Gwan hee had to have been very awkward for him. I liked that he was steadfast in his statement and feelings for Gyu ri.

Yun Ha bin was never a serious single. It could be he simply wasn’t that interested in any of the women. But I think he really was on the show simply to mix things up as he never showed any serious behavior or intent toward pursuing any of the women. He said he was interested in Yun Ha-jeong but I could understand why she was irritated when he didn’t communicate with her much at all when she took him to Paradise. She was giving him a chance and he didn’t express anything of substance when she went to Paradise with him.

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