(Intimating) Intimacy and Scandal in Singles Inferno: Tracing the Tension between Global Formats and Cultural Norms in Korean Reality Dating Programs
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“This does not feel like a Korean dating show!” Host Hong Jin-Kyung’s introduction to Netflix’s newest Korean reality series, Singles Inferno [솔로지옥] (2021), takes care to single out the show’s “foreign” feel. This “foreignness” stems in part from the show’s provocative premise, placing several attractive singles on a deserted island where they will battle it out in a competition for romance. Echoing popular global reality formats from Love Island to The Bachelor in Paradise, the supposed “foreignness” of Singles Inferno evokes not only popular Western reality television conventions but also emphasizes the sexual and scandalous content for which these series are famed. And yet, despite these sensationalistic hints that the show will be unlike any other Korean reality series to date, Singles Inferno remains a largely conservative and uncontroversial production, where intimacy is intimated but never realized. This paper examines the seemingly contradictory endeavor of the series in seeking to deliver the excitement, drama, and scandal associated with global reality dating series while preserving the traditional morals and conservative norms that continue to define Korean television production. While the show itself manages this balancing act through editing and panel commentary, I will also make the case that the attempt to reconcile moral conservatism and neoliberal competition causes new forms of scandal to arise. These tensions surrounding the process of localization also point to larger discussions around the power dynamics at work within a media context defined increasingly by the use of content as a platform.
Abstract
“This does not feel like a Korean dating show!” Host Hong Jin-Kyung’s introduction to Netflix’s newest Korean reality series, Singles Inferno [솔로지옥] (2021), takes care to single out the show’s “foreign” feel. This “foreignness” stems in part from the show’s provocative premise, placing several attractive singles on a deserted island where they will battle it out in a competition for romance. Echoing popular global reality formats from Love Island to The Bachelor in Paradise, the supposed “foreignness” of Singles Inferno evokes not only popular Western reality television conventions but also emphasizes the sexual and scandalous content for which these series are famed. And yet, despite these sensationalistic hints that the show will be unlike any other Korean reality series to date, Singles Inferno remains a largely conservative and uncontroversial production, where intimacy is intimated but never realized. This paper examines the seemingly contradictory endeavor of the series in seeking to deliver the excitement, drama, and scandal associated with global reality dating series while preserving the traditional morals and conservative norms that continue to define Korean television production. While the show itself manages this balancing act through editing and panel commentary, I will also make the case that the attempt to reconcile moral conservatism and neoliberal competition causes new forms of scandal to arise. These tensions surrounding the process of localization also point to larger discussions around the power dynamics at work within a media context defined increasingly by the use of content as a platform.
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