'Single's Inferno' creator returns with new reality show on entering adulthood

From left, producers Park Su-ji, Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Jae-won, singer Jeong Se-woon, actor Kim Ji-eun, singer Lee Su-hyun of AKMU and singer Kyuhyun pose during a press conference for the Netflix reality show ″Nineteen to Twenty″ at CGV in central Seoul's Yongsan District, July 6. Courtesy of Netflix

By Lee Gyu-lee

Producer Kim Jae-won, who created Netflix's dating show “Single's Inferno,” is rolling out the platform's new reality show “Nineteen to Twenty.”

The new show, set to release on Tuesday, invites a group of young adults who are about to enter their 20s. They come to stay together through the last week of their teens, exploring the freedom and all the “firsts” of adulthood.

“I came up with this show because I wanted to do a show that is completely different from 'Single's Inferno' in every aspect,” Kim said during the press conference for the show, held at CGV in Yongsan District, Thursday.

“If 'Single's Inferno' is a dating show of much-experienced adults, 'Nineteen to Twenty' is a bumpy coming-of-age-like theme so they are opposite from each other.”

The cast members spend two weeks together, taking classes to prepare for their 20s and experiencing different activities, with one strict rule ― no dating.

The show's co-producer, Kim Jung-hyun, said the show intends to help teens with their transition to their 20s.

“We wanted to teach them essential things that you need to know as a young adult, but are not taught at school. Like in economics class, we tried to provide them with things that help in real life, such as managing your finances and things to check when signing employment contracts, rather than basic principles of the subject,” producer Kim Jung-hyun said.

“Also, these 19-year-olds have not been on class trips because when they were in school, COVID-19 was really serious. So we tried to set up experiences to help them make memories together.”

A poster for the show ″Nineteen to Twenty″ / Courtesy of Netflix

All of the cast members are born in 2004. Before Korea implemented a new age-counting law, everyone turned a year older on the first day of January.

“When we were developing the show, I wanted to introduce the system where everyone of a particular age becomes an adult on Jan. 1,” producer Kim Jae-won said. “But the law changed so there's no such thing as everyone getting a year older at the same time anymore. But it's more meaningful as the cast members are of the last generation to go from 19 to 20 all together.”

The producers noted that they got about 1,000 applicants who wanted to appear on the show. They shared that they took a careful approach in selecting the cast members.

“Compared to other reality shows, Netflix has been trying to take a more meticulous process for casting. We've checked with psychologists to see if our cast members can endure the psychological pressure,” he said. “We checked their school records and personal reviews from their classmates. We also met with each of their parents.”

Park Soo-ji, another co-producer, shared that the priority in selection was whether the applicant has a clear vision of their life goals or not.

“The criteria for becoming a cast member is how honest they are and how certain they are with their dream,” she said. “They are all of the same age and taking their first steps into adulthood so we chose people with different dreams like a table tennis player, robotic or aerospace engineer and a flight attendant.”