'The Devil’s Plan' producer, Season 2 champion respond to criticism

Producer Jeong Jong-yeon, left, and final winner Jeong Hyun-gyu of the Netflix survival game show "The Devil’s Plan: Death Room" / Courtesy of Netflix

Netflix’s high-stakes survival game show "The Devil’s Plan" recently wrapped up its second season amid a flurry of controversy, prompting both the show’s producer and its final winner, Jeong Hyun-gyu of "EXchange 2" fame, to respond to the backlash.

In "The Devil’s Plan: Death Room," players from various professions live together for seven days to determine the ultimate mastermind. It drew attention with its stellar cast of 14 participants, including former professional Go player Lee Se-dol, best known for his historic five-game match against artificial intelligence AlphaGo in 2016, Hollywood actor Justin H. Min, K-pop idol Kyuhyun, TV presenter Kang Ji-young, actor Yoon So-hui and poker player 7high.

However, the show drew criticism from viewers over Jeong's gameplay and questionable decisions. In the finale, Kyuhyun sacrificed himself to save Jeong, while the final opponent Yoon gave up betting in the final game, leaving viewers puzzled.

Jeong, a Seoul National University student who appeared on the dating reality show “EXchange 2,” was blamed for making viewers uncomfortable during the show by openly mocking model Choi Hyun-joon, a Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology mathematics graduate, with remarks like, “Do you even know how to do arithmetic?”

“I ran all the way to the end with only victory in mind. I think I overlooked the fact that my behavior could have caused discomfort or hurt others and now I understand that responsibility. I am working on correcting myself, growing and reflecting on my actions,” Jeong said during an interview Tuesday with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul.

The show's producer Jeong Jong-yeon, a survival show expert who previously directed "The Genius," "The Great Escape" and "High School Mystery Club," acknowledged the criticism.

“I don’t check every online community, but people express their feelings a lot through direct messages, so I hear feedback through various channels. There are also many comments asking, ‘Have you lost your touch?’” the producer said.

“It’s true that I’ve learned a lot from this season. I am listening carefully to viewers’ feedback.”

In Season 1, contestant and science content creator Orbit played with an unusual strategy by collaborating and opposing the zero-sum game structure of eliminating competitors, which sparked debates among survival genre fans who said it diluted the charm of the genre.

A scene from the Netflix show "The Devil’s Plan: Death Room" / Courtesy of Netflix

Regarding the point that Kyuhyun and Yoon conceded victory, the producer explained that Yoon maintained her alliance with the strategy of going to the finals together until Episode 11.

"I was surprised when she gave up on the final bet, but after seeing her interview, I thought it was understandable. It was a bit disappointing (as a producer-director). However, in a survival show, it’s impossible to have a system that prevents that kind of behavior,” he said.

“In a way, both Kyuhyun and So-hui have their own personalities. I've been aware of this when casting them. They have a very strong desire to keep promises they’ve made or to those with whom they’ve shared an alliance. It’s not easy to suddenly change the way you’ve lived and the way you make decisions in the real world just because you’re here (on 'The Devil's Plan')."

One of the biggest format changes this season was expanding the existing prison system to the Prison Block, increasing the number of contestants there. Except for the main match eliminations, the top half moves to the Living Block and the bottom half moves to the Prison Block. Additional eliminations occur every night through a match within the Prison Block.

While this added intensity to the game, viewers felt the overall structure lacked balance.

“The main idea for this season was a competition between groups, divided into two main blocks. The Prison Block had a well-developed narrative thanks to the prison match system, but the Living Block didn’t have a corresponding arc, so it seems the survival-style narrative there was lacking,” the producer said.

"Viewers might feel that it was excessive (for the Prison Block) or that I couldn't find the right balance between the two blocks."