Did 'World of Street Woman Fighter' succeed in winning global fans?

A promotional photo for Mnet's global dance competition show "World of Street Woman Fighter" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

Mnet’s global dance sensation “World of Street Woman Fighter” (WSWF) has concluded with the victory of Osaka Ojo Gang from Japan.

Thanks to its star-studded lineup and larger scale, WSWF generated high anticipation even before its broadcast. While the show succeeded in creating buzz with street dance legends from around the world facing off under one roof, various controversies followed, tarnishing the show's reputation. Ultimately, the dance survival show ended on Tuesday with its lowest ratings ever, leaving a lingering sense of disappointment.

In the final episode, where teams from Japan, Australia and the United States competed, Japan's Osaka Ojo Gang took the win. The segment garnered a national paid household viewership rating of 0.7 percent, according to Nielsen Korea, which was just over half of the previous episode's 1.2 percent rating from July 15. This figure is the lowest rating across all episodes this season, adding to the show's bittersweet ending.

Among the season’s standout moments was the Mega Crew Mission video by Korean team BUMSUP, comprising “Street Woman Fighter” Season 1 alumni including Honey J, Aiki and Leejung. Their performance fused Korean traditional aesthetics with contemporary street dance and racked up nearly 16 million views as of Thursday, the most ever across the entire “Street Fighter” dance competition franchise.

In total, WSWF-related videos on Mnet’s dance-themed YouTube channel The CHOOM surpassed 460 million cumulative views as of Wednesday, highlighting the global digital buzz the show managed to generate.

Controversies, viewer fatigue

However, fans and experts both in Korea and abroad pointed out several disappointing aspects, such as the stagnant format, controversies over fairness and criticism regarding the judges’ credibility.

“Even though they gathered truly amazing dancers, the way this season went was just embarrassing. I don’t know if Mnet was trying to boost their YouTube revenue or what, but every mission was mostly a popularity vote and there were too many product placements,” said Lee, an office worker who calls herself an avid fan of “Street Woman Fighter.”

A scene from Mnet's global dance competition show "World of Street Woman Fighter" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

“There were many moments when I felt the judging standards were not fair compared to previous seasons. Since YouTube views and likes counted for so much, it was advantageous for the Korean team BUMSUP, but I thought overseas dancers, who weren’t as well-known to Korean audiences, were at a disadvantage.”

She singled out the performance of judge Park Jin-young, who spearheads K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment, with the dancers for the final mission, saying “The Great Gatsby” concept was the worst.

“Park Jin-young is not a woman, nor a street dancer, nor a contestant, so him being at the center of the final mission for a program meant for female street dancers was shameful and infuriating.”

A global fan also left a comment on Reddit, saying, “Not that I don't respect JYP as an artist but using the show to promote his music and basically making the dancers as his backup singers is insulting to the dancers, it’s their show not his.”

Although there was some viewer drop-off after BUMSUP failed to deliver a performance surpassing their much-hyped Mega Crew Mission and did not make it to the final round, experts argue that the bigger issue was the lack of a compelling narrative despite the early buzz.

“If the Korean team had at least remained in the competition as the runner-up, there would have been anticipation over whether Osaka Ojo Gang could defeat them. But with their absence, I think Korean viewers lost a lot of curiosity about the outcome," culture critic Kim Kyo-seok said.

However, he pointed out that the bigger problem was the repeated reliance on familiar storytelling.

Final winner Japan's Osaka Ojo Gang members are seen in scenes from Mnet's global dance competition show "World of Street Woman Fighter." Courtesy of CJ ENM

“The fairness issues in selection, popularity voting and constructing villains became all too familiar, making the show less enjoyable as a survival competition. What viewers really enjoy is seeing new and impressive personalities emerge, appreciating their backgrounds and performances and watching their camaraderie develop,” he said.

“But by sticking with familiar formats seen over the past seasons, the show instead became less engaging as more teams were eliminated, gradually losing its momentum as a survival show.”

Another critic, Jung Duk-hyun, acknowledged that WSWF achieved a milestone in expanding the franchise globally. However, he questioned that with the shift to a global format, the show became more “bulked up,” but lost much of its narrative and charms.

“These days, many shows are going global, but this season also raises whether such planning is always a positive thing,” Jung said.

“Although expanding the show globally certainly made the stage bigger, some of its original charm was lost. When only Korean teams competed, each team’s unique color and character were more apparent, and the stories that unfolded between them were full of elements that Korean viewers could especially relate to and enjoy. But with this global version, even though the scale was bigger, the points where viewers could truly immerse themselves felt a bit oversimplified.”

He cited a touching moment in the first season — Ri.hey and former mentor Honey J going head-to-head, after which Honey J admitted defeat and embraced Ri.hey — as an example of the storytelling that went missing this season.

“In this season, such compelling narratives were much less visible, and with the focus shifting more towards shock value, I think it actually ended up feeling rather stale.”