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| A poster for Tving's dating show "EXchange" / Courtesy of Tving |
Dating shows feature former couples exploring former or new love
By Lee Gyu-lee
The reality show, "We Got Divorced," featuring former couples reuniting after their split, kicked off in November 2020 and created a buzz with its concept, as it was rare for divorced couples to star in a show together in Korea. The show that featured former celebrity couples reflecting on their relationship saw a strong viewership rating, earning a second season, which ended this month.
Following the success of the show starring formerly married couples, a wave of dating reality shows for ex-couples, such as "EXchange" and "First Love, Again," have hit the entertainment scene.
Streaming platform Tving's reality show, "Exchange," kicked off its second season on July 15, after garnering popularity with the first season in June last year. The show brings former couples, who broke up for various reasons, to live together. While reflecting on their relationship and breakup, the participants interact with each other to determine whether they want to find a new romance or go back to the previous relationship.
"First Love, Again," a new dating show on local cable channel MBC every1, which follows a similar format, revolves around people reuniting with their first love.
The show, which started on June 27, features a group of singles inviting their first love to stay at a share house together with other participants. The former couples spend time together and walk down memory lane, exploring lingering feelings toward each other, while also opening up for potential new romances with other participants in the house.
"The feeling that you have when you meet your first love is hard to describe in one word. You will be able to experience the different emotions of humans, reuniting with their first love, through our show," Kim Ye-rin, the producer of the show, described the program.
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| Posters for MBC every1's new dating show "First Love, Again" / Courtesy of MBC every1 |
KBS also rolled out a reality show featuring former couples, "Love Recall," on July 11, starring actor Sung Yu-ri, Son Dong-woon of K-pop group Highlight, comedian Yang Se-hyung, TV personality Jang Young-ran and rapper Gree as hosts.
The dating show follows different participants every episode who have not gotten over breakups and wish to reunite with their ex-girlfriend or boyfriend. The participants come face to face with their former lovers to talk about their breakup and discuss their lingering feelings for a chance to possibly spark another romance between the two.
"There have been a lot of dating shows featuring a group of men and women to find love. But I felt there have not been enough shows that zoom in on the feelings that the broken-up couples go through," the show's producer, Hwang Sung-hoon, said during a press conference earlier this month.
"When the couples who broke up meet again for the first time, their vibe is different. The participants have a different sense of desperate feeling when they meet their ex. The show captures these feelings and stories like how they broke up and its reasons, so it will get the viewers to empathize with (the show)."
On the other hand, Kakao TV's dating reality show "Change Days" helps couples determine whether to break up or not.
The show, which also streams on Netflix, revolves around real-life couples who are on the brink of ending their relationships.
Spending time on a romantic getaway, four couples go on a series of dates with each other to explore their feelings to decide if they should mend their current relationships or pursue new loves.
The show, which stars comedians Jang Do-yeon and Yang Se-chan, singers Heo Young-ji and Code Kunst, kicked off its second season last month.
"We wanted to capture the realistic issues of the real couples," producer Lee Jae-seok said at the show's press conference. "We wanted to deliver moments that (viewers) could watch and think 'my relationship was like that too' from seeing real stories of couples whose relationship is on the line."
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